170 THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FORESTS. 



Second growth. There is usuall}^ an abundant stand of saplings. 



Undergrowth. Dense laurel lines the bottoms. There are many seedlings 

 elsewhere, except where closely pastured. 



Rate of growth. Rapid. 



Water power. Abundant on the main creek. 



Occupancy. About 25 families are scattered along the lower course of the 

 creek and in the coves about its head. 



Prices of land. Mountain land is valued at $1 to $4 per acre; farm land, at 

 $5 to $15. 



BRIAR COVE DISTRICT (SEVIER COUNTY, TENN.). 



Boundaries. The divides comprising all of the drainage basin of the East 

 Fork of Little Pigeon River above the mouth of Webb Creek. 



Area. Total, 65.32 square miles; cleared, 5 square miles; burned, 3 square 

 miles, wooded, 57.32 square miles. 



Surface. Mountainous, with small areas along the river and in coves smooth 

 enough to be arable. 



Soil. Very fertile in coves and along the river, but on ridges light and 

 unproductive. 



Humus and litter. Abundant, except on the higher ridges and on some 

 burns in the valley of the East Prong. 



Agricultural value. Most crops do well. Grass, corn, and fruit are the 

 principal crops grown. 



Timber trees. Hemlock, 5 per cent; red oak, 5 per cent; scarlet oak, 6 per 

 cent; poplar, 1 per cent; cherry, 2 per cent; peawood, 4 per cent; buckeye, 5 

 per cent; cucumber, 5 per cent; red maple, 6 per cent; sugar maple, 6 per cent; 

 gum, 3 per cent; spruce, 5 per cent; beech, 3 per cent; yellow birch, 6 per 

 cent; sweet birch, 6 per cent; linn, 5 per cent; chestnut, 10 per cent; and some 

 white oak, black oak, butternut, walnut, and hickory. 



Yield. \jOg timber, 138,240 M feet B. M.: small wood, 400,000 cords. 



Demand. Poplar, ash, and cherry are worth $2.50 per thousand feet on the 

 stump, while linn, buckeye, gum, maple, etc., bring only 50 cents per thousand 

 feet. 



Accessibility. Portable mills are set near the uppermost clearings in the 

 main valleys. The standing timber is nearly all above these points and diflScult 

 of access. The slopes are steep, and the roads must be rocky. The nearest 

 shipping points are Newport and Sevierville. 



Cutting. The most accessible timber, including all the lower slopes, has 

 been culled out. Some tan bark has been taken out, but much remains, as the 

 prices have been too low. 



