LITTLE TENNESSEE ElVER BASIN. 215 



valley being narrow and the slopes steep. The lower part opens out into low, 

 rounded hills, with many small alluvial bottoms between them. 



Soils. In the mountains and in the upper part of the basin the soils are 

 gray and sandy, and often very rOcky. The red lands in the lower portion of 

 the valley are more productive and durable. The bottoms are generally fertile, 

 and are loamy or silty. 



Humus and litter. In the mountains the leaf mold is good, except on steep 

 south slopes or poor dry soils. It is generally scant in the woods on the red hills. 



Aqricultural value. The gray, sandy, upland soils are not fertile, though 

 the.y produce fair crops of corn for a few years after they have been cleared. 

 The stiff, red lands are more productive. 



Tiinber trees. Chestnut and the oaks form two-thirds of the growth. Asso- 

 ciated with these are hickory, maple, ash, linn, and poplar, with some hemlock 

 and yellow pine. 



Yield. The forest will cut about 3,000 feet B. M. per acre. 



Accessibility. There is a fair wagon road from Whittier, on the Southern 

 Railway, up the valley. 



Cutting. Much of the best timber has been culled, but at the head of the 

 stream there is yet a considerable area of uncut forest. 



Second growth. The second growth is confined to the lower part of the 

 valley, and consists of oak, chestnut, and hickory. 



Undergrowth.~-T\\Q,YQ are many laurel thickets in the mountains at the head 

 of the valley. The woods of the lower part are generallj" open. 



Reproduction. All of the species reproduce well, and clumps of young trees 

 are frequent. 



Rate of grmuth. Accretion in the moist hollows at a low elevation is good. 

 It is much slower at higher elevations and on the dr}^ soils of the lower part of 

 the basin. 



Water po^oer. Several small water mills are in operation, but they do not 

 utilize much power. There are many available sites for small mills, but only a 

 limited power could be developed because of the small size of the stream. 



Ownership. All of the basin, except the lower and the extreme eastern part, 

 is owned by the Eastern band of Cherokee Indians. These parts are divided 

 among small landholders. 



Occupancy. Nearly 50 families live on the stream. 



Prices of land. Farming land sells at $6 to $50 per acre; woodland, at $2 to 

 $8 per acre. 



