166 THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FORESTS. 



farm wocdland and some second-growth pine, which, under good care, will be of 

 great importance in the future as a building material. 



Undergrowth. The undergrowth is generally scant; there are a few Kalmia 

 thickets, and in some places a deciduous underbrush. 



Reproduction. The hard woods reproduce freely by seed and b}^ stool shoots, 

 and the pine abundantlj^ wherever it is afforded good light conditions and a suit- 

 able growing bed. 



Rate of growth. Accretion is rapid. Scarlet and black oaks, which are the 

 most common oaks on the red-clay hills, have reached, at the age of 100 years, 

 an average stump diameter of about 18 inches. 



Wate?' power. This part of the river is rather sluggish, and there are only a 

 few available sites for dams. The river would probabl}^ yield about 10 horse- 

 power per foot fall; this power is being used at present by two gristmills. 



Ownership. The land is largely owned by residents. 



Prices of land. Farming land sells at $5 to $100 per acre; some of the 

 best bottoms at even more than the extreme tigure. Woodland sells at $2 to 

 $20 per acre. 



FINES CREEK BASIN (hAYWOOD COUNTY, N. c). 



Area. Total, 26 square miles; cleared, 8 square miles; wooded, 18 square 

 miles; severely burned, little. 



Surface. The creek drains a narrow basin lying between two spurs of the 

 Newfound Mountains. There are several tributaries of some size. Small areas 

 of alluvial bottom land occur along the stream, except near its mouth, where 

 the hills reach almost to its banks. There is considerable rolling land and iiills 

 of gentle slope in the middle and upper portions of the basin, but a great deal 

 of the land is very steep. In spite of the steepness grass farms extend to the 

 head of the stream and are in excellent condition. 



Soils. ^The soils are gray loams, derived from gneiss, generally fine grained 

 and free from rock. They are moderately deep and in spite of their steepness 

 do not wash much on denudation. 



Agricultural value. Corn and grass are the staple crops. Some small grain 

 is produced, chiefly oats, but the amount is slight when compared with that of 

 corn. Apples do well. A great many cattle are raised and grazing is the 

 chief occupation. The lands, even when steep, if the}" are kept in grass, wash 

 very little. 



Humus and litter. Except on some of the burned land in the mountains 

 and on some of the steepest and driest south slopes, leaf mold has generally 

 accumulated to a considerable depth. Some cattle and sheep are forest pastured, 

 but not enough to seriously interfere with the ground cover. 



