2 ON THE TIMBER LANDS TRAVERSED BY A 
stance, speaking broadly and generally, timbers are far better 
on the north sides of hills than on the south sides. This is: 
doubtless due to the north side of a hill being shadier and 
damper than the south side, which is exposed directly to the 
drying heat of the sun. There are some exceptions to the 
statement that the finest forests grow on the north side of the 
hill. When the hill is very high, the observation made in the 
report on the timbers of the North Cumberland, that white 
oak flourishes best on the south side of the hill, is true. It is: 
also true, even to a greater extent, of pines. If the hill be 
Zow, the best white oak, as will be noticed further on, like 
other timbers except pine, grows on the north side; if it be 
high enough to affect much the temperature of the north side, 
the white oak is found on the warm side; and where white 
oak is found on the north side of a high hill, it is found right 
at the base, where it is sheltered, or right on fof, where 
the sun reaches it. In the case of the pines, it may be that 
the method of their distribution, of which I shall speak fur- 
ther on, has something to do with their confinement largely to. 
the southern slopes of hills; but that cannot fully account for 
the fact, and it must be that the pines of Kentucky are not 
hardy, and seek the southern sides of mountains for warmth 
and sunlight. 
Again, it would be natural to suppose, inasmuch as there 
are several belts of distinct timbers on each large hill, each 
belt composed of those timbers adapted to its height above 
drainage, that the various species of timbers would shade off 
gradually in ascending a hill; for instance, that the best white 
oak would be found at the base of the hill, that that a little 
higher up would be not quite so good, and that the quality 
would gradually grow poorer, until the white oak ceased alto- 
gether. To my astonishment, this did not seem to be a rule. 
That is, in descending a hill, the very first trees of a particu- 
lar species are often as fine as any others found on the hill, 
unless want of richness of soil prevented. The observation 
certainly holds good with the beeches, hemlocks, and other 
timbers with which moisture of soil is the controlling requisite 
1$2 
