130 THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FOEESTS. 



Area. Total, 13 square miles; cleared, 6 square miles; wooded, 7 square 

 miles; severely burned, very little. 



Surface. The Green Mountains penetrate the southwestern portion of the 

 area, and from them numerous small streams descend into Toe River, dividing 

 the area into a series of deep narrow hollows and alternating- high ridges. 



Soil. Gray or red loams or loose loams, derived from gneiss and schists, are 

 the prevailing soils. They are generally deep and fairly fine in texture and free 

 from stones. 



Humus and litter. In the deep hollows, especially on the north side of the 

 mountain, there is much leaf mold. The woodland is subject to pasturage, 

 however, and this tends to prevent the accumulation of humus. 



AgTlctdtural value. There are only a few narrow strips of alluvium. The 

 upland soils are fairly productive, but on account of the steep slopes, unless 

 carefully managed and kept in grass, are subject to wash. Corn, grass, small 

 grains, and apples all do well. 



Tiiriber tree.'<. Chestnut, red oak, scarlet oak, and sourwood, with hickory 

 and black gum, form the greater part of the forests, though the more typical 

 mountain hard woods are found in the deep hollows around the mountain. 



Yield. llh^ -forests will cut from 2,000 to 3,0tK) feet B. M. per acre. 



DeifMnd. There is considerable demand for shipping lumber of all hard 

 woods. 



Accessibility. The lowest part of the area is 8 miles from the nearest rail- 

 road station. Wagon roads cross nearly every part of the area. 



Gutting. Considerable cutting has been done at different times, and the best 

 part of the merchantable shipping timber has been removed. 



Second groidh. The second growth is not very abundant and is confined to 

 the woodland associated with the farms. It consists largely of scarlet oak, 

 chestnut, and sourwood sprouts. 



Undergrowth. There is considerable brush in many places, generally Kalmia., 

 with azalea and huckleberr3^ Where the woods are burned at irregular intervals 

 there is often a dense undergrowth of stool sprouts from small trees and shrubs 

 killed by the fires. 



Reproduction. Reproduction is generally good, both in cut and burned dis- 

 tricts, unless the young trees are eaten down by cattle. 



Rate of growth. Accretion is normal for the elevation and aspect. 



Water power. The streams are too small to afford more than the smallest 

 power. 



Ownership. There are about 2(> families living in the area who own practi- 

 cally all the land. The woodland is divided into small holdings. 



