26 PKELIMINARY STUDY OF 



Slopes. The slope type includes south and upper north slopes, 

 and is intermediate, both in situation and quality, between the cove 

 and plateau types. The characteristic trees are chestnut oak, black, 

 scarlet, and white oaks, and hickory. Usually either chestnut oak 

 or one of the black oaks predominates. Chestnut, black gum, and 

 short-leaf pine are also common, the pine usually in groups. The 

 quality and amount of timber is somewhat inferior to that found in 

 the coves, virgin stands yielding only about 6,000 board feet per 

 acre. 



Plateau Swales. The plateau swales are the lower portions of 

 the table-land, including the flat lands and shallow depressions along 

 drainage lines that lie below the general level of the ridges. The 

 soil" is of good depth, especially if the land receives the wash from 

 the slopes, and it is fairly moist because the water does not drain 

 off rapidly. Black, white, Spanish, and scarlet oaks, with a vary- 

 ing proportion of hickory, predominate in this type. Black gum, 

 post and chestnut oaks, chestnut, and short-leaf pine are also some- 

 times included in the mixture. The swampy bottoms, which are of 

 very limited extent, contain thickets of red maple, black gum, and 

 sweet gum, often with an undergrowth in which large holly trees 

 are conspicuous. The timber does not grow as high as that of the 

 coves and is not so clear and free from defects. The yield per acre 

 of virgin timber averages about 4,000 feet. 



Plateau Ridges. These are the highest and most exposed por- 

 tions of the table-land, with thin, sandy, unproductive soil. They 

 are covered with a short and stunted growth of inferior hardwoods, 

 such as post, black jack, scarlet, and chestnut oaks, sand hickory, 

 and black gum, with some scrubby chestnut. Scrub pine, and 

 sometimes short-leaf, grow on this land in mixture with the hard- 

 woods or in pure stands. The timber is not only short-boled and 

 limby, but is usually badly injured by insect and fungus enemies, 

 partly owing to the frequency with which fires occur. The stand is 

 open and at best yields only about 2,000 board feet per acre. 



HIGHLAND RIM. 



The Highland Rim is a high, broad shelf surrounding the Cen- 

 tral Basin, with an area of 9,300 square miles and average eleva- 

 tion of 950 feet above sea level. It is a rolling country, with broad 

 valleys and rounded hills. The underlying rock is chiefly limestone. 

 There is great variety in the quality of the soil, perhaps the poor- 

 est being found on the cherty formations that immediately surround 



