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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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  • 82 SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. Cheoah, and Tuckasegee rivers, in the northern, northwestern, and northeastern parts of the basin, though there are some areas of fine forest at the head of Nantahala and Little Tennessee rivers, in the southern part of the basin. At lower elevations the forests are of oaks and hickories, associated with black pine. On the thin soil of the slopes along the Blue Ridge small scarlet and white oaks, with occasional bodies of hemlock, form the forest, while elsewhere in the mountains typical Appalachian hardwoods prevail, with some few thousand acres of black spruce capping the highest summits of the Smoky and Balsam mountains. The best timber has been much culled for 20 miles from the Southern Railway, which crosses the middle of the basin. Repeated forest fires, started with a view to improve the pasturage, have destroyed much timber on dry south slopes, and by continued suppression of the young growth have greatly reduced the density. Reproduction, however, is good, and if the open woods were protected there would soon be a fine young growth beneath the old trees. Proper distribution of species could easily be secured by judicious cutting while logging. Topography. Soil. Agriculture. HIWASSEE RIVER BASIN. [223,456 acres; 71 per cent wooded." This drainage is tributary to the Tennessee Riveiywhich the Hiwassee joins above Chattanooga, and comprises the eastern tributaries of Hiwassee River above Murphy, equivalent to the western slope of the mountainous divide between Little Tennessee and Hiwassee rivers, which divide is a cross range between the Blue Ridge and the Smoky Mountains. The altitude of this tract ranges between 1,500 and 5,000 feet. Spurs from 5 to 20 miles long reach from the divide toward the river, while deep valleys extend from the river far into the mountains. The mountain sides are steep and often rocky, while the creek valleys, of which there are six prominent ones, have considerable' areas of alluvial flats and rolling foothills. Even the alluvial flats along the rivers and creeks have a large proportion of clay, and the foothills are almost entirely clay. The mountain sides are loamy, the coves very fertile, and the soils of the ridges light, often stony.' Corn is the principal grain crop. Grass does well on low alluvial lands and in mountain coves, but burns out
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).