24 ON THE TIMBER LANDS TRAVERSED BY A 
just noted, except that some red haw and winged elm are 
found. There is no white oak, no sweet gum, no chestnut 
(that I could find), and no liriodendron. On Pilot Rock, 
northeast of Hopkinsville, which is a lofty bluff of Big Clifty 
sandstone, cedar and liriodendron are both met with; but 
this is very local, and even here no chestnut is to be seen, 
so far as I could gather. 
Between Fairview and Elkton the timbers, as a whole, are 
not valuable; but in places black ash, white elm, pig and shag 
hickory, and such timbers, are exceedingly fine. Especially is 
this true on West Fork of Red river, about one and one half 
miles from Fairview. On this stream are also found splendid 
white oak, swamp chestnut oak, red and pin oak, white and 
shag hickory, black and blue ash, sweet gum, liriodendron, 
white elm, sycamore, box-elder, sugar maple, white maple, 
and redbud. All of these timbers are very fine. It is a pecu- 
liar, though an easily-explained fact, that in a large part of 
the country through here the timbers are better on the hill- 
tops than on the lower grounds. The reason is, that the hills 
are capped with Chester sandstone, the detritus of which 
forms a damp soil, favorable for large trees, while the upper 
St. Louis limestone here is not adapted to timber growth. 
Toward Elkton, scattering bartram oaks and cedars are 
found, in addition to the usual red oak, shag hickory, pig 
hickory, white hickory, winged elm, small black ash, scrub 
white oak (in spots), Spanish oak, black oak, post oak, black 
gum, &c. Yellow wood is also found near Elkton, with some 
honey locust, redbud, and red (slippery) elm. Of course the 
swamp timbers have never been affected by fire; and on 
streams fine white oak, liriodendron, white and sugar maples, 
sweet gum, laurel oaks, &c., flourish. The upland and low- 
land timbers alternate, with no changes worthy of note, until 
Russellville is reached—and there our party took the train 
and went by rail to Glasgow Junction. 
Between Glasgow Junction and Mammoth Cave the topog- 
raphy is very different from that spoken of in the previous 
pages. There is no well-defined succession of hills and hol- 
194 
