76 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 



field and Ohio, the Blue Kidge and Atlantic, the Louisville and 

 Nashville, and the Tennessee and North Carolina Railways all enter 

 the region. A narrow gauge road, the East Tennessee and Western 

 North Carolina Railroad, crosses Mitchell County from the Tennessee 

 line to Pineola. All these roads handle large quantities of forest prod- 

 ucts, and render possible the profitable operation of such industries as 

 the large pulp mill at Canton, the extract plants and tanneries at An- 

 drews, Sylva, Hazelwood, Asheville, Brevard, and Old Fort, as well as 

 the large lumber trade from Asheville as a center. 



To bring all the forest products, either in their raw or manufactured 

 form, from the woods to these railroads, three different avenues of 

 transportation are now being used, the private or dummy railroad, the 

 flume, and the wagon road. 



DUMMY LINES. 



The dummy roads are temporary, usually narrow gauge railways with 

 either wooden or iron rails, generally laid down for a specific lumber 

 operation. There are such lines at Andrews, Judson, "Whittier, Balsam, 

 Hazelwood, and Swannanoa. Some of these lines are made standard 

 gauge, which gives them the advantage of not having to transfer the 

 freight at the point of junction. The dummy road is usually the best 

 method of handling logs for distances of over a mile and for handling 

 lumber up to 6 or 8 miles, if there is enough of either to justify the ex- 

 pense of construction. 



FLUMES. 



Flumes are used to a large and increasing extent in the western coun- 

 ties, chiefly for the transportation of cordwood for pulp or tanning 

 extract, but also to some extent for lumber. To make a flume project 

 feasible, the stream should have a fairly even rate of fall and should 

 contain enough water to keep the flume full. The first flumes, put in 

 over 6 or 8 years ago, were "box flumes," with flat bottoms and straight 

 sides. These answered very well for lumber, but it was found that cord- 

 wood would jam in them and quite often force off the sides, thus cut- 

 ting off all the water beyond the stoppage. This has been obviated by 

 using the Y-shaped flume, which causes the wood to be thrown out as 

 soon as it jams, and thus prevents injury to the sides and allows the 

 water to go on down the flume. Practically all flumes in this region 

 are now constructed like this, and most box flumes have been converted 

 by putting the "V" inside the box. Flumes varying from 6 to 18 

 miles in length are now being successfully operated at Nantahala, Cher- 

 okee, Dillsboro, Addie, Swannanoa, and other points along the rail- 



