26j 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



January 



Virginia southwestward, and compri- 

 ses parts of North and South Carolina, 

 Tennessee, and Georgia, between the 

 Piedmont Plateau on the southeast and 

 the Appalachian valley on the north- 

 west. It consists of two parallel 

 mountain chains, the Unaka on the 

 northwest and the Blue Ridge on the 

 southeast, and the intermediate moun- 

 tains and valleys, some parallel, others 

 at right angles to the Blue Ridge. The 

 region examined in 1900 and 1901 

 comprises an area of approximately 

 10,000 square miles between New Riv- 

 er Gap in Virginia and Hiwassee River 

 in western North Carolina and north- 

 ern Georgia, and has an approximate 

 length of 190 miles and a varying 

 width of 35 to 65 miles. The forests 

 in this area have an important influ- 

 ence on the climate and the supply of 

 water and timber in all the territory 

 between the Ohio River and the At- 

 lantic and Gulf coasts. Whatever con- 

 cerns the forests is, therefore, of eco- 

 nomic interest, not merely to the 318,- 

 ooo people who live in this region, but 

 to a population far beyond its borders 

 as well. 



The distinctive factors which give 

 value to this mountain region are a 

 temperate and healthful climate ; grand 

 and varied scenery; a plentiful supply 

 of cool water ; abundant water power ; 

 mineral deposits of iron, copper, mica, 

 talc, gold, corundum, precious stones, 

 kaolin and other clays, and building 

 stone ; soils that are generally of good 

 physical and chemical composition ; 

 and a vast extent of forest, principally 

 hardwood, consisting of 137 species of 

 trees, many of which yield lumber and 

 bark. Up to the present time these re- 

 sources have been developed by indi- 

 viduals in a wasteful and unsatisfac- 

 tory manner. 



The original forest of this region, as 

 indicated by the preserved remnants 

 and by the accounts of old settlers and 

 early explorers must have been won- 



derful in the extent, density, size, and 

 quality of its timber trees, and the vari- 

 ety of its species. The agencies that 

 have wrought changes in these forests 

 are fire, lumbering, clearing of lands 

 for farming, and the grazing of cattle 

 and sheep. 



Evidence of forest fires is found 

 over approximately 4,500,000 acres, or 

 80 per cent, of the entire area. Great 

 damage has been done, year after year, 

 by light fires that have scorched the 

 roots of timber trees, destroyed seed- 

 lings so that the forest cannot repro- 

 duce itself, consumed forest litter and 

 humus, and reduced the thatch of 

 leaves which breaks the force of the 

 rain. 



The lumberman is growing more ac- 

 tive in this region, going every year 

 farther into the forest. In most places, 

 however, the continuity of the forest 

 has not yet been broken, as only the 

 most valuable of the trees have been 

 taken out. 



Surpassing both fire and lumbering 

 in the completeness and permanency 

 of the damage done is the clearing 

 for ordinary agricultural purposes of 

 mountain lands which are not worth 

 cultivating and should forever remain 

 in forest. A few years of cultivation 

 usually exhausts these lands and they 

 are soon abandoned. Denuded of their 

 forests they are rapidly washed away. 



Great damage is also done to the for- 

 est by grazing cattle. Young growth 

 has been prevented, and the hardening 

 of the ground and the removal of de- 

 bris and humus have promoted a rapid 

 run-off of rain and water and prevent- 

 ed its percolation into the ground as a 

 reserve for dry times. 



If the best methods of silviculture 

 were applied at once, the remaining 

 forest would undoubtedly yield hand- 

 some returns. The most pressing need 

 of the region is railroads, which would 

 make the timber accessible. 





