110 THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FORESTS. 



Area. Total, 42 square miles; cleared, 15 square miles; wooded, 27 square 

 miles. 



Surface. Hilly and mountainous, except where alluvial lands occur along 

 creek bottoms, as about Banners Elk and below Cranberry. 



Soil. In general a dark, fertile loam. 



Agricultural value. Grass is very productive on new lands; the alluvial lands 

 are well adapted to corn. In this region there is less erosion because the numerous 

 quartz pebbles protect the surface. 



Timher trees. Chestnut, 16 per cent; white oak, 10 per cent; hemlock, 10 per 

 cent; chestnut oak, 3 per cent; red oak, 8 per cent; maple, 5 per cent; buckeye, 

 5 per cent; linn, 4 per cent; cucumber, 3 per cent; black oak, 3 per cent; white 

 pine, 2 per cent; gum, 1 per cent; ash, 2 per cent; other species, 30 per cent. 



Yield. Log timber, 58,320 M feet B. M. ; small wood, 907,200 cords. 



Demand. Stumpage prices range from $1 to $3 per thousand feet, according 

 to accessibility and quality. Hemlock bark brings $4 and chestnut-oak bark 5 

 per cord at Elk Park. 



Accessibility. The nearest railroad point is Elk Park, 15 miles, by a rough 

 wagon road, from the remotest part of this tract. Many of the slopes are very 

 steep, and logging is expensive. 



Fire. Though fires are frequent they have not killed much timber, but the 

 forest has been greatly reduced. 



Second growth. Saplings are abundant on the lower slopes, but scant on the 

 upper southern slopes, of Beech Mountain. 



Undergrowth. Brushy with laurel and other shrubs and with sprouts and 

 seedlings. 



Reproduction. Lands cut over are quickly restocked with sprouts and seedlings 

 of chestnut and oak. White pine and hemlock come in rapidly on old pastures. 

 Maple and oak seedlings are usually abundant under timber, and spring up quickly 

 after cutting. 



Rate of growth. Rapid. 



Water poiver. Elk Creek has abundant fall. The amount of water is enough 

 lor large mills. 



Ownership. The land is held principally by residents, though several large 

 tracts about Hanging Rock and Beech Mountains are owned by nonresidents. 



Occupancy. About 200 families are living in this basin. 



Prices of land. Mountain land is worth from $2 to $5 per acre; farm land, 

 from $15 to 



