LITTLE TENNESSEE RIVEE BASIN. 211 



Demand. There is active demand for the best qualities of shipping lumber, 

 and only the best qualities can be cut on account of the long- haul to the railroad. 



Cutting. There are several small mills at present in operation, and it is 

 reported that a railroad is to be built up the stream from some point on the 

 Asheville and Murphy Branch of the Southern Railway and a large sawmill 

 operated in connection with it. Some of the best timber has been cut out for 

 several miles up the river and floated to the mills at Dillsboro. It was found, 

 however, to be unprofitable and was abandoned. 



Second growth. There is no second growth of importance, except oak and 

 chestnut sprouts in the farm woodland. 



Undergrowth. Both Kahnla and rhododendron form dense thickets in many 

 places. 



Rate of growth. Accretion is good, except at high elevations. 



Water power. There is suflScient fall in the river to obtain considerable 

 power at many places. Many small gristmills are at present using a part of this 

 power. 



Prices of land. Farming land sells at 14 to $25 per acre; woodland, at $2 

 to $10. 



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



Area. Total, 11 square miles; cleared, 2 square miles; wooded, 9 square 

 miles; severely burned, none. 



Surface. The topography of the Buck Creek basin is extremely broken. 

 A few miles above its mouth the stream divides; the eastern fork heads under 

 the steep slopes of Yellow Mountain, while the western heads under Hamburg 

 Mountain. The hillsides are for the most part steep and rocky. The amount 

 of alluvial bottom is limited to narrow tracts bordering the stream, and most 

 of it is rocky. 



Soil. The soil is a gray, sandy loam, much of it coarse and rocky, derived 

 in large part from the decay in situ of a coarse granite. Over a portion of the 

 area it is derived from metamorphosed sandstones, and is deeper, finer gi-ained, 

 and more fertile. On account of the steep slopes, however, nearly all soils wash 

 badly when denuded or cultivated, and are subject to drought, especially on the 

 south slopes. 



Humus and litter. On the steep upper slopes, especially on the southern 

 faces of Yellow and Hamburg mountains and their southern spurs, there is very 

 little leaf mold, as the slopes are steep and have washed badly, and ground 

 fires are frequent and severe. There is an excellent accumulation of humus, 

 however, in the deep hollows opening to the north on the lower part of the 

 stream. 



