

140 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



March 



men who are operating in the moun- 

 tains take these oaks along with the 

 poplars and white oaks. 



There are a number of large perma- 

 nent mills, but over the region as a 

 whole most of the lumbering is still 

 done by portable mills. These move 

 through the timber, and the cutting is 

 cleaner than it formerly was. This 



turing plants depend upon it for mill 

 supplies. The most important of these 

 industries are those using hardwoods 

 for slack and tight cooperage, for lum- 

 ber, furniture, finishing, railroad ties, 

 tannin extract, and wagon stock. In 

 addition to furnishing wood for all 

 these and other purposes, the forest of 

 this region has a vital function to per- 



View of a deforested hillside, showing effect of erosion, Southern Appala- 

 chian Region. 



heavier cutting, on account of the re- 

 quirements of the two most important 

 species, poplar and white oak, for 

 light, is usually a good thing for the 

 future crop, especially for poplar re- 

 production. 



The demands upon this hardwood 

 forest are enormous and varied. Great 

 industries employing large manufac- 



form in protecting a watershed upon 

 which a number of states depend for a 

 constant supply of water. It is doubt- 

 ful whether the Bureau of Forestry 

 has ever undertaken a more important 

 study, and its forthcoming bulletins 

 should prove very valuable to many 

 commercial interests as well as to for- 

 estry in general. 



