76 THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FORESTS. 



Soil. The soil of the lowlands is a red loam, partly alluvial and very fertile, 

 especially along Horns Branch; that of the mountains is light colored and porous. 



Agricultural value. About 2,000 acres in the lowlands are adapted to agricul- 

 ture. The mountain lands are too steep and have too light a soil for cultivation. 



Timber trees. Chestnut, 20 per cent; chestnut oak, 8 per cent; white oak, 10 

 per cent; red oak, 6 per cent; black oak, 5 per cent; cucumber, 2 per cent; gum, 

 3 per cent; birch, 3 per cent; maple, 5 per cent; hemlock, 3 per cent; linn, 4 per 

 cent; white pine, 1 per cent; other species, 30 per cent. 



Yield. Log timber, 11,472 M feet B. M.; small wood, 152,640 cords. 



Demand. Log timber is worth from $1 to $3 per thousand feet on the 

 stump. 



Accessibility. The longest haul is 14 miles, by a bad wagon road, to Rural 

 Retreat on the Norfolk and Western Railway. The mountain side is steep but 

 offers no especial difficulty to logging. 



Fire. Fires have been unusually severe in this district. Practically all of 

 the timber on 9 square miles on the crests of the mountain and the spurs has 

 been killed, except some scattered black pine. Fires have run lighth' over all 

 of the remaining forest, except that portion north of Horns Branch which is 

 isolated by clearings. 



Second growth. Most of the coves have a good stand of saplings, but the 

 ridges are deficient in young trees, owing to fire. The isolated wood lots are 

 very well stocked with saplings. 



Undergrowth. The whole tract is brushy with sprouts, seedlings, and shrubs. 



Beproduction. Free, except where the seedlings have been injured by fire. 



Hate of growth. Medium. 



Water power. Limited. The creeks are not large and Horns Branch is very 

 inconstant. 



Ownership. Local. 



Occupancy. About 20 families are living in this district. 



Prices of land. Farm lands are worth from $15 to $50 per acre; mountain 

 lands, from 50 cents to $2. 



CRIPPLE CREEK DISTRICT (SMYTH COUNTY, VA.). 



Boundaries. On the north, Oipple Creek; on the east. Horns Branch divide, 

 on the south, the summit of Iron Mountain; on the west, Cressy Creek divide. 



Area. Total, 9.75 square miles; cleared, 2.25 square miles; wooded, 7.50 

 square miles. 



Surface. The lowlands are undulating to rolling; 75 per cent of the tract is 

 mountainous. 



