CAEROLL COUNTY. 



Carroll County lies in the Piedmont section of the northern cen- 

 tral portion of the State. It is distinctly an agricultural County, 

 since only 13 per cent of it is forest, and 76 per cent improved farm 

 land in a high state of cultivation. The surface is somewhat broken 

 by irregular valleys and rounded hills, with Parr's Ridge, the most 

 prominent elevation, extending northeast and southwest through the 

 central part of the County. Along this ridge, and to the east of it, 

 occurs by far the larger portion of the County's woodlands. 



The Forests. 



Local woodlands consist for the greater part of woodlots owned 

 by farmers, and confined to the lands not readily arable. The good 

 soils of the county are reflected in the forest growth, which is excep- 

 tional, and marked by tall and well-proportioned trees. The forests 

 are principally hardwood, with a few woodlots in the western part in 

 which mixed hardwoods and pine occur. The principal commercial 

 species are white and red oaks, tulip poplar, hickory, and chestnut 

 The latter is abundant on Parr's Ridge and the hills northeast of 

 "Westminster, though not of frequent occurrence in other portions of 

 the county. It has been so severely attacked by the blight that it is 

 not likely to possess much commercial importance in the future. 



The forests of Carroll County are chiefly noteworthy for the very 

 high percentage of hardwood timber which they contain. The forest 

 survey of the County's woodlands, made in 1911, shows that 1 per 

 cent only is in mixed pine and hardwood, the remaining 99 per cent 

 being pure hardwoods in either culled or merchantable stands. Of this, 

 3,513 acres have stands of hardwood amounting to 5,000 feet or more 

 per acre, with 35,401 acres of hardwood amounting to less than this; 

 only 359 acres are in hardwood and pine, and all of this in stands of 

 less than 5,000 feet. 



Uses of the Forests. 



Forest products obtained annually from this limited area of wood- 

 land amount in value to $118,800, in volume to 991,960 cubic feet. 

 This represents the cut of 25 mill and timber operators, nearly aU of 



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