WATAUGA RIVER BASIN. 99 



Surface. Mountainous, steep, and rocky. 



Soil. Light loam. 



Agricultural value. About 6 per cent of this land is adapted to agriculture. 



Timber'' trees. Oaks, 40 per cent; pines, 10 per cent; chestnut, 10 per cent; 

 other species, 40 per cent. 



Yield. hog timber, 7,040 M feet B. M.; small wood, 47,680 cords. 



Demand. The best of the standing timber brings $2 to $4 per thousand feet. 



Accessibility. Wagon roads surround the tract on all sides, and railroads 

 border it on the northeast and southwest. The slopes are steep and rocky, and 

 the ravines are very brushy. 



J^ire. ^Fires are very frequent, and the forest is of inferior quality because 

 of them. 



Second growth. Saplings are inferior because of frequent fires. There are 

 not half enough for a good stand. 



Undergrotnth. There is a dense cover of brush, consisting of sprouts from 

 cut and burned stumps, a few tree seedlings, and bushes, such as huckleberry, 

 azalea, laurel, and rhododendron. 



Reproduction. Seedlings start freely, but are generally subdued annually by 

 the fires. 



Rate of grovjth. Rather slow on ridges, but rapid in coves. 



Water power. Abundant power may be found on both Watauga and Doe 

 rivers. 



Ownershij). Most of this tract is held by residents. 



Occv2)ancy. Only the foothills are occupied at present. 



Prices of land. From $1 to $.5 per acre. 



STONY CREEK DISTRICT (cARTER COUNTY, TENN.). 



Boundaries. The summit of Holston Mountain on the north, Iron Mountain 

 on the south, and the Virginia and Southwestern Railway on the west. 



Area. Total, 70 square miles; cleared, 20 square miles; wooded, 50 square 

 miles. 



Surface. There are considerable areas of level to undulating land along 

 Watauga River on the lower portion of Stony Creek. The foothills, comprising 

 about 15 square miles, are rolling to hilly, while the mountain ridges on each 

 side of the valley are high, steep, and rocky. 



Soil. The crests of the mountains being of quartzite, the derived soil is 

 light and porous on the ridges; the slopes are of loam, thoroughly fertile, but 

 quite liable to wash; the lowlands are rather sandy, but when new produce 

 excellent farm crops. 



