^20 FORESTS OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



the distance from large waterways, and the inaccessibility of the 

 region to railways, has rendered it impossible to economically 

 remove any but the most valuable timbers ; while difficulty of til- 

 lage, and the short growing-season have tended to prevent exten- 

 sive cultivation of those lands lying above 8,500 feet elevation. 



SOILS OF THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS. 



The soils are rather fine and even-grained loams, gray or red 

 in color, or black from organic ingredients; the loamy and gen- 

 erally stiffer sub-soils red or gray. Over the larger part of the 

 area they are derived from the decomposition, in situ, of gneiss or 

 gneissic rocks or schists, and are sufficiently deep for tree-growth, 

 particularly along the lower slopes, where detritus washed from 

 above has accumulated or obscurely marked river terraces exist. 



In portions ofCherokee and Graham counties, and locally else- 

 where, the soils derived from slates, qnartzite and metamorphosed 

 sandstones are shallower, thinner and not so favorable to tree- 

 growth. The soils of the upper slopes are thinnest, the clayey 

 particles being more largely washed out, and are sometimes shal- 

 low. Those of the sedimentary bottoms are more loamy and 

 coaiser, with more organic constituents and less clayey, sometimes 

 underlaid by pipe clay, and ill-drained. The soils of the lower 

 slopes are generally deep and are the most clayey. 



FOREST TREES OF THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS. 



The forests of the high mountains may be divided into (1) those 

 lying on the crests, and on the slopes facing the south, and (2) 

 those of the north slopes and hollows, and along the bottom lands. 

 The soils of south hill-sides are drier and are thinner than those 

 on slopes with a northerly aspect, and the amount of light and 

 heat is greater than is secured on hill-sides with equal inclination 

 to the north, and the trees are conse(|Uontly of more light-demand- 

 ing kinds. 



The trees occurring on the slopes facing the north and in the 

 hollows are: hemlock, birches, maples, beech, chestnut, red oak, 

 white oak, great laurel, yellow poplar, white ash, cucumber, 



