LITTLE TENNESSEE RIVER BASIN 181 



River and Scott Creek, and there are many badly worn steep slopes on these 

 streams and elsewhere. 



The forest. In general, the mountain ranges and spurs, and also the ridge 

 lands of the valleys, are still principally wooded, although many clearings are 

 found in mountain coves and on mountain slopes. The principal clearings, how- 

 ever, are on and about the alluvial lands. The largest unbroken forest areas lie on 

 Oconalufty, Cheowah, and Tuckasegee rivers, in the northern, northwestern, and 

 northeastern parts of the basin, though there are some areas of fine forest at the 

 head of Nantahala and Little Tennessee rivers, at the southern part of the basin. 

 The forest contains 2,577,419 M feet B. M., and 14,931,190 cords of small wood. 



The best timber has been largely culled for 20 miles from the Southern 

 Railway, which crosses the middle of the basin. Repeated forest fires, started 

 with a view to improve the pasturage, have destroyed much timber on dry south 

 slopes, and by continued suppression of the young growth have greatly reduced 

 the density. Reproduction, however, is good, and if the open woods were pro- 

 tected there would soon be a fine young growth beneath the old trees. Proper 

 distribution of species could easily be secured by judicious cutting. 



At lower elevations the forests are of oaks and hickories, associated with 

 black pine. On the thin soil of the slopes, along the Blue Ridge, small scarlet 

 and white oaks, with occasional bodies of hemlock, form the forest; while else- 

 where in the mountains typical Appalachian hard woods prevail, with some few 

 thousand acres of black spruce, capping the highest summits of the Smoky and 

 Balsam mountains. The proportions of timber species are as follows: 



Proportions of timber species in Little Tennessee River basin. 



Per cent. 



Oaks 40 



Hemlock 5 



Ash 2 



Linn 3 



Black pine 1 



Birch 3 



Chestnut 20 



Spruce 1 



Other species 10 



Black gum 1 



Maple 2 



White pine 1 



Poplar 3 



Cucumber 1 



Buckeye 2 



Beech 1 



Hickory 4 



