Forest conditions in western North Carolina

              North Carolina State Library
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d& Raleigh
THE NORTH CAROLINA GEOLOGICAL AND
ECONOMIC SURVEY
JOSEPH HYDE PRATT, State Geologist
BULLETIN No. 23
Forest Conditions in Western North Carolina
J. S. HOLMES
Forester, North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey, and Forest Examiner,
U. S. Forest Service ,
In Co-operation with the
Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture
HENRY S. GRAVES; Forester
RALEIGH
Edwards & Broughton Printing Company, State Printers
1911
GEOLOGICAL BOARD.
Governor W. W. Kitchin, ex officio Chairman Raleigh.
Frank R. Hewitt Asheville.
Hugh MacRae Wilmington.
R. D. Caldwell Lumberton.
Dr. M. R. Braswell Rocky Mount
.
Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist Chapel Hill.
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.
Chapel Hill, N. C, October 1, 1911.
To His Excellency, Hon. "W*. W. Kitchin,
Governor of North Carolina.
Sir: One of the objects of the North Carolina Geological and Eco-nomic
Survey is the investigation of the forests of the State. During
the past two years the Survey has made a study of forest conditions in
about thirty counties of the State, and in the present report there is
given the result of the investigation of the forest conditions in Western
North Carolina. The study upon which this report is based was
undertaken by the Survey in connection with the Forest Service of the
United States Department of Agriculture, the work being done under
the direction of the office of State Cooperation in the Forest Service and
under the local instruction of the State Geologist. By the terms of the
cooperative agreement, the Survey is authorized to publish the findings
of the investigation, and I herewith submit this report for publication as
Bulletin No. 23 of the reports of the North Carolina Geological and
Economic Survey.
Yours respectfully,
Joseph Hyde Pratt,
State Geologist.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page
Preface 9
The region 11
Physiographic features 11
Accessibility 12
Classification of land 13
Valuation of land 13
The forest 14
General conditions 14
Present stand 14
Annual output 14
Forest distribution by types 18
Spruce forest 18
Hardwood forest 20
Plateau type 20
Chestnut type 21
Ridge 21
Slope 21
Cove 22
Red oak type 22
Beech and maple type 22
Forest distribution by species 23
Chestnut 23
Red oaks 23
Red oak 23
Black oak 23
Scarlet oak 24
Spanish oak 24
Blackjack oak 24
White oaks 24
White oak 24
Post oak 25
Yellow poplar 25
Hemlock 25
Chestnut oak 26
Maple 26
Sugar maple 26
Red Maple 26
Basswood 26
Hickory 27
Yellow pine 27
Shortleaf pine , 27
Pitch pine 27
Scrub pine 27
Table mountain pine 28
White pine 28
Red spruce 28
Beech 29
Ash , 29
Buckeye 29
6 CONTENTS.
Forest distribution by species
—
Continued. Page
Birch 29
Balsam 30
Cucumber 30
Black gum 30
Sweet gum 31
Cherry 31
Miscellaneous hardwood species 31
Black walnut 31
Butternut 31
Black locust , 32
Dogwood 32
Silverbell 32
Holly 32
Sycamore 32
Forest and economic conditions by counties 32
Cherokee county 32
Clay county 34
Graham county 36
Swain county 37
Macon county -.....- 39
Jackson county 40
Haywood county 42
Transylvania county 44
Henderson county 46
Buncombe county 48
Madison county •. 49
Yancey county 51
Mitchell county 53
Watauga county \ 56
Ashe county 57
Alleghany county 58
Timber industries 60
Lumber 60
Band mills 60
Portable mills 62
Water mills 63
Tanning extract 63
Pulp wood 65
Chestnut 66
Spruce 66
. Hemlock 67
Poplar 68
Pine 69
Tanbark 69
Minor timber industries 72
Ties 72
Poles 73
Pins 73
Shingles 74
Miscellaneous products 74
Transportation - 75
Rivers 75
Railroads 75
Dummy lines 76
Flumes 76
Wagon roads 77
Forest management 78
Removal of timber and reproduction of new stands 79
Waste in logging 79
Incomplete utilization 80
Failure to cut merchantable trees 81
Injury to trees left standing 81
CONTENTS. 7
Forest management
—
Continued. Page
Method of cutting to secure reproduction 82
Spruce forest 82
Hardwood forest 84
Selection Method 85
Clear Cutting 85
Plateau type 86
Chestnut type 88
Ridge 88
Slope 90
Cove 91
Red oak type 92
Beech and maple type. 92
Care of stand 93
Thinnings 93
Protection of the forest 94
Fire protection 94
Fire laws 96
Protection from stock 98
Sale of standing timber 99
Forest extension 101
Planting 101
Sowing 104
Forest taxation 106
Biltmore estate 106
Appalachian National Forest Law 108
Summary and conclusions 109
List of Publications 112
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PLATE. Facing pag
I. Typical Hardwood Forest of Western North Carolina: View from
Hughes' Ridge, Swain County
—
Frontispiece 11
II. Map of Region showing estimated stand per acre and percentage o
forest land 14
III. Spruce Forest 19
A, Mature spruce forest, showing adequate reproduction.
