24 



SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. 



tility is short lived, limited to two, three, or five crops iit 

 most. The}^ arc cleared, cultivated, and abandoned in 

 rapid succession. Out of twenty such cleared fields, per- 

 haps two or three are in corn, jilanted l)etween the recently 

 girdled trees; one or two may be in o-rain; two or four in 

 grass, and the remainder — more than half of them — in 

 various stages of abandonment and ruin, perhaps even 

 before the deadened trees have fallen to the ground. (Sec 

 PI. XVllI.) 



eratioilf""^"''" '^'^^^ lumberman attacked this forest several decades ago 

 when he began to penetrate it in search of the rarer and 

 more valuable trees, such as the walnut and cherry. Later, 

 as the railroads entered the region to some extent, he added 

 to his list of trees for cutting the mountain ])irch, locust, 

 and tulip poplar, and successively other valuable species. 

 During the past few years he has cut everything merchant- 

 able. He is now beginning to extend his operations to 

 considerable distances be5^ond the main lines of transpor- 

 tation by the construction of tramwa3"S and even cheap, 

 short railways. Meanwhile his search for the more valu- 

 able trees has extended in advance to most of the more 

 remote mountain coves. 



lumbering ope™ -^'^ thesc operations there has naturall}^ been no thought 



ations. ^j^g future. Trees have been cut so as to fall along 



the line of least resistance regardless of what they crush. 

 Their tops and branches, instead of being piled in such 

 way and burned at such time as would do the least harm, 

 are left scattered among the adjacent growth to burn when 

 driest, and thus destro}^ or injure everything within reach. 

 The home and permanent interests of the lumberman are 

 generally in another State or region, and his interest in 

 these mountains begins and ends with the hope of profit. 

 There is, however, no evidence that the native lumberman 

 has in the past exhibited any difl'erent spirit. 



work^ of" forest Forest fircs have been one of the great curses of this 

 countr3^ From the days of Indian occupation down to. 

 the present time these Appalachian Mountain forests have 

 been swept through by fires. Some of these have preceded 

 the lumberman, others have accompanied him, and still 

 others have followed in his wake, and the last have been 

 far more destructive because of the tops and other rubbish 

 which he has left behind him scattered among the remain- 

 ing growth. (See PI. Lih). The aggregate damage from 

 these fires is great. Over some limited areas they have 

 entirely destroyed the forests. Everywhere on the south- 



