1857.] for Pasturage, Wool and Agriculture. 67 



to the sun serves speedily to melt off the occasional snows which fall 

 during the winter; and I am assured that it is very rare for snow, 

 on these inclinations, to remain more than thirty-six or forty-eight 

 hours at one time. As blue grass and white clover remain fresh and 

 green the year round, their substitution for the native grasses would 

 secure the best of sheep-pasture through the winter, and but little 

 grain would be needed by the shepherd for the support of his flocks. 



Nor will there be much waste lands in these mountains. The sur- 

 face of the country, generally, is smooth, the rocky precipice being 

 limited mainly to the courses of the rivers. A rich carpet of native 

 plants and grasses, in spring and summer, everywhere covers the 

 woodlands, affording ample pastures for flocks and herds. But these 

 wild pastures, in autumn and winter, grow harsh and dry, and are 

 of little value as food for stock. Besides, as the country is settling 

 up, and domestic animals multiply, this pasturage wears out to some 

 extent, and is insufiieientfor the support of the stock of the settlers. 

 The substitution of blue grass and white clover, will remedy this 

 defect. This change, with the aid of a little capital, may be easily 

 effected. The practice prevails of burning the fallen leaves from 

 the ground every spring, to destroy the underbrush, and promote 

 the growth of the native pasturage. But these burnings have done 

 more than merely to keep down the growth of tangled forests, that 

 the cattle may have ample pastures. They serve to keep the wood- 

 lands in a constant state of preparation for the introduction of the 

 tame grasses among the forest trees, as is the custom in Kentucky, 

 and will supersede the necessity of clearing up the grounds prepara- 

 tory to the establishment of sheep farms. 



Wool growers, then, we repeat, must be attracted to North Caro- 

 lina as soon as they come to a knowledge of the advantages to be gain- 

 ed in that region. It will cost no more to purchase lands there than 

 elsewhere, and it will cost two-thirds less to feed, the year round 

 there, than it does in Vermont or Pennsylvania, and the wool will 

 be more valuable when dipt. 



The burning of the fallen leaves, alluded to above, does no mate- 

 rial injury to the forest trees, but leaves them, generally, to continue 

 their growth. The size of the trees is about equal to that of those 

 on similar geological formations in Kentucky and Ohio — in some 

 places low, in others lofty. In the coves of the mountains, howev- 

 er, there are trees of equal size with those produced by the best 

 lands at the North. Take the following measurements, in Tuskee- 



