44 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTEEN NORTH CAROLINA. 



The best timber is in the coves and towards the heads of the streams 

 in the western and southern portions. Here virgin stands of the prin- 

 cipal species still remain, and some large watersheds average more than 

 7,000 board feet per acre. Large quantities of chestnut, poplar, red oak, 

 linn, and hemlock are still standing, and much of it is over-mature. At 

 least one-third of the county is covered with original forest growth. On 

 the lower slopes and ridges, the forests have been culled several times and 

 now support a second growth of oaks, chestnut, hickory, and maple. 

 Where fires have been kept out these stands are growing fairly well, but 

 the forest would be greatly improved if the over-mature trees were re- 

 moved. In the old washed fields of the western and central portions 

 yellow pine has come up, and if left will hold the soil and put it to 

 profitable use. The largest continuous area of spruce and balsam in the 

 State is on the high mountains of the southern part of Haywood and 

 extending over into Jackson and Transylvania counties. In this area 

 red spruce constitutes about 80 per cent of the stand, balsam 18 per cent, 

 and birch, beech, and buckeye the remainder. The trees grow in dense 

 stands, with diameters up to 3 feet. The best timbered areas will cut 

 50,000 board feet to the acre, but the whole type will not average more 

 than 8,000 because of the small timber on the tops of the ridges. The 

 Champion Fiber Company is now logging in this forest near Richland 

 Balsam. 



The general sentiment of the people throughout the county is against 

 fires, yet from carelessness and other sources fires burn over 20 per cent 

 of the forests annually. Land-owners fail to insist on fire prevention 

 when they sell standing timber, and the purchaser is indifferent, so long 

 as he sustains no loss. 



TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY. 



Transylvania County has an approximate area of 237,000 acres. The 

 comparatively small portion of agricultural land lies chiefly in the valley 

 of the French Broad which rises in the southwest and flows northeast 

 through the middle of the county, draining nearly the whole area. Its 

 two principal tributaries, Davidson and Little rivers, drain, respect- 

 ively, the rugged northern and southeastern sections. South of the Blue 

 Ridge a small section drains into the Horsepasture River, which flows 

 into South Carolina. The most rugged mountains are in the north- 

 western part, reaching an altitude in the Pisgah ridge of 6,440 feet. The 

 lowest elevation in the county is on Toxaway River, 1,100 feet above 

 sea level. 



The rock formation is largely granitic, with some schist and lime- 

 stone. The soil generally is loamy, but along the Blue Ridge, in the 



