340 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION. 



August, 



The scenery of the Southern Appa- 

 lachian region is the grandest in the 

 eastern states. The mean annual tem- 

 perature varies from nearly 60 F. , at 

 Salisbury, N. C. (altitude, 760 feet) , east 

 of the mountains, to 49 F. , at Linnville 

 (3,800 feet), the latter being the mean 

 annual temperature of Boston and Chi- 

 cago. The annual rainfall is copious, 

 especially on the eastern slopes of the 

 mountains. At Highlands, in Macon 

 county, the annual normal precipita- 

 tion is about 72 inches ; at Asheville it 

 is about 42 inches. 



In regard to the timber resources, 

 Mr. Pressey states that, notwithstand- 

 ing the inroads that have been made 

 on the forests that once covered nearly 

 the whole of these mountains, nowhere 

 in the United States is there an equal 

 area of land covered with so great a 

 variety of valuable timber. The wal- 

 nuts, tulips (poplars), and oaks reach 

 their best development here. White 

 Pine also occurs in considerable quan- 

 tities. lyUmbering on a large scale has 

 been carried on for only a few years, 

 but it is very destructive ; some of the 

 companies saw anything that will make 

 a plank. In the case of the bark-gath- 

 erers the waste is even more deplorable 

 and ruinous. However, it was found 

 that this section is moderately free from 

 forest fires. Iron ore occurs in large 

 quantities in a number of counties ; 

 copper, mica, corundum, gold, and other 



minerals have been mined to some ex- 

 tent. 



The drainage basins, discharge meas- 

 urements, and water-powers of the va- 

 rious rivers and their tributaries are 

 described at length by Mr. Pressey, 

 and much information of value to mil- 

 lers, lumbermen, miners, stock-raisers, 

 farmers, and travelers is to be found in 

 this report. 



Mr. Pressey insists upon the impor- 

 tance of the forests to the preserv^ation 

 of the soil of this region, and notes with 

 satisfaction that the heavy forest growth 

 on Grandfather Mountain is not to be 

 destroyed. In order that the springs 

 which give rise to so many streams on 

 Grandfather Mountain may not be dis- 

 turbed, 1,400 acres have been set aside 

 as a public park, by the Linnville Im- 

 provement Company, under five com- 

 missioners, one of whom is the Commis- 

 sioner of Agriculture of North Carolina, 

 and another the State Geologist, Prof. 

 J. A. Holmes, with whose active assist- 

 ance the surveys and examinations de- 

 scribed by Mr. Pressey were made. 



Altogether this well-prepared report 

 contains an excellent description of a 

 region which is now attracting the 

 attention of the entire country. It 

 should be of great value in making 

 known the many natural resources of 

 the Southern Appalachian region. It 

 is well written and deserves to be widely 

 read. 



IRRIGATION IN FLORIDA. 



ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE VALUE OF IRRIGATION IN THE 



HUMID REGION. 



IRRIGATION occupies a position of 

 growing importance in the agricul- 

 tural economy of Florida, though it is 

 a comparatively recent innovation, hav- 

 ing been first resorted to in 1888 by the 

 orange-growers. The results were ap- 

 parently so satisfactory that the num- 

 ber of irrigators has increased from year 

 to year. 



Until the disastrous " freeze " of 

 1 894-' 95 irrigation was confined al- 



most wholly to orange groves, but with 

 the destruction of thousands of orange 

 trees many of the irrigation systems 

 were thrown out of use, and the atten- 

 tion of irrigators was turned to the 

 industry of truck farming. In this 

 industry the need of irrigation was 

 quickly felt, as the products of truck 

 farms are of large commercial value, 

 and even a partial loss of crops is very 

 costlv. The cultivation of fruits and 



