Natural Meadows of the Cumberland Plateau 35 



NATURAL MEADOWS OF THE CUM- 

 BERLAND PLATEAU 



BY L. R. NEEL, EDITOR SOUTHERN AGRICULTURIST. 



[Read before the Academy, November 27, 1914.] 



Some interesting phenomena of the Cumberland Plateau of Ten- 

 nessee are the so-called "Natural Meadows". This term is applied 

 by the inhabitants to tracts of land of varying areas that were free 

 from tree growths when the white man came to Tennessee over a 

 hundred years ago. A medium coarse wild grass grows on them 

 and this has been a meadow for the section since its settlement. 



These "natural meadows" are dotted around irregularly over the 

 Cumberland Plateau. They vary in size from less than an acre to 

 several acres. I know of one near Crossville, Tennessee, that must 

 contain in the neighborhood of fifty acres. However, the latter is 

 much larger than an average "meadow." 



They are level as the prairie and practically free from tree 

 growth. Along the branches that always flow out of them may grow 

 some small water maples, some alders and possibly an occasional 

 small tree or bush. These tress and brush interfered with the 

 meadow practically none. The land was cleared when the country 

 was settled and it stays cleared. 



A sod of the sedgegrass, previously referred to, covers the ground, 

 and with the exception of moss that grows freely down among the 

 sedge plants, this is about all that grows in the "meadow" out away 

 from the branch. The trees of the forest stop at the dead line for 

 them, as though held back by magic. A few shrubs extend just a 

 little beyond the trees and there the sedge begins. 



The soil of the "natural meadow" is dark, being full of vegetable 

 matter. Trees and parts of trees may occasionally be found buried 

 in it. The depth varies from a foot or less to several feet. Probably 

 three or four feet is a more common depth, while I have seen it ex- 

 posed to a depth of six feet, where the branch had cut down. The soil 

 is rather springy, and while a horse may be ridden over it in safety 

 it would probably be unsafe to ride very fast in many places, espec- 

 ially in wet weather. 



