FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 57 



In but few places is the forest in large, unbroken areas, as in certain 

 tracts on Beech, Grandfather, and Rich mountains, and on the south 

 slope of the Blue Ridge. While showing much variation in different 

 parts of the couuty, the forests are nevertheless characterized by cer- 

 tain species. Hemlock is very abundant throughout, and cuts high grade 

 local building material. Oak and chestnut still predominate in some 

 parts, though they are not much more common than the sugar maple. 

 Cherry and walnut were once common, but together with most of the 

 poplar were cut years ago. White ash is becoming scarce, but white oak 

 is more abundant than in most other counties of this region. Balsam 

 and spruce grow above 5,500 feet on Grandfather Mountain, on Beech 

 Mountain, and in the Elk Mountains. 



Practically all of the county is owned in small holdings of less than 

 500 acres, only about 10 per cent being in the hands of lumber interests 

 or in large estates of over 1,000 acres. 



Watauga, remote as it is from large markets, is a progressive county, 

 and is well settled. The land is natural farmland, and except along 

 the southern slopes of the Blue Ridge, there are no very extensive areas 

 of absolute forest land. 



ASHE COUNTY. 



Ashe, embracing an area of 255,000 acres, is, like Watauga, a farm- 

 ing county; it is perhaps more rugged, though lower in general eleva- 

 tion. The crest of the Blue Ridge forms much of its southeast bound- 

 ary, while the Elk Mountains occur in the southwest. Other ranges from 

 4,000 to 5,000 feet high are scattered irregularly over the county. 



The, county is drained by the North and South Forks of New River. 

 These streams rise in Watauga County and now in a northeasterly direc- 

 tion. In Ashe County both are capable of floating logs. The chief rock 

 formation of Ashe County is a black banded gneiss grading into shales, 

 slates, and schists, which decompose into a red clay soil containing small 

 mica particles. Along the Blue Ridge the usual gray mica and chlorite 

 schists and granites occur, decomposing into a gray sandy soil. 



Like Watauga and Alleghany, Ashe County is remote from railroads. 

 Wilkesboro, in Wilkes County, North Carolina, and Shouns, Tennessee, 

 are its nearest railroad points. Most of the lumber and produce taken 

 out and the supplies brought in have to be hauled from 15 to 40 miles, 

 but the public roads are for the most part well kept. Like all clay roads, 

 however, they are heavy in wet weather. 



Ashe County has copper, iron, and mica deposits, some of which have 

 been partially developed. The chief occupation, however, is farming, 

 and this is likely to be the case for some time to come. Cattle and 



