132 



SOUTHEEN APPALACHIAN REGION. 



abundant water power funiishcd hy the various streams. 

 These are, as a rule, of small capacity, from 500 to 1.000 

 feet per day, and do maiidy the custom sawing for the 

 region near by. In addition to these there are numerous 

 small sawmills, owned for the most part by some firm 

 lioldmg extensive tracts of forest, and these are moved 

 from place to place as the near-by timber becomes nearly 

 exhausted. 



In any case the effect of the sawmill on the forests is 

 the same. All the trees available for use in an}^ manner 

 are cut into plank, and the careless methods destroy the 

 greater part of the voung growth, which would otherwise 

 in course of time replenish the supply. The logs when 

 cut are "snaked" downhill by mule team, soon cutting a 

 deep channel in the earth, which the waters from the first 

 rain storm turn into a yawning gulh' that rapidlj' spreads 

 in extent. (See PI. LIII.) The tops and those parts of the 

 trunk unsuitable for lumber are left on the ground to 

 furnish fuel for the first fire or a breeding place for insects 

 destructive to tree life. 

 Forest destmc- In addition to the lumbering operations, the tan-bark 



tion for tan- . _ . 



bark. industry is making great inroads on forest growth. 



Every year thousands of cords of bark are stripped in 

 these mountains, and each load means that some giant of 

 the forest has been felled and lies useless, for the trunks 

 are rarely used for timber, the expense of transporting 

 them to the mills from the high mountain slopes being in 

 most cases prohibitive. 

 Destructive But great as is the work of the lumberman in this forest 



fires. destruction, his part has in the past been small when com- 



pared with that of the forest fire and ^hatof the fanner in 

 clearing land for agricultural purposes. Forest "fires have 

 been one of the great curses in the southern Appalachians 

 as truly as elsewhere in the country. They were common in 

 the days of Indian occupation. Thus, the}' have preceded 

 the lumberman, but they have also accompanied him and 

 followed in his wake. Their work has been rendered 

 far more destructive because the lumberman has left his 

 brush scattered among the remaining growth in such way 

 that in the burning it has fed the fire. 



In some regions these fires have destro3'ed the forests 

 entirely. Especially has this been the case where the soil 

 has been thin and composed largely of humus. The fire 

 has destroyed this humus and the remaining soil has soon 

 washed away, leaving the ti'ees on the bare surface of rock, 



