LITTLE TENNESSEE EIVER BASIN. 187 



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



Area. Total, 9 square miles; cleared, 2 square miles; wooded, 7 square miles; 

 severely burned, slig'ht. 



Surface. The surface of the basin is rough throughout. The lower part is 

 hardly more than a gorge, and there is no bottom land on the creek. Most of 

 the farms are in the upper part of the basin. 



Soils. The soils are gray loam's and loose loams, derived from gneiss, and 

 are not very deep, even on the most gentle slopes. 



Humus and litter. There is very little humus along crests and on southern 

 slopes, but it has accumulated to a considerable depth in the deep hollows, except 

 where they have been excessivel}" pastured. 



Agricultural value. Corn is t-he staple crop. Some small grain and some 

 apples are produced. Irish potatoes do well, and some grass is raised, especial h^ 

 on the north slopes at high elevations. The land is too rough, however, and the 

 soils too sandy and thin to make agriculture profitable. The farms are small, in 

 many cases too small to comfortably support those dependent upon them. 



Timher trees. Oaks form about 50 per cent of the forest, chestnut about 20 

 per cent, hemlock about 7 per cent, while birch, ash, poplar, and maple 

 constitute the greater part of the rest. 



Held. The yield is 2,000 feet B. M. or more per acre, except on the crests 

 of the ridges. 



Deriiand.Th^ve, is no local demand, except for low-grade lumber for domestic 

 building, and chestnut and locust for fencing and posts. Some of the finest 

 lumber has been sawed and hauled to Bryson Citj", but the distance is too great 

 for this to be profitable. 



Second growth. The second growth is largely confined to the woodland 

 adjoining farms, which has been extensively culled for farming uses, and consists 

 largely of oak and chestnut sprouts, with, in some places, a considerable inter- 

 mixture of sour wood. 



Undergrowth. There is very little Kalmia and rhododendron. In some 

 places the woods are brushy where they have been burned. 



Bejyroduction. Most of the species reproduce well by seed and b}" stool 

 sprouts from stumps of young trees after cutting or burning. 



Rate of growth. In the warm, moist hollows very good growth is made. 

 Accretion is less rapid on the dryer slopes and at high elevations. 



Water powet\ The stream is too small to afford any power suitable for 

 manufacturing purposes. 



(honership. The forest land is held in small areas b}^ residents. 



Occuyancy. The upper part of the basin is thickl}^ settled, there being 15 



