Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

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

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  • SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. hard woods, with, in the Balsam and Pizgah ridges, a small amount of black spruce at high elevations, and some white pine in the lower part of the basin. These forests have been culled only of the most valuable timbers. All species reproduce excellently under the proper light conditions; and with exclusion of fire and a judicious system of lumbering there would be no difficulty in perpetuating this forest and increasing the proportion of valuable species in its composition. 79 NORTHWESTERN SLOPE OF SMOKY MOUNTAINS. [254,720 acres; 91 per cent wooded.] This tract is a mountain side between altitudes of 1,500 Topography. and 6,700 feet, and is drained by Little Pigeon and Little rivers into Holston River, and by Abrams Creek into Little Tennessee River. The surface is eroded into fan- shaped basins, very steep, and often precipitous near the summit, with high, narrow ridges dividing the main drainage basins. There is no alluvial land of consequence except at Briar Cove, Gatlinburg, Tuckaleechee Cove and Cades Cove. In general the soil is light-colored and shallow, espe- son. cially on the ridges and steep slopes. In the coves, however, and along the foot of the ridges where the slope is more gentle, humus has accumulated and the soil is fertile. In general physical quality the soil is loam or clay loam. Corn is the principal farm crop, and 50 bushels per acre Agriculture. are sometimes grown on the best lowlands. This land can not compete with the alluvial river bottoms, however. Most of it is farmed only because it is cheap land and affords a chance for a poor man to make a living (by hard work.) The higher altitudes are favorable to fruit, grass, and vegetables, and also to stock raising in a limited degree, as cattle may roam in the woods and subsist on seedlings, shrubs, and weeds, and hogs in occasional years find abundant mast. In general, the earth is fairly well covered, and thus pro- Erodon. tected from erosion, but the few old pastures are worn and gullied here, as elsewhere on hilly land. In this region streams heading in unbroken forest are notably clear and their banks show little fluctuation in volume of water, while those from cleared lands are muddy and inconstant.
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).