15 



In this connection the production of both sheep and swine should 

 be added to the animal industry of the section, particularly for the 

 production of the meat supplies, which are now largely imported into 

 the southern manufacturing and commercial cities. 



Farm equipment. As has been noted, the rough topography and 

 the steep slopes of both the Porters loam and Porters black loam prac- 

 tically preclude the use of heavy draft animals and the more elaborate 

 farm tools used in other sections. Upon the steeper slopes a large 

 proportion of the tillage is done by hand, including the seeding 

 and reaping of the grain and the planting of the corn. Even the 

 plowing and the harrowing are done by one horse, one mule, or even 

 a single ox, with the simplest and lightest draft farm implements. 

 Many of the mountain farmers perform practically all of the hauling 

 of the grain and fodder crops upon sleds, while in the more gently 

 rolling foothill sections light wagons and the one or two horse 

 hitch are most common. No elaborate machinery can be recommended 

 for these regions, although upon the gentler slopes the disk plow and 

 the disk harrow have both been used successfully in the tillage of the 

 Porters loam. Even in the developed orchard sections a considerable 

 proportion of the tillage is carried on with light equipment, and the 

 spraying of the trees is a matter of some difficulty because of the 

 steep slopes which prevent the use of power sprayers. In no section 

 is the equipment of farm buildings equal to the average for the United 

 States, and in many instances the barns are mere sheds or log struc- 

 tures, strongly reminiscent of pioneer days and indicative of the 

 pioneer conditions which still prevail over a considerable proportion 

 of the territory occupied by these two types. Considerable improve- 

 ment is shown, however, in the vicinity of transportation facilities, 

 and particularly near the centers occupied by the summer colonies in 

 the mountain sections. 



Forestation. In the case of both the Porters loam and the Porters 

 black loam, the remoteness from transportation and the topographic 

 difficulties render large areas unsuitable for any agricultural occupa- 

 tion in the commonly accepted sense of the word. Since the forest 

 is, now, to be considered as a farm crop, a considerable proportion 

 of both types should be occupied by private or public forest reserves 

 for the production of various timber crops. In considering the dif- 

 ferent areas where the Porters loam has been found it becomes evident 

 that in all of the higher altitudes the deciduous forests have occupied 

 by far the greater proportion of the type, and over a vast extent of 

 territory forestation is the only possible form of profitable occupa- 

 tion for these soils. 



At the lower altitudes and in the more southern locations, both the 

 shortleaf and loblolly pine have their natural habitat upon the 

 Porters loam, while at higher altitudes and in more northern locations 



