242 THE CULTIVATOR. August, 
These mountains have a cold damp climate, the sum¬ 
mits of the highest being covered with clouds and mists 
a large portion of the summer season. Cold rains are 
of frequent occurrence, doubtless causing the deep vege¬ 
table mould alluded to by Mr. C. There the geolo¬ 
gist will see rocks crumbling to pieces, and large frag¬ 
ments tumbling down under the influence of cold and 
water, of which the Grandfather is a remarkable exam¬ 
ple. This is a high mountain lying within Ash and 
Burke counties. According to Prof. Mitchell, it is 
5,556 feet above the level of the sea, and according to 
the same author, the Roan is 6,038 feet high; the high¬ 
est point of the Black mountain, 6.476 feet, being more 
than 200 feet higher than Mt. Washington, which was 
formerly supposed to be the highest mountain in the 
United States east of the Mississippi.—[See Silliman’s 
Journal, vol. xxxv., p. 377.] 
A large portion of the county of Yancy is an elevated 
table land, which is so damp and cold that the inhabi¬ 
tants frequently do not raise corn sufficient for their own 
consumption. This I learned from Mr. McCall, an old 
gentleman who resides and has spent most ot his life in 
the North Cove, on one of the branches of the Ca¬ 
tawba river. While I was at his house, several men 
came there on horseback from the high table land 
above, after corn to make bread for their families. 
This was in July of 1842- From McCall's I rode on 
horseback up the “ winding stairs,” and across a table 
land thinly settled, (28 miles.) to Mr. Husted’s, at the 
foot of the Yellow Mountain, which is a spur of the 
Roan. Mr. Husted informed me that he did not at¬ 
tempt to raise corn on account of the cold—that in 
many seasons there was scarcely a month in the year 
without frost. With Mr. Husted I walked over "the 
Yellow to the top of the Roan, which was enveloped in 
a fog, to our great disappointment, for it is said that five 
states can be seen from its summit. We descended on 
the other side to Evan Hughes’, and spent the night. 
The next day Mr. Hughes ascended the Roan with us, 
and again the damp clouds rolled over the mountain, 
driven by a cold wind. Mr. Hughes, who had charge 
of some cattle that fed on that mountain, told us that he 
had been on its top the 25th of June, when a snow 
storm arose and completely covered the mountain with 
snow, and that there were few days in the year but that 
it was foggy on the Roan. After Mr. Hughes left us 
we got lost in the mist, and with great dilficufty re¬ 
gained the house at the foot of the Yellow, after dark. 
Those who wish to enjoy a mountain view in North 
Carolina, should always go prepared to encamp on its 
top, and in the morning, before the rays of the sun 
cause the mists to arise, they will generally have a glo¬ 
rious prospect, realizing more than their anticipations. 
I have ascended most of the high mountains in that 
state, and rarely without encountering a storm, or find¬ 
ing their tops covered with mists, which disappeared 
in the cool of the evening, to be resumed by the warm¬ 
ing rays of the morrow’s sun. In encamping on the 
mountains, I generally found the thermometer to range 
from 45 to 60 degrees, and on the high mountains, du¬ 
ring the day it seldom rose above 65. The inhabi¬ 
tants of the valleys pay great attention to the rais¬ 
ing of cattle and horses, which, in the summer season, 
are turned upon the mountains in what is termed “ the 
range,” which consists of tall weeds, native grasses, and 
in many places white clover has become naturalized. 
The owners of the stock cut out small troughs in logs 
w hich are there termed “lick logs,” in which they salt 
the cattle every one or two weeks, at which times they 
generally take their guns, and encamp, and hunt a day 
or more for deer and bear, both of which are abundant. 
Many of the high mountains are covered more or less 
with balsam trees, ( Abies fraseri and Abies nigra,) 
which delight in cold damp situations. The Black 
Mountain is nearly covered with these trees, from 
which it has its name. Beneath these trees there is 
often spread a thick carpet of moss and sphagnum, or ! 
peat moss, with a vegetation similar to that of the White 
mountains and Canada. At Billy White’s, near the 
Grandfather, I found Mrs. White keeping house with 
her oldest son and some children, while Billy had gone 
to some more favored region to raise corn for the fami¬ 
ly, which cannot be raised near the mountain on ac¬ 
count of wet and cold. 
