WATER SUPPLY AND AGRICULTURE. 17 



WATER SUPPLY. 



Except along the crests of the ridges, one can hardly travel a quarter of a 

 mile in an undisturbed portion of the forests without finding pure, cool water. 

 These waters filter through moss and leaves a short distance, then follow the 

 clean, stony bed of the brook down the mountains. 



On pasture land, however, whether wooded or cleared, the trampling of 

 cattle in the stream makes the water muddy and impure with earth and excre- 

 ment, and reduces the filter of leaves, moss, and grass that holds back the 

 impurities. Because of the rapidity with which the water flows from smooth, 

 steep slopes, the streams from the mountain clearings are notabW inconstant. 

 Springs are frequent and many of them, especially in the wooded region, are 

 pure, cool, and perpetual. In general the streams from the forested portions of 

 the mountains are suitable for all uses, but those from pastures and clearings, 

 and especially those that follow roads, are impure. 



The abundant rainfall supplies the numerous streams with a large amount 

 of water, but it is diflicult to use the water for power, as there are no natural 

 reservoirs, and the inconstancy of the streams may cause the suppl}^ to fall short 

 or increase it to a destructive torrent. Variation in stream flow has been 

 notably increased by the clearing awa}' of the forest near the sources of the 

 streams. 



Water power is used in almost every settlement for grinding and sawing, 

 but the greater portion of the 1,000,000 horsepower estimated to be available on 

 the streams rising in these mountains remains undeveloped. 



AGRICULTURE. 



Agriculture and grazing are more or less successful industries, limited prin- 

 cipally by the steepness of the mountain slopes and their liabilitj' to erosion, 

 and also by the cost of clearing, the distance from market, and the difliculty 

 of maintaining roads. 



The principal crops are grass and corn, but the small grains, fruits, and 

 vegetables usually thrive. Apples and cabbages grown in this region are remark- 

 ably fine. Sorghum and sweet potatoes are commonly grown in the mountains, 

 while along the southeastern slope of the Blue Ridge fields of cotton are occa- 

 sionally seen. 



During the past one hundred years of settlement about 1,272,000 acres, or 

 24 per cent of the whole area, have been cleared. The first clearings were usually 

 made on smooth and productive land, but the increase of population and the 

 rapid exhaustion of the soil have led to the successive clearing of new fields 

 farther up the mountain sides, bej^ond the limit of profitable cultivation. This 

 system of progressive exhaustion and abandonment of the land has led to great 

 10336 No. 3705 2 



