32 



FORESTS, FOREST LANDS AND FOREST PRODUCTS. 



There are about 25,000 acres of unlumbered loblolly pine land. 

 The cypress, which is confined to the alluvial land along the streams, 

 is more abundant along the Ahosky and Pottecasy than any other 

 streams. 



Bertie county has a soil and growth similar to those of Hert- 

 ford county, consisting for the most part of upland loblolly pine 

 lands. In the southern part, however, it is skirted by the Roanoke 

 river, which is bordered with a broad swamp still having large 

 quantities of white and red oaks, gums, maple, cotton wood, hickory, 

 sycamore and elms and some ash and cypress in it. There is also 

 some cypress along Cashie and Roquest creeks. Although the tim- 

 ber yield of this county has been very large for a number of years 

 there are now standing 65,000 acres of unlumbered loblolly pine. 

 Early in this century Bertie county was known as the "pine forest," 

 on account of the densit}^ and excellence of its forests of this tree. 



Martin county lies south of Bertie on the opposite side of the 

 Roanoke. Its soil is similar to that of the last described counties, 

 but the Roanoke river swamp is less continuous, being confined to 

 several bends in the river in the eastern part of the county. Along 

 the river there are some narrow sand ridges, now covered with 

 black-jacks and small post and red oaks. The remainder of. the 

 forest area is loblolly pine land, about two-thirds of which has 

 been cut over. The county is the seat of extensive milling opera- 

 tion*s. 



Pitt county, being drained in the northern and eastern parts by 

 the Tar river and Grindle creek, one of its largest tributaries, has 

 for many years furnished large qualities of timber for the mills at 

 Washington. Along all the streams are large stretches of cypress 

 swamp and oak lands, the latter forming virgin forests and the for- 

 mer only partially lumbered. The loblolly pine near the larger 

 streams has been extensively cut. In the southern and western 

 sections the soil becomes more sandy, and the original growth, long-- 

 leaf pine, has been replaced by loblolly pine, mixed with a low 

 growth of oaks. The loblolly has never been removed from this 

 section. 



Greene county, which lies just south of Pitt, has in the north- 

 ern parts a soil similar to that of the adjacent portion of Pitt, and 