These remarks will apply more or less to the moun¬ 
tainous region of Haywood and Macon counties, from 
which we conclude that they are not suitable to the 
raising of fine-wooled sheep, judging from their eleva¬ 
tion, damp and cold climate, which, as before remarked 
by Mr. C., creates a deep vegetable mould, in which a 
horse will sink up to the fetlock. And would not sheep 
sink in also, and be liable to have the foot rot? And in 
yeaning time would not many lambs be lost from the 
frequent cold rains so common there during the month 
of May. Should any think of grazing sheep in that re¬ 
gion, let them at least, before doing so, examine and 
go over the mountains, and should they conclude to em¬ 
bark in the business and finally succeed, I for one would 
be glad, because I love those mountains. While among 
the Cumberland mountains, in Tennessee, I heard fre¬ 
quently of large mountain tracts there having been sold 
at the North, and when the purchasers came on to 
examine their property, they found it comparatively 
worthless. This is merely alluded to as a warning to 
others who might be disposed to purchase mountain 
tracts in North Carolina before seeing them. 
Yours truly, S. B. Buckley. 
West Dresden, Yates Co., N. Y, June, 1846. 
HOVEY’S STRAWBERRY. 
In a late number of Hovey’s Magazine, I am charged 
with having committed “ three errors in one short para¬ 
graph ” of the Fruit Culturis^, and the Editor regrets 
that I should have “detracted from the excellence” 
of this work, “ by making any statements upon subjects 
of which [I] had no experience.” I therefore make a 
few explanatory remarks in the Cultivator, as it appears 
evident from the editor’s style that he did not expect 
nor intend any reply to be made in that journal. 
The first objection is, that I stated that “ the Duke 
of Kent and Early Scarlet are among the best very 
early” strawberries. He says the former is “quite 
worthless,” and was discarded from his collection 
twelve or fifteen years ago; and that in the London 
Horticultural Society’s Catalogue it is set down “ third 
size and second quality.” It is strange that the editor 
is not aware that climate often produces a great dif¬ 
ference on fruit. Now several of the best judges in 
I Western New-York, consider the Duke of Kent as one 
of the finest flavored of all strawberries, though it may 
be otherwise at London and Boston. The Pomological 
Manual says it is “moderate or medium size,” and 
Downing that it is valuable where the earliest fruit is 
desired. Quality is too often considered to depend on 
size, by the cultivators of large, insipid, and worthless 
varieties. 
The second exception is, I said that Bishop’s Orange 
was of (i good quality and of large size,” which the 
editor positively contradicts. If he will turn to Down¬ 
ing’s “ Fruits and Fruit Trees,” he will find that I am 
fully justified by the terms “ large size“very high, 
flavored ,” and “ finest quality ,” there applied to Bishop’s 
Orange. 
“ But the third and gross error,” continues the editor, 
“ is that Hovey’s Seedling is tender! It is evident from 
this that Mr. Thomas never cultivated the true variety, 
or he would not have made such a statement, for one of 
its greatest qualities is its hardiness.” As for the true 
variety,—our plants were obtained from A. J. Downing 
& Co., of Newburgh, and from Prof. Jackson, of Sche¬ 
nectady;—men of the highest standing as horticultu¬ 
rists. As for its being tender, I know several instances 
in Western New-York, where many plants of Hovey’s 
Seedling were nearly all destroyed by the frost in win¬ 
ter while the Early Scarlet and other varieties, planted 
at the same time alongside, nearly or quite all escaped. 
Such loss was subsequently prevented by winter protec¬ 
tion—proving decisively that Hovey s Seedling is not 
so hardy as the Early Scarlet or Virginia in some lo¬ 
calities in this part of the state. 
