212 THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FORESTS. 



Timher trees. White oak, scarlet oak, chestnut, black oak, chestnut oak, 

 hickory, yellow poplar, red oak, birch, linn, and ash, in relative abundance about 

 in the order named, form the greater part of the forest. The scarlet oak, white 

 oak, chestnut, and chestnut oak form the dominant growth on the steep southern 

 slopes. The trees are small in size and the forest contains little merchantable 

 timber . be3^ond the fuel and tan bark. Yellow poplar, birch, linn, hemlock, and 

 ash are confined to the cool north slopes and hollows. 



Yield. The average stand per acre is 2,000 to 3,000 feet B. M. of mer- 

 chantable timber, except on the steepest and most stonj^ southern slopes, where 

 in many places it is less than 500 feet. In addition to the mill timber there are 

 about 14 cords of small wood and about 1 cord of oak and hemlock tan bark 

 per acre 



Demand. There is at present no demand for timber 



Accessibility. The mouth of the stream is 35 miles from Dillsboro, the nearest 

 railway station, by way of a rough road. Cullasagee River, into which Buck 

 Creek flows, is large enough to float logs, and some timber has been cut, especially 

 on the lower part of the creek, and floated down the river. 



Omitting. There is no mill at present on the creek, though a small one was 

 operated for a short time. Much of the best timber, however, has been culled 

 for domestic use. 



I^ire. Nearly all of the south slopes have been badly burned, and much 

 of the mature timber has defective butts. A great part of the young growth 

 has been reduced to stool shoots, there being often half a dozen sprouts from 

 the same stump, the result of repeated fires. 



Reproduction. Nearly all of the broad-leaved species, when small, sprout 

 freely from the stump when cut or fire killed. This is especially true of the 

 scarlet oak, chestnut, and white oak. Where protected from fire, and suitable 

 light conditions prevail, there are abundant seedlings of nearly all the species, 

 especially of the oaks, birches, and chestnut. 



Second growth. Second-growth timber is scant. A large part, especially in 

 the thin woods on the southern slopes, consists of stool shoots. In the hollows, 

 where poplar, oak, and ash have been culled, there are often thickets of oak, yellow 

 poplar, chestnut, and ash which have grown since light was admitted by culling. 

 A portion of the woodland is closely pastured and the growth of broad- leaved 

 species is much retarded thereby. 



Undergrowth. Shrubby undergrowth is scant, but there are occasional thickets 

 of Kalmia and bush honeysuckle. 



Rate of growth. Accretion is slow in the forests at the head of the 

 stream, and the trees there attain only a small size. On the lower slopes, 



