SOUTH FORK OF HOLSTON RIVER BASIN (SOUTHERN TRIBUTARIES). 83 



Water power. There is very little power on the South Fork of Holston 

 River. 



Ownership. Entirely local. 



Occapancy. About 15 families are now living in this valley. 



Prices of land. Farm lands are worth from $10 to $60 per acre; mountain 

 lands, from %\ to $2 per acre. 



COMO CREEK BASIN (SMTTH COUNTY, VA.). 



Area. Total, 15.75 square miles; cleared, 2.50 square miles; wooded, 13.25 

 square miles. 



Surface. Mountainous. 



Soil. On the ridges the soil is light and porous; in the coves it is only 

 moderately fertile. There are small areas of limestone soil in the lower valley. 



Agricultural value. On the lowlands corn, grass, and grain do well, but the 

 mountain lands are too steep and rough for farming. About 1,200 acres of this 

 basin are adapted to agriculture. 



Timber trees. White oak, 10 per cent; red oak, 10 per cent; chestnut oak, 

 3 per cent; chestnut, 20 per cent; cucumber, 10 per cent; linn, 5 per cent; birch, 

 10 per cent; maple, 10 per cent; hemlock, 5 per cent; white pine, 1 per cent; 

 other species, 16 per cent. 



Yield. hog timber, 35,760 M feet B. M.; small wood, 166,400 cords. 



Dennand. The best of the remaining timber would bring from %\ to $2.50 

 per thousand feet on the stump. 



Accessibility. The remotest part of this tract is nearly 20 miles, by a rough 

 and often muddy wagon road, from the railroad at Marion. The mountain sides 

 are steep, rocky, and brushy. Logging would be difficult. , 



Fire. The summits of the ridges have been severely burned. The slopes 

 have been occasionally overrun by light fires. 



Second growth. Saplings are abundant, except on the ridges and drier slopes. 



Undergrowth. Dense laurel and other brush cover the north slopes and the 

 ravines. 



Reproduction. Free on close cuttings protected from fire; elsewhere deficient. 



Rate of growth. Rapid. 



Water power. On the lower portion of the creek and on the South Fork of 

 Holston River are several favorable sites for factories using a moderate power. 



Occupancy. About 10 families are now living in this basin. 



Prices of land. Mountain land is worth from $2 to $6 per acre; farm land, 

 from $10 to 130 per acre. 



