74 THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FORESTS. 



stone, with a few small areas of alluvium along the creeks. Mountain soils are 

 derived from quartzites and schists and are light colored and rather inferior. 



Agricultural value. The lowlands are very productive. About 3,000 acres 

 are well adapted to agriculture. The mountain lands are suitable only for tim- 

 ber growing. 



Timber trees. White oak, 25 per cent; other oaks, 20 per cent; chestnut, 20 

 per cent; hemlock, 5 per cent; white pine, 1 per cent; other species, 29 per cent. 



Yield. Ijo^ timber, 8,560 M feet B. M.; small wood, 205,440 cords. 



Demand. The best log timber brings from $1 to $3 per thousand feet on 

 the stump. 



Accessibility. The longest haul is about 16 miles, by a rough and hilly wagon 

 road, to Crocketts or Wytheville. The northward slopes are generally smooth 

 and offer no special difficulty to logging. 



Fire. Frequent fires overrun the whole tract. The drier portions along the 

 ridges have been severel}^ burned and most of the timber killed. 



Second growth. There is about a half stand of saplings of good timber 

 species on this tract. Much of the land has been cut over for charcoal, and on 

 such tracts the stand if good. On the ridges where much burned, the stand is 

 deficient. 



Undergrowth. In general, light. There is but little laurel, and but few 

 seedlings and shrubs under the trees and saplings. 



Re^yroduction. Free, except for fire. 



Hate of growth. Medium. 



Water powet\ Limited, except on Cripple Creek, along which there are sev- 

 eral good mill sites. 



Ownership). Mining companies own most of the mountain lands. 



Occupancy. About 50 families are now living on this tract. 



Prices of land. The farm lands are worth about |30 per acre; mountain 

 lands, from $1 to $5. 



SPEEDWELL DISTRICT (WYTHE COUNTY, VA.). 



Boundaries. On the north. Cripple Creek; on the east, the western divide 

 of Francis Mill Creek; on the south, the crest of Iron Mountain; on the west, 

 the eastern divide of Kinser Creek. 



Area. Total, 20 square miles; cleared, 3.25 square miles; wooded, 16.75 

 square miles. 



Surface. Hilly to mountainous. 



Soil. In the lower valleys the soil is derived largely from limestone, and is 

 a red clayey loam; in the mountains it is derived from quartzites and schists, 

 and is light colored and porous. 



