268 THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FORESTS. 



Proportions of species in Catawba River basin Continued. 



Per cent. 



Poplar 1 



Black gum 3 



Locust 1 



White pine 5 



Ash 1 



Birch 1 



Black pine 2 



Other species 8 



Nearly all south and east slopes, especially at a low elevation, have been 

 damaged by fires to some extent. The best hard woods over much of the area 

 have been culled, and the best white pine has been culled from the lower part 

 of the valley of Johns River and from a portion of the upper Linville. There 

 is yet much hard wood, largely oak, on the headwaters of the Johns, North and 

 South forks of the Catawba, and upper Linville rivers. 



This basin contains 670,668 M feet B. M. of log timber and 3,871,860 cords 

 of small wood. 



Reproduction of hard woods is free by both stool shoots and seed, and of 

 pine by seed. Protection from fire is greatly needed. This, with improvement 

 cuttings, would soon develop a valuable forest. 



WILSON CREEK BASIN (bURKE COUNTY, N. C). 



Area. Total, 68 square miles; cleared, 5 square miles; wooded, 63 square 

 miles; burned, 3 square miles. 



Surface. Wilson Creek drains a triangular basin, which has one corner on 

 Grandfather Mountain and one on Cranberry Mountain, the other at the mouth 

 of the creek. It is divided into a series of deep narrow valleys, separated by 

 loft}'^ and rough mountain spurs from Grandfather Mountain, Grandmother 

 Mountain, and Cranberry Mountain, which converge toward the mouth of the 

 creek. There are small areas of alluvial bottoms in the lower part of the basin, 

 and beyond these bottoms on either side are some low hills with gentle slopes, 

 but the area of such is limited. The prevailing topographic feature is a series 

 of long steep ridges, inclosing very narrow valleys. In the upper part of the 

 basin there are a few elevated plateau-like benches with a more gentle topography 

 and broad, lofty hills. 



iS&ils. The soil of the uplands is a coarse, sandy or gravely loam, generally 

 thin, but in some places fairly deep, even on the slopes. It is derived from 

 conglomerates, slates, and a coarse gneiss. In spite of its sandiness, much of the 

 soil in the upper part of the valley is well suited for coniferous forests, as is 

 shown by the fine stand of white pine which it bears in places. There is evidence 



