484 FOREST RESOURCES OF TENNESSEE. 



Firs. Of these, two species grow in the State, Ahies Fraserii, the balsam fir, and A. 

 nigra, the black fir oi spruce. Some of the highest inonutaiu peaks are covered 

 with the balsams, aud they seldom grow lower than 4,000 feet. Their dark hue 

 gives name to the Black Mountains of North Carolina, and makes the characteristic 

 feature of the Unakas. Being inaccessible it is rarely made into lumber, though 

 growing often 100 feet high. It gathers balsam in blisters under the bark, which 

 gives it the name. The black fir grows in similar localities. 

 Gum {Ni/ssa aquatica). The black gum or tupelo grows on rich, moist soils in West 

 Tennessee, and to considerable size. Valuable for hubs, because its fibers are 

 interwoven so that it cannot be split without ditficulty. It makes good plank, 

 but cannot be dressed smooth. The sweet gum {Liquidamher stiiraciflua) flourishes 

 in wet, marshy places, and is largely used for plank for coarse use. It is cheaper 

 than poplar and decays sooner. It exudes a gum highly prized by children for 

 chewing. 



Hickory. Six species occur, viz: 1. Carya alha, shell-bark hickory. 2. C. sulcata, the 

 thick shell-bark, more common in the mountains. 3. C. tomeutosa, the common 

 hickory. 4. C. glabra, the pignut hickory. 5. C. vxicmcarpa, the small-nut hick- 

 ory, and C. amara, the bitteruut. The common hickory grows upon all soils of 

 middling quality in the State, and is known by the great disproportion between 

 the root when young and the root when grown, the latter being sometimes larger 

 around than the tree, assuming a flat or grub-like form. It abounds iu the " hick- 

 ory barrens," on the Highland Eim. It rarely grows larger than 18 inches in 

 diameter, when Ihn timber is valuable for carriage-work. The shag-bark grows 

 larger aud split.s more easily, and, like the C. glabra, seeks a fertile soil ou river 

 banks and hillsides. The wood of hickory is highly prized for fuel, burning rap- 

 idly with intense heat, and its ashes are very rich in potash. 



Linn, Lindex, or Basswood {Tilia Americana). This is fond of a fertile soil, and is 

 found with sugar-maple and walnut. It abounds in the blue-gras-i region of tho 

 Central Basin, and in some places iu East Tennessee. The bai'k is sometimes used 

 in making horse-collars. 



Black or Yellow Locust {Eobina pseudacacia), grows well upon almost any soil, and 

 flourishes on the slopes of the Highlands and Cumberland Mountains, and ou the 

 sides of the Unakas. It is found on the north slopes of Clinch and Powell's Mount- 

 ains, and will flourish in the glady places of the Central Basin Avhere no other tree 

 will survive. As a fence-post, it will last a century. It grows rapidly, and in ten 

 years makes a post or railroad-tie. It rarely exceeds a foot in diameter, or thirty 

 to forty feet in height. 



Honey Locust {Gleditschia iricanthos) abounds on all rich soils of the State, with wal- 

 nut, elm, scale-bark hickory, hornbeam, ash, &g. Very valuable for posts. 



Maple (Acer saccharium) abounds iu the coves of the mountains and on the rich 

 bottoms of the streams. Acer rubrtim grows in wet soils and on margins of streams 

 quite abundantly throughout the State, in localities suited for its growth. The 

 Acer dasijcarpum, or silver maple, is smaller aud rarer. The wood of the first two 

 of these maples is highly valuable for cabinet-work ; that of the third is soft, very 

 white, and fine-grained. 



Red Mulberry {Morns rubra), in rich soils, in every part of the State. Its wood ivS 

 durable as fence-posts. 



Oaks. Of the genus Quercus, the State has a dozen or more species. They grow iu 

 every county, more or less, and together form the great body of the timber. The 

 white oak {Q. alba) is most valuable, growing to enormous size in the valley of the 

 Tennessee, and in the first and second tiers of river counties in West Tennessee. It is 

 also found in considerable quantities in many parts ofEast Tennessee, the best being 

 on the ridges in the western part of that division, or in the tier of counties resting 

 against the Cumberland table land, and on the slopes of the Unakas. The ridges 

 and valleys along the Duck and Bufl'alo Rivers are covered with large white oaks, 

 and thb tree is generally scattered through the wooded regions of the Highland 

 Rim. The wood is highly valued for wagons, plows, &c., and a large business has 

 grown up on the Lower Tennessee in the manufacture of staves for the European 

 market. From Hardin, Wayne, Ferry, Humphreys, and Stewart CountuiS, the 

 annual production is 1,C35,000, about half being shipped out of the Cumber- 

 land. Heavy pipe-staves are tiO inches long, 5 wide, and 1^ thick ; light pipe, 56 

 inches long, and of same width and thickness. Claret staves are 40 inches long.^ 

 Much oak is also used at Paducah, Memphis, and Mound City, for boat-building. 

 Small oak is rived for hoops. It is highly valued for fence-rails. White oak gen- 

 erally sells standing at $1 a foot across the stump, and at the mills for fllS to $20 



' The prices loc making and price paid by foreign dealers in New Orleans, are as fol- 

 lows : 



Heavy pipe, $1.40 to $2.25 per M for making ; sold at $36 per M. 



Light pipe, 80 cents to §1.10 per M for making ; sold at $25 to $35 per M. 



Ciarot staves, 80 cents to $1.00 per M for makiug ; sold at $25 per M. 



