FRENCH BROAD RIVER BASIN ABOVE SKYLAND. 131 



Prices of land. Farming land sells at $5 to $30 per acre; woodland, at 



$2 to $5. 



FRENCH BROAD RIVER BASIN ABOVE SKYLAND. 



Topography. French Broad River drains the Blue Ridge from Swannanoa 

 Gap to Panther Tail Mountain (62 miles) and reaches entirely across the 

 mountain region, which it leaves near the Tennessee line, after flowing across it 

 for a distance of 80 miles. Around the borders of this basin are the Craggy 

 Mountains, Swannanoa Mountains, and Estatoe, Panther Tail, Pizgah, and Max 

 Patch peaks, all high and forest covered. In Madison County, where the river 

 has cut through the northwestern rim of the plateau, is a large area of broken 

 mountainous ridges, with ver}" high and rocky slopes. A great portion of the 

 interior basin, however, is smooth enough and fertile enough for grazing or 

 farming. The basin has an area of 555,840 acres, of which 51 per cent is 

 forested. 



Soli. The soil is extremely variable, though in general very good. That 

 of the lower hills is a red cla}^ a line sediraentar}^ deposit. It is fertile and 

 recuperates readily, but erodes rapidly when uncovered. The ridge land, as 

 usual, is well adapted to grass, but if closely pastured erodes rapidly and soon 

 becomes worthless. The best soil is found in the coves and on the broad alluvial 

 bottoms which border the river and its larger tributaries from the Blue Ridge 

 in the southeast to the head of the gorge near Marshall. 



Agriculture. Substantially all the lowland is occupied by farmers, and much 

 of the basin is very productive and well adapted to mixed farming. This is, in 

 fact, one of the best agricultural valleys to be found in the East. The principal 

 difficulties to be met are erosion of surface soil on the hills and destructive 

 floods on the bottoms. Much of the mountain region is also under cultivation. 

 The cove lands are mostly cleared, and cleared mountain-side pastures dot the 

 landscape. 



Tobacco growing on the lighter soils of the hills exhausted field after field, 

 and finally the whole industry was abandoned, leaving large ai'eas of desolate 

 land exposed to the cutting action of water. The same process has been in 

 operation on old farm land and pastures until on many small tracts, as on the 

 southern slopes of Poverty Hollow, near Barnardsville, there is but little soil 

 left. There is hardly a farm in the entire basin that is not more or less gullied, 

 although much care is taken by a few of the more thoughtful farmers to keep 

 the earth covered by a vigorous crop. The inundations of the bottom lands also 

 cause serious damage, and the general testimony is that they increase ias more 

 land is cleared. 



