NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 2221 



About 100 square miles of the great Dismal Swamp lies 

 within this state. Cleared parts of this region have 

 become the richest agricultural and trucking land in 

 the state. On its western border the coastal plain 

 merges into the lower Piedmont region at an altitude of 

 150 to 200 feet. 



The Piedmont region is a rolling hilly country com- 

 prising nearly one half of the state. It is gently undu- 

 lating on its eastern border where it merges into the 

 coastal plain, but assumes a bolder and more rugged 

 aspect as it nears the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is the 

 general farming section of the state. 



The western, or mountain section of North Carolina 

 is the most rugged and picturesque mountain region 

 east of the Rockies. In this limited area all the ranges 

 of the Appalachian system seem to have united and 

 fused and then broken up in a confusion of lofty peaks 

 with a labyrinth of intervening valleys. Within a 

 range of 50 to 100 miles there are forty-three mountain 

 peaks, 6,000 feet and upward in altitude. Several rivers 

 which empty into the Atlantic Ocean or into the Gulf 

 of Mexico find their sources in this high region. In all 

 this maze of mountains, the Great Smokies form a 

 continuous range on the west 

 and make a natural border 

 between North Carolina and 

 Tennessee. The Blue Ridge 

 with its subsidiary ranges and 

 outlying spurs forms the eastern 

 border of this region where it 

 drops abruptly about 1,500 feet 

 to the Piedmont plateau. These 

 two general ranges are con- 

 nected by many spurs and cross- 

 ranges. The general altitude of 



the mountain valleys and elevated plateaus varies from 

 2,000 to 3,000 feet. 



On account of its southern location, the climate of 

 North Carolina is mild. The average annual tempera- 

 tures for the different sections and for the state are: 

 coast 61, Piedmont 59, mountain 55, state 59. The 

 summers are warm, except in the mountains, where the 

 altitude gives a cool climate like that of the northern 

 states. Snow seldom falls and never lasts more than a 

 few days. In the coastal section the winters are so mild 

 that truck crops, such as spinach, kale, onions, cabbage, 

 peas and lettuce are extensively grown in the open with- 

 out protection during the winter season. The average 

 annual precipitation for the state is 52 inches, for the 

 coast 51, for the Piedmont 49, for the mountains 57. 

 The rainfah 1 is well distributed throughout the growing 

 season, making irrigation unnecessary. The average 

 length of the growing season as ascertained by the 

 Weather Bureau records varies from 250 days near the 

 coast to 200 in the central Piedmont and 180 to 190 in 

 the mountains. In the coastal section, this long season 

 permits the maturing of subtropical crops, such as 

 cotton, peanuts and sweet potatoes, and gives the 

 trucker a succession of two, three and even four crops a 

 season. 



The soils of the coastal region are of light sandy tex- 

 ture and are mostly underlaid with clay. They are 

 classified by the Bureau of Soils as the Portsmouth, 

 Norfolk and Orangeburg series. They vary from sand 

 to sandy loam and fine sandy loam. These soils warm 

 up quickly, are easy of cultivation and are therefore 

 valuable for trucking purposes. In the swamp areas 

 the soil is a rich black vegetable mold, varying from 2 

 to 6 feet in depth. 



The Piedmont soils are of the Cecil clay series in 

 which the clays predominate. Toward the east they 

 are more or less blended with the sandy types of the 

 coastal plain. The Piedmont clays are strong soils of 

 friable texture and respond readily to cultivation. They 

 are especially valuable for general farming and are 

 capable of producing a wide variety of crops. 



The mountain soils belong to the Porter and Tox- 

 away series. The Toxaway soils which are of an alluvial 

 nature are found in the valleys and bottom lands, while 

 the Porter types are characteristic of the mountain 

 slopes. In high mountain coves is found the Porter 

 black loam, a soil much renowned for the production 

 of fruit of the very finest quality. 



On account of the wide range in altitude, the numer- 

 ous soil types and the varied climatic conditions, the 

 native flora of North Carolina is extremely rich and 

 varied. Botanists from all over the world have studied 

 the flora of this region, because within a few miles can 

 be found the flora of the north overlapping with the 

 subtropics, while the dense jungle of swamp and 

 coastal vegetation lies within a day's travel of the 

 alpine species of the mountains. In the southeast are 

 found the palmetto, live-oak and cypress festooned 

 with Spanish moss and intertwined with smilax and 

 jessamine; a little farther up brings the long-leaf and 

 numerous other species of pines, the gums and various 

 species of oaks and hickories, while in the mountains 

 are found huge timber trees of northern white pine, 

 spruce, balsam and hemlock and dense thickets of 



2512. North Carolina, showing the main divisions. 



laurel and rhododendron. A survey of the native fruit- 

 bearing plants of the state shows eighteen families 

 including thirty-nine genera and upwards of 330 species. 

 The non-fruit-bearing plants and general flora run into 

 great numbers of species. 



The nurseries of the mountain region make a specialty 

 of native ornamentals and alpine plants which are 

 shipped in large quantities to ah 1 parts of the country. 

 This region is one of the chief sources of supply for 

 medicinal herbs which are gathered by the mountain 

 people and shipped out in immense quantities by whole- 

 sale dealers of crude drugs. Cultivated ginseng is a 

 considerable article of commerce. The great bulk of 

 peach seed used by nurserymen all over the country is 

 produced in this region. 



The greatest horticultural industry in North Caro- 

 lina is truck-growing. Its mild southern climate, light 

 friable soils and accessibility to large markets makes 

 eastern North Carolina an ideal section for trucking, 

 especially during the winter and early spring months. 

 In the market, North Carolina truck comes intermediate 

 between Charleston and Norfolk. Early Irish potatoes 

 make the largest tonnage, going north in early spring 

 by boat and trainloads. The crop comes off the land 

 sufficiently early to give place to corn, cotton and other 

 farm crops. In the mountains the late varieties of 

 potatoes are grown in considerable quantities, and 

 marketed during the fall and winter. Early cabbages 

 of the Wakefield type are extensively grown in the east 

 in the winter and early spring and, like potatoes, are 

 followed by a variety of truck or farm crops. The late, 

 heavy types of cabbage are grown in summer in large 



