32 PRELIMINARY STUDY OF 



tary of Agriculture on the Southern Appalachian and White Moun- 

 tain Watersheds,"* and need not be enlarged upon here. 



The small proportion of virgin timber which remains is very in- 

 accessible and must be logged at considerable expense. The private 

 companies who own this timber regard it as necessary to cut all the 

 trees that can be handled at a profit, in order to pay the cost of con- 

 structing the logging railroad and other fixed expenses. Accord- 

 ingly, they do not intend to cut conservatively nor to protect the 

 young growth for a second crop. 



The greater part of the land is already heavily cut over. Many 

 small tracts have also been cleared for farming, worn out in a few 

 years, and then abandoned. In the more inaccessible sections the 

 usual practice is to kill the large trees by girdling and to leave them 

 standing. On these abandoned farm lands even-aged stands have 

 sometimes started as a result of seeding from neighboring trees. 



The growth of woody vegetation is so vigorous that cut-over lands 

 which have not been plowed seldom become bare and totally unpro- 

 tected against erosion, even in spite of fire and other adverse in- 

 fluences. The chief danger from washing is along old skid roads 

 which follow drainage lines, and thus give a foothold for the de- 

 structive action of water. In a few cases this danger has been 

 guarded against by piling slash in the skid roads after the last logs 

 have been hauled down, in order to check washing until vegetation 

 has had a chance to establish itself. Little is done to prevent fires 

 on cut-over land, except when necessary to protect fences and vir- 

 gin timber. The effect of the repeated burning is to prevent the 

 reestablishment of a valuable forest growth. An inferior growth 

 of sprouts comes up from the burned stumps, and the development 

 of hardy, but valueless, shrubs is encouraged. The most valuable 

 trees, such as yellow poplar, chestnut, and white pine, are the most 

 sensitive to fire injury. Such a growth as persists in spite of re- 

 peated burning, while it often is sufficient to prevent the soil from 

 washing off of the steep slopes, does not have the effect in regu- 

 lating run-off that a better forest growth possesses. There is not 

 as good shade, the spongy layers of humus and leaf litter are de- 

 stroyed, and the capacity of the soil to absorb moisture is reduced. 



As soon as the fire risk is reduced to a minimum, other measures 

 can be taken to improve the forests and make timber growing profit- 

 able. The composition and rate of growth can be improved by 

 thinning out the inferior species and poorer individuals from 



* United States Senate Document 91. 



