LITTLE TENNESSEE RIVER BASIN. 229 



Demand. There is an activ^e demand for good grades of nearl}' all kinds of 

 timber. The best grades of oak and other hard woods bring from $2 to $4 per 

 thousand feet on the stump. 



Accessibility. The Asheville and Murphy Branch of the Southern Railway, 

 following the river, skirts the entire northern border of the area. Nearh' every 

 stream has a wagon road built up it. 



Cutting. There are several small sawmills at present cutting in this area. 

 Mills have been cutting here continually for the past ten 3'ears, and nearly all 

 the best timber has been removed. There is a locust-pin mill at Dillsboro, which 

 has nearly exhausted the supply of locust. Tanneries at Waynesville and Andrews 

 have secured much of their bark from this area, and another tannery is in course 

 of erection at Sylva. 



Reproduction. There are many thickets of young trees in the culled woodland, 

 and, with adequate protection, excellent results in reproducing can be secured. 



Sexi07\d growth. Second growth is scant, except in the older settled regions 

 in the farm woodland, where most of it is oak and chestnut stool shoots. 



Undergrowth. There are a few laurel thickets, but the undergrowth is 

 generally not dense enough to be a serious impediment to either reproduction or 

 logging. 



Rate of gnnvth. Accretion is generally good. 



Water power. The small streams yield very little power, though there are 

 gristmills on nearly all of them. There are two mill sites at Dillsboro, on the 

 Tuckasegee, each capable of yielding 100 or more horsepower, while below there 

 are several other sites where dams 8 to 12 feet high can be erected. 



Ownership. The greater portion of the forest is held in small tracts by 

 residents. The Eastern band x)f the Cherokee Indians hold several thousand 

 acres in the Alarka Mountains. 



OccupoMcy. The hills along the river are thickl}' settled and the valleys of 

 nearly all the small streams are well cleared. 



Prices of land. Farming land sells at |6 to $100 per acre; woodland, at $1 to 

 $10 per acre. 



DEEP CREEK BASIN (sWAIN COUNTY, N. c). 



Area. Total, 48 square miles; cleared, 6 square miles; wooded, 42 S{(uare 

 miles. 



Surface. The basin lies between two spurs of the Smoky Mountains. Its 

 upper portion is rough and mountainous. The mountain slopes are steep and 

 rise abruptly, often precipitously, from the banks of the streams. The lower 

 portion of the valley broadens out into low, rounded hills. 



