WATAUGA RIVER BASIN. 97 



only difficulty to logging, and a considerable one, is getting the logs down the 

 steep and rocky mountain sides. 



Fire. Fires have been frequent and severe; timber is very inferior because 

 of them. 



Second growtJi. There are very few saplings, because of frequent fires. 



Undergrowth. Light. 



ReprodttAitimi. Reproduction is low on account of fires. 



Rate of growth. Medium, 



Water power. Doe River, on the western boundary, would furnish power 

 for a factory of considerable size, except during dry times. It is impossible to 

 hold anj^ great amount of water by dams on this stream. 



Occupancy. There are 8 or 10 families living along the foot of the moun- 

 tain near Doe River, outside of Roan Mountain village. 



Prices of land. From %\ to f2 per acre. 



LAUREL FORK DISTRICT (CARTER COUNTY, TENN.), 



Boundaries. The wagon road from Hampton to Butler forms the northern 

 boundar}^, elsewhere the divides which separate this basin from that of Doe River 

 on the west and Elk Creek on the east. 



Area. Total, 21.50 square miles; cleared, 1.50 square miles; wooded, 20 

 square miles. 



Surface. Hilly to mountainous. 



Soil. The soil is derived from gneiss and is naturally very fertile, but owing 

 to steep slopes is liable to wash. 



Agricultural value. Less than 1 per cent of the area is adapted to agricul- 

 ture, as most of it is too steep for cultivation. 



Timber treses. The principal species are white pine, 10 per cent; hemlock, 6 

 per cent; oaks, 40 per cent; chestnut, 20 per cent; poplar, ash, cherry, walnut, 

 birch, linn, buckeye, etc., together, 24 per cent. 



Yield. hog timber, 71,040 M f eet B. M.; small wood, 90,880 cords. 



Demand. This tract is being logged and the timber hauled to the Cranberry 

 Railway. Stumpage values do not exceed $2 per thousand feet. 



Accessihility. The basin is drained through a sharp, deep canyon, unfavorable 

 to roads. The logs now being cut are hauled by tramway across White Rock 

 Mountain to the railway below Roan Mountain station. 



Fire. Only the ridges and steeper slopes have been repeatedly burned. 



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

 steepest slopes. 



10336 No. 3705 7 



