264 THE SOUTHEEN APPALACHIAN FORESTS. 



'Soil. Derived from gneiss, and in general well forested. The soil is fertile. 

 It is usually a loam of good physical quality. The ridge land is, of course, less 

 fertile, yet is capable of growing valuable timber. 



Agriculture. The few clearings that have been made yield good crops of grass 

 and corn; but the roughness and steepness of the surface will prevent any 

 extensive agriculture. 



So little of the land has been cleared that eroded fields are not a prominent 

 feature of the landscape, as in many other localities; but enough has been cleared 

 to show what the effect would be. The soil has numerous pebbles and is not 

 eroded by rainfall as readily as clay or sand; but, on the other hand, the slopes 

 are so steep and the streams so torrential that it would be unwise to uncover any 

 but the gentlest slopes and the most fertile soil. 



The forest. The forest of this tract is but slightly broken, only 5 per cent 

 being cleared. The northern portion, lying well up on the Blue Ridge, has 

 substantially the same species as the forest of the highlands northward. The 

 oaks, hemlock, and white pine predominate. Chestnut, hickory, and gum are 

 also abundant. Lower on the slopes the oaks, hickories, and black and yellow 

 pines become more prominent. 



Proportions of timber species in Toxaway River basin. 



Per cent. 



Oaks 55 



Hemlock 7 



Birch 1 



Shortleaf pine 2 



Chestnut 10 



Other species 8 



Ash 1 



Hickory 7 



White pine 3 



Black gum 8 



Black pine _ 3 



The forests of this region are variable; they have been seriously injured by 

 fires, and as a result have some large openings on the ridges. Khododendron 

 and Kalmia constitute a dense undergrowth in the hollows. Defective trees are 

 abundant throughout, but the stand of valuable species is poor. 



The basin contains 65,088 M feet B. M. of log timber and 931,880 cords of 

 small wood. 



Improvement in forest condition may be rather more difficult here than 

 elsewhere, owing to the abundance of brush and the liability to fire. White 

 and shortleaf pine are the most promising species for a future forest. 



