FOKEST CONDITIONS IN TENNESSEE. 27 



the Central Basin. The drainage system is well developed, and 

 there is very little swamp land. The greater part of the land drains 

 south and west toward the Tennessee River, although a section on 

 the north is included in the basin of the Cumberland. 



In addition to the Cumberland and Tennessee, which are both 

 navigable rivers, there is a good system of railroad transportation, 

 so that few places are more than 12 miles from shipping points. 

 The most inaccessible portion is found in Wayne County, in the 

 southwest corner of the region. By far the larger part of the land 

 is in farm holdings of moderate size. 



The chief industry is agriculture, although lumbering and min- 

 ing for phosphate and iron are also of local importance. Lumber, 

 cross-ties, spokes, and handles are the most important forest prod- 

 ucts. Most of the lumbering operations are on a small scale, since, 

 with the exception of a few of the more inaccessible counties, the 

 merchantable timber is distributed in a very scattered manner in 

 farm wood lots and small tracts. There is very little virgin tim- 

 ber left, the principal bodies lying about halfway between the rail- 

 road and the Tennessee River, in Wayne, Lawrence, and Perry 

 Counties, and in the northeast corner of the region, in Pickett and 

 Overton Counties. 



There is a great diversity in the character of the forests of this 

 region, but they may be roughly grouped into slope and ridge types. 

 A cove type, very similar to that described for the Cumberlands, 

 is also found in this region at the base of the Cumberland Plateau, 

 along the margin of the Central Basin and in the southwestern 

 counties along the Tennessee River. There is more or less land 

 which was once cleared, but which proved either too poor or too 

 steep for farming and is now reverting to forest or has already 

 done so. The stands are uneven-aged except in the neighborhood 

 of old iron furnaces, which were once very common in the western 

 part of the region. Here the forest was cut clean for charcoal, and 

 even-aged stands have resulted, covering extensive areas. 



Slopes. The soil of the slopes, which, as a rule, are moderately 

 steep, is somewhat better than that of the ridges, but most of the 

 agricultural soils have been cleared and put under cultivation. The 

 type is characterized by a mixture in which the oaks predominate, 

 especially black, red, Spanish, and white oaks. Hickory is also a 

 very constant constituent of the stand. A great many other hard- 

 woods are included, the most important of which are chestnut, yel- 

 low poplar, black gum, and ash. Beech is also found on the lower 

 slopes, and sycamore along the streams. 



