46 



THE SOUTHEBN APPALACHIAN FORESTS. 



Condition of hemlock in Mitchell County, N. C. 



White oak.^-The rate of growth of the white oak varies widely according 

 to the soil and elevation. A group of six trees growing with white pines on a 

 sandy loam soil, at an elevation of 4,000 feet, in Mitchell County, N, C, show 

 extremely slow growth. Undoubtedly the shade of the white pine has something 

 to do with the very slow growth of these trees, but other species at the same 

 elevation and slightly higher, associated with chestnut and maple, show about 

 the same rate of growth. 



Summary of measurements of six white oaks, under poor conditions of growth, Mitchell County, N. C. 

 [Elevation, 4,000 feet; soil, a sandy loam; aspect, northwest.] 



Age years. . 214 



Diameter of stump, inside bark inches. . 17. 2 



Average increase in diameter of stump for each decade do 0.8 



Increase in diameter for last ten years do 5 



Height feet . . 81 



Length of merchantable timber do 31 



Merchantable timber feet B. M. . 178 



On alluvial bottoms and in moist hollows, especially those with southern 

 exposure, the growth is more rapid. A group of nine trees was measured on 

 the alluvial lands of Catawba River near Marion, N. C, at an elevation of about 

 1,300 feet. These trees probably grow more rapidly than the white oak in most 

 situations in the Southern Appalachians, as the soils are exceptionally suited for 

 forest growth, and the elevation is low and the climate warm. However, 

 measurements of single trees on limestone soils in eastern Tennessee seemed to 

 show that the rate of growth of the white oak in such situations is nearly as 

 rapid as on Catawba River. 



