FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 43 



The county comprises the entire Pigeon Kiver watershed in North 

 Carolina. This river has its source on the north slope of the Pisgah 

 ridge, and flows north throughout the central portion of the county, 

 being joined by several large tributaries, all rising within the county. 

 Above Ferguson, the river flows through a comparatively broad valley, 

 the principal agricultural region. 



The soil in the valleys varies from a sandy clay loam to a stiff, heavy 

 red clay, while on the slopes the soil is clay. On the ridges the soil is 

 a very thin sandy clay except on the high Balsam Mountains, where 

 there is a deep black loam, rich in humus, that is easily destroyed by 

 fires and by washing. 



Waynesville, the county seat, with an elevation of about 2,700 feet, 

 is one of the principal summer resorts in Western JSTorth Carolina. 



The Southern Eailroad runs through the central southern or best ag- 

 ricultural portion of the county, through the Pigeon Eiver and Rich- 

 land Creek valleys, and affords good transportation facilities. A nar- 

 now gauge railroad, used by the Champion Fiber Company to get pulp 

 wood to their plant, runs up Allen Creek a distance of about eight 

 miles. This company has graded a railroad from Clyde to Sunburst, 

 and expects to put it in operation soon. About 50 miles of macadam 

 roads have been built in different directions from "Waynesville. The dirt 

 roads in the valleys are in good shape, but the rougher mountain roads 

 are in bad shape. 



Practically 17 per cent of the county has been cleared for agriculture, 

 and the farmers specialize on stock raising, Haywood's cattle and mules 

 being known all over the region. Little of this, however, is grazed on 

 forest range, since the greater part of the county is now under stock 

 law. At least half of the cleared land on the lower slopes and broad 

 ridges is used for grazing. Unfortunately, much of the land which has 

 been cleared for grazing is very steep and has washed so badly that it has 

 become almost worthless. 



Haywood probably leads the mountain counties in the manufacture 

 of forest products. The Champion Fiber Company, at Canton, is the 

 largest mill of its kind in the South. It employs from 600 to 800 hands, 

 and furnishes a steady market for a large amount of timber, much of 

 which would otherwise have little value. There are. several wood-work- 

 ing factories at Waynesville and Hazelwood, and a tannery at the lat- 

 ter place. 



Lumbering is carried on mainly by small, portable sawmills, the lum- 

 ber being hauled to the railroad on wagons. Flumes are being used to 

 great advantage on three large operations to float cordwood and lum- 

 ber to the railroad. 



