202 THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FORESTS. 



Ownership. The lower portion is owned by residents. There are onl}" 2 

 families on the creek, and the clearings extend only a quarter of a mile above 

 the mouth. 



JARRETT CREEK BASIN (mACON COUNTY, N. c). 



Area. Total, 6 square miles; cleared, 1 square mile; wooded, 5 square 

 miles; severely burned, very little. 



Surface. The basin along the lower 3 miles of the creek is a narrow valle3% 

 walled in by high and steep slopes; above it broadens out with some rolling 

 land and gentle slopes beyond the alluvial bottoms, and this character of countr}'^ 

 extends to the head of the stream. One mile above the mouth there are 

 limited alluvial bottoms. The fall of the creek is very rapid for the first 3 

 miles; above that it is more gentle. The mountain slopes of the lower valle}^ 

 are rough and rocky and offer few situations for further clearing. There are 

 probabl}^ 200 acres, however, on the rolling land near and at the head of the 

 creek, suitable for cultivation. 



tSoil. The soil of the lower valley is a graj^ loam, occasionally loose, but 

 often rocky, derived from metamorphosed sandstone. That of the upper valley 

 is sandy, derived in part from granite and gneiss. 



Humus and litter. On the north slopes there is a deep accumulation of 

 leaves and litter. It is often thin on steep south slopes, particularly in the 

 upper part of the basin, or where there have been fires. In many places there 

 is much grass. 



Agricultural value. The land is fairly productive. Corn, small grain, tobacco, 

 apples, potatoes, and grass are the chief crops. Howard, pippin, baldwin, winesap, 

 and buff apples all do well. 



Timber trees. Scarlet oak, chestnut, white oak, black oak, hemlock, birch, 

 ash, and an occasional poplar, in relative abundance about in the order named, 

 compose the greater part of the forest. On the south sides and on the crests 

 of ridges there is some chestnut oak. The scarlet oak forms about 30 per cent 

 of the stand, chestnut about 30 per cent, white oak and black oak about 10 per 

 cent each. Hemlock is for the most part confined to the banks of the streams 

 and to deep, north hollows. 



Yield. Tii^ forest will cut from 2,000 to 3,000 feet B. M. per acre. It will 

 yield somewhat more than this in the heavily wooded north coves, while on the 

 steep southern slopes and ridges the cut will be less than 1,000 feet per acre, 

 the greater part being red oak and chestnut timber of low grade. In addition 

 to the milling timber there are about 30 cords of small wood per acre and 

 about one-half cord of oak and hemlock tan bark per acre. The forests of the 

 lower valley have been much culled for domestic use and all the merchantable 



