FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 41 



The northern half of the county has a red clay sub-soil, excellent for 

 farming where the slopes are not too steep, and the soil of the bottoms 

 is very productive ; near the Blue Ridge, however, the soil is poorer and 

 more sandy. The chief agricultural products which are shipped out of 

 the county are apples, cattle, and sheep. From 10 to 15 per cent of the 

 county has been cleared for cultivation, about one-sixth of which is in 

 cultivable crops, one-half in pasture or meadow, while one-third has been 

 abandoned. Over a large part of the county the land is either too steep 

 or the soil too poor for the best growth of corn or small grains, but if 

 seeded to grass within a year or two after clearing it yields good forage. 



Transportation facilities are as yet inadequate. The Murphy branch 

 of the Southern Railway crosses the northern part of the county while 

 the Toxaway branch comes within about seven miles of the county line 

 on the southeast. Lumber and tanbark are hauled from 20 to 25 miles 

 to these railroads over roads that are only fair, so that only the better 

 grades of material can be marketed at a profit. Dogwood blocks have 

 been hauled from the south slope of the Blue Ridge, from 35 to 40 miles, 

 to Westminster, S. C, where they are manufactured into shuttles and 

 bobbins. Flumes are used principally in getting out cordwood, and, 

 to some extent, lumber. Three long flumes are now in operation and 

 two more are contemplated. Road improvement would greatly facili- 

 tate the development of the county. 



More than half the forest land is held in tracts of more than 1,000 

 acres, and half of this is held by three owners, the Jackson Lumber Com- 

 pany, the Toxaway Lumber Company, and George H. Smathers. The 

 average assessed value of timber lands is from $2 to $3 per acre, 

 varying according to stand and location. Probably 85 per cent of the 

 entire county is absolute forest land, and many of the clearings should 

 never have been made. 



The forests have been largely culled of the best poplar and other more 

 valuable trees ; even on the farm woodlots little merchantable poplar has 

 been spared. White pine was at one time quite abundant over the south- 

 ern half of the county, but now there is scarcely any left. Yet these 

 are the two species which at the present time can be profitably cut and 

 hauled long distances to the railroad. They will bring from $3 to $4 

 per thousand stumpage, at from 20 to 25 miles from a railroad, though 

 together they will average less than 1,000 board feet per acre. 



Chestnut and oak now form the principal part of the forest. The 

 chestnut is, for the most part, wormy and windshaken, and is valuable 

 chiefly for extract wood. The stand varies from 10 to more than 40 

 cords per acre. There is a fair proportion of pulp wood, hemlock, 



