70 



SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. 



Agriculture. 



Erosion. 



The forest. 



The greater portion of this area lius l)een cleared, 

 although mostl}' too steep to be arable. The hills are 

 cleared for grazing, to which indu.stry thi.s land i.s better 

 adapted than to agriculture, in view of the great erosion 

 and the difficult}^ of maintaining roads in this remote and 

 hilly region. Excellent crops of hay and grass are the 

 rule on new land, and the custom is to crop and graze a 

 clearing until it wears out, then clear a new field. 



Many of the old hill fields are noM' worn out b}' close 

 pasturing and b}'^ the erosion of unprotected humus, and 

 are being gullied to the underlying rock by every shower. 



The forests of large area are limited to the higher alti- 

 tudes on the isolated peaks between the North and South 

 forks, and on Balsam and Iron mountains which form the 

 northwestern rim of the plateau. On the southeastern 

 slope of Balsam Mountain is an almost unbroken forest, 

 approximately 5 miles square; but the long, narrow strip 

 of woodland on Iron Mountain is considerably broken l)y 

 clearings and burns, while the portions of Pond Mountain 

 and White Top draining into New River have on them 

 only remnants of the old forest. 



Scattered among the clearings of the valley are wood 

 lots, left usually on ridges and north slopes. 



CompositAon. — The trees of these forests are principally 

 oaks and chestnut, with a mixture of white pine, hemlock, 

 black spruce, black gum, cherry, poplar, ash. cucumber, 

 bucke3'e, linn, maple, birch, and many unimportant species. 

 Altogether there are about 80 species of trees. 



Condition. — All the forest is inferior in condition, being 

 either culled, fire scarred, or full of old and defective trees, 

 while a dense undergrowth usually covers the steep slopes. 



The condition of these neglected forests would improve 

 readily under forestry, as valuable species are abundant 

 and reproduce easily and grow rapidl}^ wherever they have 

 an opportunitj". The outlying isolated wood lots, sur- 

 rounded b}^ cleared land and held bj' thoughtful farmers, 

 are noticeably in better condition than the larger wild 

 areas in the remote mountains. 



Topography. 



SOUTH FORK OF HOLSTON RIVER ( SOUTHERN TRIBU- 

 TARY BASINS ONLY). 



[238,000 acres; 80 per cent wooded.] 



This area comprises the northern slope of the mountains 

 between Watauga and New rivers, and is principally a 

 long, narrow strip of steep mountain side, having a north- 



