NOLICHUCKY RIVER BASIN. 117 



Soil. The soil of the lowlands is red clay loam, derived from limestone and 

 alluvial wash; in the mountains it is lighter colored and more porous, but in 

 general it is fertile. 



Agricultural value. About 3 square miles are adapted to farming, but most 

 of this is liable to erosion. 



Timher trees. Oaks, 35 per cent; chestnut, 20 per cent; white pine, 8 per 

 cent; hemlock, 6 per cent; linn, 5 per cent; buckeye, 5 per cent; other species, 

 21 per cent. 



Yield. Ijog timber, 18,816 M feet B. M.; small wood, 211,200 cords. 



Demand. The best of the remaining log timber brings from |1 to $4 per 

 thousand feet on the stump, according to accessibility. 



Accessibility. The South and- Western Railway borders this track on the 

 north and west, and wagon roads extend well into the mountains. 



Fire. Nearly 6,000 acres have been severely burned. Fires are very 

 frequent. 



Second growth. Saplings are abundant near the farm lands, where fire is 

 less common, but on the mountains there is not more than half a stand. 



Undergrowth. Dense laurel lines the ravines, and on the upper slope there 

 are many sprouts and seedlings among huckleberry, azalea, and other brush. 



Reproduction. Free, except where fire has killed the seedlings. White pine 

 is very promising. 



Rate of growth. Rapid. 



Water power. Abundant on Nolichucky River, but hard to control. 



Occupancy. About 60 families are living on this tract. 



Prices of land. Mountain land brings from 50 cents to $2 per acre; farm 

 land, from $10 to $50 per acre. 



NORTH BALD CREEK BASIN (MITCHELL COUNTY, N. C). 



Area. Total, 16 square miles; cleared, 3.5 square miles; wooded, 12.5 square 

 miles. 



Surface. The creek bottom is narrow and interrupted, the foothills are 

 steep, and the mountain sides are rocky and often precipitous. 



Soil. Dark, fertile loam. 



Agricultural -ya^we. Most of the cleared lands yielded good crops of corn 

 and grain at first, but are now in very poor condition, and hardly worth culti- 

 vating, except the alluvial portions. There are not over 500 acres of good farm 

 land in the valle3^ 



Timher trees. Chestnut, 20 per cent; white oak, 10 per cent; linn, 5 per cent; 

 red oak, 5 per cent; sugar maple, 3 per cent; gum, 3 per cent; ash, 2 per cent; 



