132 . THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FORESTS. 



The forest. The higher mountains are still forested, and the ridges and 

 slopes above 3,000 feet are mostly covered, although some of the ridges, as E)lk, 

 Spring Creek, and New Found ridges, have on them large proportions of cleared 

 land and the mountain sides are often dotted with clearings. 



The basin contains 665,360 M feet B. M. of log timber and 4,316,240 cords 

 of small wood. 



The forest in this region is mixed: the oaks and chestnut predominate, with 

 a sprinkle of white pine, hemlock, linn, gum, beech, birch, maple, and hickory, 

 and many other species of less importance. The proportion of species is as 



follows: 



Proportions of specie!^ in French Broad River basin. 



I'er cent. 



Oaks 45 



Hemlock 4 



Buckeye 1 



Beech ... 1 



Other species B 



Hickory -. 3 



Shortleaf pine 1 



Chestnut 20 



Ash 1 



Linn 2 



Birch 3 



Locust 1 



White pine 2 



Cucumber , 1 



Black ^um 4 



Maple 4 



Black pine 1 



Fires, grazing, and culling have greatly reduced the original (jualit}' of the 

 forest. Bordering the farms are many tine stands of sapling second growth, but 

 the remote mountains are full of defective trees and brush. 



Sprouts and seedlings spring up readily. White pine, shortleaf pine, poplar, 

 ash, walnut, and cherry all abound in the forests in the form of promising 

 3'oung trees, and sumac and locust here reproduce rapidly and are well adapted 

 to prevent erosion on the old fields. 



PUNCHEON FORK DISTRICT (mADISON COUNTY, N. c). 



Boundaries. On the north, the Tennessee State line; on the east, the eastern 

 divide of Puncheon Fork; on the south. Laurel Creek; on the west, Ramsay Ridge. 



Area. Total, T square miles; cleared, 0.75 square mile; wooded, 6.25 square 

 miles. 



Surface. Hilly to mountainous. 



