Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (20) View all

Report of the Secretary of Agriculture in relation to the forests, rivers, and mountains of the southern Appalachian region

items 200 of 386 items
  • wcu_great_smoky_mtns-8674.jpg
Item
?

Item’s are ‘child’ level descriptions to ‘parent’ objects, (e.g. one page of a whole book).

  • 74 SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. trees and undesirable species. Fires are preventing a good growth on large portions, although they are seldom so severe as to kill much timber. The few areas that are in good forest condition are merely enough to illustrate what f orestry might do. Reproduction.—Vigorous sprouts, seedlings, and saplings abound on old cuttings and burns, and prevention of fire and some judicious thinning would soon develop a forest that would justify transportation companies in building railroads to haul its products to market. NOLICHUCKY RIVER BASIN. [S69.920 acres; 76 per cent wooded.] Topography. Soil. Agriculture. Erosion A large portion of this basin lies within the mountain region. Its three principal tributaries, North Toe, South Toe. and Caney rivers, as well as several creeks of large size, are entirely between the rims. Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Rocky Mountains, and Roan Mountain, well known by "Cloudland," the highest hotel of the East, are both on the borders of this basin. In the central part is a large portion of hilly agricultural land, and along creeks are many narrow strips of flat, alluvial bottom. In cutting through the northwestern rim of the plateau, however, the streams have worn long, deep gorges through the Unicoi and parallel mountain ranges, and the narrow tributary valleys of this portion of the basin have rapid torrential streams, very little bottom land, or none, and very steep and rocky mountain slopes. The soil is in general very good, especially that of the lower portion of the interior basin, which was evidently deposited as a sediment before the gorge was cut to its present depth. The mountain coves also contain deep, dark loam, which is very fertile. Some of the ridges, however, have a light, shallow soil, owing to erosion of humus and loose earth. Twenty-four per cent of this basin is cleared land, most of which is grazed, although much of it is well adapted to diversified farming, which is unprofitable now because of distance from market. A great drawback to agriculture is found in the cutting away of uncovered hill fields by the dasliing rains and the deposition of the eroded material on other fields in the bottoms. The floods of the Nolichucky are well known. The}' may be partly due to the topographic configuration
Object
?

Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).