SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. 



131 



the broader bordering valleys were damaged beyond recu- 

 peration. Some areas were denuded of soil, while others 

 were covered with desert-like, almost barren white sand 

 extending for miles along the course of a stream. (See 

 PI. XXXIV.) 



But while the damage from the storm of 1901 exceeds 

 that of any preceding year, it is common knowledge among 

 the mountaineers that annually the floods have risen irreg- 

 ularly but steadily higher, and that their destructive work 

 has been increasing in proportion as the forest clearings and 

 the forest burnings have proceeded. We may confidently 

 expect that floods of the future will exceed those of the 

 past. 



Man}'^ of these streams have fine water powers along their and° water pow? 

 courses, the value of which is limited by their low- water flow, s''^- 

 Deforestation means the destruction of the only source of 

 natural storage in the region, and that the rainfall will 

 reach the stream almost as soon as it falls, so that in the 

 dry season there will be no reserve supply to augment the 

 low-water flow, which is di'awn principally from subsurface 

 sources. These water powers are a potential source of 

 pi'osperity to the region in which they are found, and since 

 their value depends entirely upon the water available, any- 

 thing tending to reduce its amount or to change its distri- 

 bution by inci'easing the violence of the floods and at the 

 same time diminishing the low-water flow, will work injury 

 in precise proportion to the change produced. This result 

 is inevitable upon the deforestation of the drainage basin, 

 and on many of the streams has alread}^ become evident. 

 It is the general testimony of the older inhabitants of the 

 region that the streams are now much more irregular than 

 they were before active and widespread clearing operations 

 had been begun. And while the evidence of the "oldest 

 inhabitant," as an individual, may not be quite all that 

 can be desired, collectively it is entitled to large credence. 

 Alread}' 24: per cent of the total area of this region has been 

 cleared of its forests. 



Lumbering operations are at present rather widespread, tio^°'^by* hmber'- 

 and the forests in many regions already begin to show ' 

 evidence of their effect. The large mills are usually steam 

 sawmills, to which the logs are either transported by a 

 system of tramroads radiating from the site of the mill, 

 or, where the mill is located near a stream of sufficient 

 size, the logs are brought down by splashing. A number 

 of small sawmills have been erected which make use of the 



men. 



