204 THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FORESTS. 



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



Area. Total, 15 square miles; cleared, 1 square mile; wooded, 14 square miles; 

 severely burned, none. 



Surface. This stream drains a fan-shaped basin sloping toward the north. 

 The upper part of the basin, on the slopes of the Valley River Mountains, is very 

 rough and steep, but in the lower part there are gentle slopes and the land is 

 not so rocky. 



Humus and litter. There is a good bed of leaf mold in nearlj^ the entire 

 forest, except along the crests and on the steepest southern slopes. 



Agricultural value. The soils in the lower valley are of good quality and 

 produce well in corn, small grain, fruit, and potatoes. The steeper slopes are not 

 suited for tillage, but make good grass lands. 



Soil. The soils are loams and loose loams, occasionally stiff, derived in large 

 part from metamorphosed sandstone. They are often rocky, and on the steeper 

 slopes are apt to wash when denuded. 



Timher trees. Chestnut, scarlet oak, white oak, hemlock, birch, hickory, ash, 

 poplar, and linn, in relative abundance about in the order named, compose the 

 greater part of the forest. The hemlock forms a compact forest of about 400 

 acres on the upper waters of the creek. About one-third of the standing hard- 

 wood timber is chestnut and about 20 per cent is scarlet oak. 



Yield. ThQ hemlock forest will cut from 8,000 to 10,000 feet B. M. per 

 acre, and yield besides about 10 cords of tan bark. The hard woods will cut 

 from 3,000 to 4,000 feet B. M. per acre, except in the very lowest part of the 

 valley, where the greater part of the merchantable timber has been cut. In 

 addition to the milling timber there is from 30 to 40 cords of small wood per 

 acre. 



Demand. Good oak, ash, poplar, and linn are sought for. Stumpage is worth 

 from $2 to $3 per thousand feet. 



Accessibility. The creek empties into Nantahala River about 8 miles above 

 the mill of the Nantahala Lumber Company, and logs can be floated down the 

 river to this mill or to the station of the Southern Railway. It is about 7 miles 

 from the head of the creek, across the Valley River Mountains, to Andrews, 

 a station on the Asheville and Murphy Branch of the Southern Railwa3^ 



Cutting. Considerable timber has been cut on the lower part of the stream, 

 chiefly oak, poplar, ash, and linn, and floated down the river. There has been 

 culling on some of the land in the upper part of the basin, but only the best 

 trees have been cut. No tan bark has been stripped. 



Fire. There have been no fires in recent years, except along the tops of 

 the ridges or on dry slopes. 



