70 



FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 



that time the supply of tanbark has rapidly diminished until now it is 

 restricted to the rougher and more inaccessible districts, and the price 

 has nearly doubled. 



Table 6 shows the approximate amount of tanbark cut in 1909 by 

 species and counties. Considerable bark was cut in the counties remote 

 from railroad facilities; the high price justified a long haul. 



Table 



-Output of Tanbark in 1909, in Cords of 2,240 Pounds, by Species and 

 Counties. 



Counties 



Chestnut 

 Oak 



Hemlock 



Other 

 Oaks 



Total 





Cords 



Cords 



Cords 



Cords 



Cherokee ._. 



2,000 



250 



700 



2,95 



Clay 







240 

 3,775 

 2,014 

 2,194 



750 

 2,250 

 2,460 

 2,595 



480 



313 

 1,020 



400 



253 

 1,084 



350 





553 



Swain 



665 



5,460 





2,414 





180 



2,632 





1,834 



Transylvania 





2,600 







2,460 





325 



646 



200 



1,400 



1,000 



825 



3,745 





1,126 







200 



Mitchell... 



230 





1,630 







1,000 











Alleghany 



1,000 







1,000 











Totals 



20, 088 



7,246 



2,370 



29, 604 







Eive large tanneries, at Andrews, Sylva, Hazelwood, Asheville, and 

 Rosman, are in operation west of the Blue Ridge. Their combined an- 

 nual consumption of bark amounts to about 24,000 cords, which comes 

 mainly from this region, and takes practically the entire output. Only 

 a few thousand cords, chiefly from the easternmost counties, go to out- 

 side tanneries. 



About two-thirds of the bark from the mountain counties is chestnut 

 oak. This tree has been cut and peeled for bark on most of the lands 

 within 15 or 20 miles of the railway, except such as have been reserved 

 by lumber companies, and sometimes by the tanning companies them- 

 selves. So far the bulk of the chestnut oak bark has been cut and 

 marketed by farmers, who got for this product nearly $180,000 in 1909. 

 Chestnut oak, as well as black and white oak, and, occasionally, scarlet, 

 red, and Spanish oak, are peeled in the spring from the time the buds 

 first begin to swell to the time the leaves are fully formed, chiefly dur- 

 ing April and May. After being peeled, the bark is allowed to dry out 

 thoroughly, so that it will keep when stacked away in bulk, and so that 

 it will be light for hauling, which is done through the summer, gen- 

 erally after the crops are "laid by." Yet at present prices — about $8.50 



