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

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  • 86 SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. Soil. Agriculture. Erosion. The forest. from these peaks is rapid and amounts to 3,500 feet in 6 miles on the Toxaway. There are few prominent points within the basin, but the canyons are deeply eroded, and cascades are almost continuous along the Whitewater, Horsepasture, and other tributaries. Derived from gneiss, and in general well forested, the soil is fertile. It is usually a loam of good physical quality. The ridge land is, of course, less fertile, yet is capable of growing valuable timber. The few clearings that have been made yield good crops of grass and corn, but the roughness and steepness of the surface will prevent any extensive farming in this portion of this drainage. So little of the land has been cleared that eroded fields are not a prominent feature of the landscape, as in many other localities, but enough has been cleared to show what the effect would be. The soil, having numerous pebbles in it, does not erode by rainfall as readily as clay or sand, but, on the other hand, the slopes are so steep and the torrents so fierce that it would be unwise to uncover any but the gentlest slopes and the most fertile soil. The forest of this tract is but slightly broken, only 5 per cent being cleared. The northern portion, hung well up on the Blue Ridge, has substantially the same species as the forest of the highlands. The oaks, hemlock, and white pine predominate. Chestnut, ash, hickory and gum are also abundant. Lower on the slopes the oaks, hickories, and black and yellow pines become more prominent. The forests of this region are variable. They have been seriously injured by fires, and as a result have some large openings on the ridges. Rhododendron and kalmia constitute a dense undergrowth in the hollows. Defective trees are abundant throughout, but the stand of valuable species is poor. Improvement in forest condition may be rather more difficult here than elsewhere, owing to abundance of brush and the liability to fire. White and shortleaf pine are the most promising species for a future forest.
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).