122 



SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. 



sediment. The waters drain off in the hollows and small 

 streams whose channels have been fitted by long use to 

 withstand the attaolvs of rushing water. 

 £r^m clearings''^ Countless illustrations of this process can be seeti dur- 

 ing an}'^ rainstorm. Streams which drain considerable 

 areas of cleared land rise fast and become turbid with mud. 

 Those which drain areas protected by forests rise nuich 

 more slowl3% and by comparison the water could be cal led 

 clear, except in the most violent storms. This result is of 

 course most striking at the very headwaters, the little 

 streams rising in the fields and in the woods. The effects 

 of this work are seen in the innumerable gullies which 

 gash fields left to the elements for an}' time. In fact, un- 

 less checked by the most constant attention, these gullies 

 soon strip off the soil and clav and ruin the fields. In 

 the forests, on the other hand, one rarel}^ sees a slope of 

 soil not covered b\' vegetation, and it is only along the 

 immediate banks of the streams that raw slopes of loose 

 material are exposed. In short, in this region of deep 

 residual soils the influence of the forest is paramount. It 

 is a fact well known among- the mountaineers that the soils 

 are far more fertile when first cleared of timber than 

 ever again. It is equally well known among the farmers 

 along the river bottoms that the same crops have been 

 planted with the same success for scores of years. These 

 latter soils, however, ai'e refreshed from time to time b}^ 

 the overflowing waters, which have swept off' fertile mate- 

 rials from the steeper slopes above. The natural fertility 

 of these mountain soils is very great, as is abundanth^ 

 shown b}^ the tremendous forest growth. The pristine 

 strength of the soil soon wanes in the clearings, and there 

 ensues a loss which is permanent for at least a generation. 

 To convince one's self of the existence of this condition it 

 is only necessary to visit the region, 

 storage of wa- In addition to the loss inflicted bv forest cutting upon 

 the steep slopes themselves great damage also results to 

 the lands lying farther down the streams. The deep clays 

 and underlying rocks form a kind of gigantic sponge, which 

 stores up water when it is abundant. When the forests are 

 stripped awa}^ the water collects and runs off with vastly 

 greater speed, and much evaporates, so that not onl}^ is 

 less stored up, but the discharge is more irregular and tem- 

 porary. Destructive floods result and droughts are wider 

 spread. Thus, viewed from the standpoint either of util- 

 ity or beauty, these unrivaled forests are the kej'stone of 

 the arch. 



