XEEOPHILE FOEESTS OF MET AMORPHIC HILLS. 



59 



Xeropliile forests. — The most prominent and characteristic feature 

 in the vegetation of this su])division of the mountain region is the 

 xerophile forests of long-leaf pine which cover the arid rocky ridges 

 to an elevation of 2,000 feet, as observed on the Chehawhaw Moun- 

 tain, the highest in the State. These pine forests are open, almost 

 entirel^y bare of undergrowth; only in the depressions on the flanks of 

 the mountains a stunted growth of black-jack makes its appearance. 

 At its vertical limit of distribution the pine is suddenly replaced 

 by mountain oak, chestnut, and pignut hickory. Whenever on the 

 summits of the pine-clad ridges at lower levels soil conditions more 

 favorable to deciduous tree growth prevail the pine is obliged to give 

 way to the hardwood trees. The pine timber on these mountains 

 is somewhat stunted; the body of the trees is short and more or less 

 knotty, and the old trees are frequently afl'ected by dry rot, caused 

 by the mycelium of polyporous fungi. It is little esteemed for lum- 

 ber, but largel}^ consumed for charcoal. There are, however, found 

 exceptional tracts, with a timber growth unrivaled in density and per- 

 fection. Such heavily timbered forests of long-leaf pine have been . 

 observed, for instance, at Hollins, in Clay County. They extend for 

 miles over a narrow valley and along the rounded foothills of the 

 higher ridges which rise abruptly above them on either side. These 

 particular tracts of forest are not surpassed in yield and qualit}' 

 of timber by the best pine timber lands elsewhere east or west of 

 the Mississippi River, the trees showing most vigorous growth and 

 remarkable uniformity in size and averaging from 20 to 24 inches in 

 diameter breast high. By actual measurement they were found to be 

 of a total height of from 110 to 120 feet, the greatest height growth 

 of the species on record. Of the large number of felled trees exam- 

 ined in the logging camp not one was found defective. Of several 

 taken at random measurements were made and the annual rings 

 counted, with the following result: 



The sapwood in none of these trees exceeded 2 inches in thickness. 

 A loblolly pine felled on the border of the brooklet watering the 

 valley measured 25 inches in diameter across the stump and was 

 found to be scarcely 50 years old. 



The herbaceous vegetation on these pine-clad hills is of essentially 

 the same character as that found on the uplands of the Central pine 

 belt, denoting a dry soil. The hidden cause of such perfection in the 

 development of the longleaf pine on a soil apparently as unpromis- 

 ing as any of the rolling pine barrens was clearly revealed by the 



