86 



SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. 



Soil. 



Agriculture. 



Erosion. 



The forest. 



from those peaks is rapid and amounts to 3,500 feet in 6 

 miles on the Toxaway. There are few prominent points 

 within the basin, but the canj^ons are deeply eroded, and 

 cascades are almost continuous along the Whitewater, 

 Horsepasture, and other tributaries. 



Derived from ofjieiss, and in o-eiieral well forested, the 

 soil is fertile. It is usually a loam of good physical qual- 

 ity. The ridge land is, of course, less fertile, 5'et is capable 

 of growing valuable timber. 



The few clearings that have been made yield good ci'ops 

 of grass and corn, but the roughness and steepness of the 

 surface will prevent any extensive farming in this portion 

 of this drainage. 



So little of the land has been cleared that eroded fields 

 are not a prominent feature of the landscape, as in many 

 other localities, but enough has been cleared to show^ what 

 the effect would be. 



The soil, having numerous pebbles in it, does not erode 

 by rainfall as readily as clay or sand, but, on the other 

 hand, the slopes are so steep and the torrents so fierce 

 that it would be unwise to uncover any but the gentlest 

 slopes and the most fertile soil. 



The forest of this tract is but slightly broken, only 5 per 

 cent being cleared. The northern portion, h'ing well up on 

 the Blue Ridge, has substantially the same species as the 

 forest of the highlands. The oaks, hemlock, and white 

 pine predominate. Chestnut, ash, hickory and gum are 

 also abundant. Lower on the slopes the oaks, hickories, 

 and black and yellow pines become more prominent. 



The forests of this region are variable. The\' have been 

 seriousl}'' injured by fires, and as a result have some large 

 openings on the ridges. Rhododendron and kalmia con- 

 stitute a dense undergrowth in the hollows. Defective 

 trees are abundant throughout, but the stand of valuable 

 species is poor. 



Improvement in forest condition maj be rather more 

 difficult here than elsewhere, owing to abundance of brush 

 and the liabilit}' to fire. White and shortleaf pine are the 

 most promising species for a future forest. 



