278 THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FORESTS. 



mold adds to the fertility and checks the removal of the finer, clayey particles; 

 while the poverty of the naturally infertile south slopes is auj^mented by repeated 

 fires which destroy the litter and facilitate the removal of the finer particles of 

 the soil by the heav}^ rains. 



Agriculture. Corn is the staple crop on the alluvial lands and on the 

 slopes at lower elevations, while corn, grass, and some apples are cultivated on 

 the shady north slopes at high elevations and in the deep, cool hollows that 

 indent the face of the mountain. 



Some of the alluvial bottoms have been damaged by being washed and gul- 

 lied b}^ freshets, or by the deposit of coarse sand and gravel brought down from 

 the mountains. Many of the steep slopes, exposed to erosion by the naked 

 cultivation required for corn, have been gullied to the bed rock, and their 

 agricultural value temporarily destroyed. Many such abandoned fields are being 

 colonized by wind-sown pine seedlings, which check further erosion and rebuild 

 the soil. 



The forest. The forests, which are confined to the slopes, are formed of 

 hard woods, chiefly oak, associated with pine (black, rarely with white) on the 

 drier south and east slopes; and of mixed hard woods oak, chestnut, maple, 

 poplar, linn, and ash associated with hemlock in deep hollows and on north 

 slopes. The better forests lie to the southwest of Mulberry Gap. _Fkst of this 

 gap the oak and pine are smaller and of poorer quality, and have sufi:'ered more 

 from fires; but fires have also done much damage to the pine and oak growing 

 on the southward slopes. Culling has been carried on for many years, much of 

 the choicest timber having been removed from the bordering lands, even to the 

 sources of the streams; but much oak and some pine 3^et remain. 



The hard woods reproduce freely from stool shoots and the pines from seed. 

 To prevent further deterioration of the forest and improve its condition, protection 

 from fire is necessary, while improvement cuttings are required in manj^ places 

 to remove worthless stock and to free young timber. 



The basin contains 539,920 M feet B. M. log timber and 3,256,960 cords of 

 small wood. 



The proportions of timber species are as follows: 



Proportions of timber species in, Yadkin River basin. 



Per cent. 



Oaks 60 



Hemlock '. 3 



Birch 1 



Other species 8 



Locust 1 



Chestnut 12 



Linn 1 



