30 



FORESTS, FOREST LANDS AND FOREST PRODUCTS. 



Camden aud Currituck, lying from west to east in the order named. 

 All except Chowan are penetrated in the northern parts by the Dis- 

 mal swamp, or arms of it which lie on the boundary between this 

 State and Virginia. About 65,000 acres of Dismal swamp area lie 

 in these counties. Although the swamp varies a great deal in 

 character of soil, most of it is peat}^ and was formerly covered by 

 a heavy growth of white cedar. All of this cedar swamp has been 

 lumbered, except about 8,000 acres, and about 8,000 acres have 

 been repeatedly burnt over, effectually destroying all trees, and in 

 places burning out the soil to a great depth. There were some nar- 

 row tracts of cypress in these swamps, and also in the swamps 

 along the streams, but the cypress, like the white cedar, has been 

 largely removed,. These streams rise in the Dismal swamp and 

 flow southward, cutting this territory into long divisions, forming the 

 natural boundaries of the counties and convenient water-ways for 

 removing timber along them. Oak was at one time abundant, but 

 the finest has been cut out for staves and to supply the Norfolk 

 navy yards. The finest pine also was removed many years ago for 

 use in the navy yards. 



The construction of two canals, the numerous natural water- 

 ways, and later a railroad crossing these at right angles, asso- 

 ciated with the nearness of Norfolk and the facilities offered 

 there for the shipment and marketing of lumber, had, as early 

 as 1850, built up a large trade in timber and lumber from 

 these counties. The lumber which is now manufactured is almost 

 entirely from the loblolly pine. During the past decade there has 

 been shipped from this section in the log over 800,000,000 feet 

 board measure, while nearly as much more has been sawn by local 

 mills; but such is the wonderful recuperative power of the loblolly 

 pine forests on a suitable soil that now there remains not less than 

 25,000 acres of merchantable pine. The production of timber in 

 these counties is, however, not one-half of what it was ten years 

 ago, and sooner or later the annual output wilf be reduced to the 

 increase in the forest by the growth each year. 



These regions around the Dismal swamp were about the south- 

 ern limits of the economic distribution of the holly, the trees reach- 

 ing here a large size. Large quantities of holly, dogwood and soft 



