LITTLE TENNESSEE RIVER BASIN. 185 



drier soils. There is some yellow pine associated with the hardwoods in the 

 lower part of the basin, and a very little hemlock, maple, and birch in the cool 

 hollows in the upper part of the valley. 



Yield. The yield is about 2,500 feet B. M. per acre. 



Demand. There is a fair local demand for low-grade timber. There is no 

 demand, however, for lumber for shipping. The best grades of timber have a 

 local value of 50 cents to $1 per thousand feet on the stump. 



Accessibility. The valley is practically cut off from transportation facilities. 

 The nearest railway point is Dillsboro, on the Ashe vi He and Murphy Branch of 

 the Southern Railway. It can be reached only by crossing the lofty range of the 

 Cowee Mountains by a rough wagon road, by which it is 15 miles from the nearest 

 point in the valley. 



Cutting. There are no mills at present cutting on the stream, except small 

 water mills with a limited capacity, which are sawing for local use. The best 

 poplar has already been removed and the greater part of the good oak. 



Second growth. Oak and chestnut sprouts form the greater part of the 

 second growth. In the lower part of the basin there is some yellow pine in 

 culled woods and a few thickets entirely of pine in waste land. 



Undergrowth. The forest is generally open, with the exception of occasional 

 thickets of ivy or other shrubs and young trees. Where they have been badly 

 burned recently brush is abundant. 



Reproduction. Most* of the species reproduce well, though fires greatly 

 check reproduction, especially on the drier slopes. 



Jiate of growth. Accretion is normal for the aspect and elevation. 



WatefT power. The stream is too small to afford more than a limited power, 

 but has ample fall. 



Ownership. The forest land is divided into small holdings in the possession 

 of residents. 



Occupancy. The entire basin is thickly settled. 



Prices of land. Woodland sells at %\ to $3 per acre; farming land, at 

 $5 to $40 per acre. 



BRADLEY CREEK BASIN (mACON COUNTY, N. C). 



Area. Total, 3 square miles; cleared, 1 square mile; wooded, 2 square miles: 

 burned, none. 



Surface. Bradley Creek drains a small basin with a southwesterly slope. 

 The upper portion of the basin lies on the steep slopes of the Alarka Mountanii- 

 and is very rough; the lower part is gorge-like where the streams break through 

 into Tennessee Ri\rer. 



