228 THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FORESTS. 



Cutting. No mills are in operation at present, but much of the best timber 

 and a great part of the accessible tan bark has been cut. 



Second growth. Second growth is scant, and largely consists of chestnut, 

 oak, and hickory sprouts with yellow-pine seedlings. 



Undergrowth. South slopes are sometimes brushy with Kalmia and young 

 tree growth, which has followed fires; north slopes with laurel. 



Reproduction. Tveeii reproduce freely on moist north slopes; poorly on drj- 

 south ones. 



Rate of growth. Accretion is good. 



Water power. There is ample fall in the stream and there are several sites 

 for dams and small buildings. No power is at present being utilized. 



Ownership. Much of the land is in small holdings. Several of the large 

 tracts, which lie on the larger of the tributary streams, extend to the river. 



Prices of land. Timber land sells at $1 to $5 per acre. . 



TUCKASEGEE RIVER (sOUTH SIDE) BETWEEN WEBSTER AND BUSHNELL (jACKSON AND 



SWAIN COUNTIES, N. c). 



Boundaries. This area includes the north slope of the Cowee and Alarka 

 mountains from the Savannah Creek watershed to the confluence of Tuckasegee 

 and Tennessee rivers. It is drained by several small streams, the most important 

 of which are Barker, Connelly, and Kirk land creeks. 



Area. Total, 65 square miles; cleared, 11 square miles; wooded, 54 square 

 miles. 



Surface. The area is divided into a series of deep hollows which indent the 

 northern face of the Cowee and the Alarka mountains and drain through many 

 small streams northward into T-uckasegee River. Near the river thei-e is a great 

 deal of rolling land and some low hills. The southern portion of the area is 

 very rough. 



Soil. The soil is a gray, sandy loam, derived from gneiss, much of it coarse 

 grained and rocky. Near the river there are limited areas of red loam and 

 stiff loam soils deep and smooth. 



Hum^jbs and litter. Leaf mold has accumulated to a considerable depth in 

 nearly all of the hollows, but many of the mountain slopes have been badly 

 burned and the ground cover destroyed. 



Timber trees. Oaks form about 45 per cent and chestnut about 35 per cent 

 of the forest. In the hollows maple, birch, ash, and poplar are intermixed, 

 and near the river there is some hickory and yellow pine. 



Yield. The stand of merchantable timber is about 3,000 feet B. M. per 

 acre, largely oak. 



