SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. 



79 



hard woods, with, in the Balsam and Pizgah ridges, a small* 

 amount of black spruce at high elevations, and some white 

 pine in the lower part of the basin. These forests have 

 been culled onlj^ of the most valuable timbers. 



All species reproduce excellentl_y under the proper 

 light couditions; and with exclusion of lire and a judi- 

 cious system of lumbering there would be no difficulty in 

 perpetuating this forest and increasing the proportion of 

 valuable species in its composition. 



NORTHWESTERN SLOPE OF SMOKY MOUNTAINS. 



[254,720 acreg; 91 per cent wooded. J 



This tract is a mountain side between altitudes of 1,500 Topography, 

 and 6,700 feet, and is drained by Little Pigeon and Little 

 rivers into Holston River, and by Abrams Creek into 

 Little Tennessee River. The surface is eroded into fan- 

 shaped basins, very steep, and often precipitous near the 

 summit, with high, narrow ridges dividing the main 

 drainage basins. There is no alluvial land of consequence 

 except at Briar Cove, Gatlinburg, Tuckaleechee Cove and 

 Cades Cove. 



In general the soil is light-colored and shallow, espe- son. 

 cially on the ridges and steep slopes. In the coves, how- 

 ever, and along the foot of the ridges where the slope is 

 more gentle, humus has accumulated and the soil is fer- 

 tile. In general physical quality the soil i.s loam or clay 

 loam. 



Corn is the principal farm crop, and 50 bushels per acre Agriculture, 

 are sometimes grown on the best lowlands. This land can 

 not compete with the alluvial river bottoms, however. 

 Most of it is farmed only because it is cheap land and 

 affords a chance for a poor man to make a living (by hard 

 work.) The higher altitudes are favorable to fruit, grass, 

 and vegetables, and also to stock raising in a limited de- 

 gree, as cattle may roam in the woods and subsist on seed- 

 lings, shrubs, and weeds, and hogs in occasional years find 

 abundant mast. 



In general, the earth is fairty well covered, and thus pro- Erosion, 

 tected from erosion, but the few old pastures are worn and 

 gullied here, as elsewhere on hilly land. 



In this region streams heading in unbroken forest are 

 notabl}^ clear and their banks show little fluctuation in 

 volume of water, while those from cleared lands are muddy 

 and inconstant. 



