8 WOOD-USINC :aEs OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



timber. The soil here is of little agricultural value, and the 

 growing of timber is without doubt its greatest use. Some parts 

 could not be restocked by natural methods and artificial planting 

 would be required. 



The soils of the Piedmont region have been derived from the 

 disintegration of the underlying granites and gneisses, making 

 a reddish, loamy soil of exceptional fertility. The soils of the 

 coastal plains are yellowish white sands which, having little 

 fertility in themselves, are capable of being made fertile by the 

 humus formed from the vegetation of the region. 



The State has been divided into several forest regions, which 

 briefly enumerated are: Alpine, piedmont, sand hill, red hill, 

 upper pine belt, lower pine belt, and coast. These occur from 

 west to east in the order named. The Alpine belt c 

 the highland in the extreme western part of the State. The 

 surface of this belt is rolling or mountainous, and approxin 

 twenty-five per cent, of it was once cleared. Some of the c 

 ings have now been abandoned. Oak, chestnut, black locust, 

 scrub pine, and shortleaf pine are the principal species in the 

 higher altitudes. The highest points sometimes produce white 

 pine, hemlock, and fir, but not in commercial quantities. The 

 lower slopes grow oaks, maples, hickories, chestnut, walnut, but- 

 ternut, black locust, gums, yellow poplar, basswood, white ash, 

 red cedar, shortleaf pine, and scrub pine. 



The Piedmont forest region, comprising one-third of the S 

 lies next to the Alpine and is distinctly agricultural. Only about 

 twenty-five per cent, is forested and that is principally in wood- 

 lots. The forest consists chiefly of shortleaf pine. Small 

 amounts of oak, chestnut . walnut, black locust, gum, a 

 wood, and yellow poplar are in mixture. Along the 

 courses, red gum, yellow poplar, sycamore, oak. willow and <hort- 

 leaf pine are com- 



The sand hill region consists of a nai ip across the 



State adjoin Piedmont area. Tin- rrally 



undulating and the soil is composed of a loose sand. Thi* r 



1 with longlcaf pine of L;; and in prac- 



tically pure stands. The soil is good for little except timber, and 

 if properly protected Fl would soon become restocked with 



longleaf pine. It i< thus stocked on the small -.vhich 



entally escape fire. Other areas have been so dap 

 by burnings that natural regeneration is doubtful. Loblolly and 