B, Mature spruce forest, burnt over and destroyed twelve years ago.
IV. The Lumber Industry 60
A, Logging white pine and hemlock, Mitchell County.
B, Binding poplar boards for export, Swain County.
V. Pulpwood and Tanning Extract Industries 65
Works of Champion Fibre Co., Canton.
VI. Tanning Industry 70
A, Tannery of Cover & Sons, Andrews.
B, Unloading bark from cars and storing in shed.
C, A large crop. Stacking surplus bark in the open.
VII. Pulpwood and Tanning Extract Industries 76
A, Spruce pulpwood, from flume to cars.
B, Chestnut extract wood in yard of Cherokee Tanning Extract Co.,
Andrews.
VIII. Reforestation of Abandoned Lands 104
A, Sugar maple plantation, 8 years old, Buncombe County.
B, Thrifty growth of balsam plantation, at elevation of 3,800 feet,
Watauga County.
PREFACE.
The act of the North Carolina General Assembly of 1905 creating the
North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey defines as one of the
principal objects of the Survey "the examination and classification of
* * * the forests * * * of the State with special reference to their
bearing on the occupations of the people." This same act authorizes
"the State Geologist to arrange for and accept such aid and cooperation
from the several United States Government Bureaus as may assist in
carrying out the provisions of this chapter."
In accordance with these provisions, in the summer of 1909 the State
Geologist made arrangements with the Forest Service of the United
States Department of Agriculture for a cooperative study of the forest
conditions of North Carolina. The mountain region naturally called for
first attention in a study of this kind, because of its large proportion of
forest land and because of the tremendous present and future impor-tance
of its forests to the people of that region and to the State as a
whole. The value of the forests extends also to neighboring States,
through which the streams rising in these mountains flow, and even to
those farther off, that depend on the Southern Appalachian region for
their supply of hardwoods. A very large proportion of this area consists
of absolute forest land, and, in the future, when the greater part of the
more level land to the east will be cleared and used for agriculture, these
mountainsides will be called upon to furnish the hardwood timber
needed to supply the varied industries of the State.
The results of former investigations are embodied in various State
and Federal reports*, but this one takes up a new phase of this subject,
*North Carolina Geological Survey Bulletin 6, Forests and Forest Trees of North Carolina.
Sen. Doc. 84. Message of the President of the United States Transmitting a Report of the Secretary
of Agriculture in relation to the Forests, Rivers, and Mountains of the Southern Appalachian Region.
Published 1902.
Professional Paper No. 37, Geological Survey. The Southern Appalachian Forests. H. B. Ayres
and W. W. Ashe. Published 1905.
Professional Paper No. 72, Geological Survey. Denudation and Erosion in the Southern Appalach-ian
Region and the Monongahela Basin. LeoDidas C. Glenn. Published 1911.
Sen. Doc. 91. Report of the Secretary of Agriculture on the Southern Appalachian and White Moun-tain
watersheds. Published 1908.
Circular 105, Forest Service. White Oak in the Southern Appalachians. W. B. Greeley and W. W.
Ashe. Published July 25, 1907.
Circular 116, Forest Service. The Waning Hardwood Supply and the Appalachian Forests. William
L. Hall. Published September 24, 1907.
Circular 118, Forest Service. Management of Second Growth in the Southern Appalachians. Ra-phael
Zon. Published December 16, 1907.
Circular 135, Forest Service. Chestnut Oak in the Southern Appalachians. H. D. Foster and W.
W. Ashe. Published August 31, 1908.
Circular 143, Forest Service. The relation of the Southern Appalachian Mountains to Inland
Water Navigation. M. O. Leighton and A. H. Horton. Published March 7, 1908.
Circular 144, Forest Service. The Relation of the Southern Appalachian Mountains to the Develop-ment
of Water Power. M. O. Leighton, M. R. Hall, and R. H. Bolster Published March 20, 1908.
Department of Agriculture Yearbook Extract 214. Practical Forestry in the Southern Appalachians.
Overton W. Price. Reprint from Yearbook of 1900.
10 PREFACE.
and treats of the present condition of the forest and of forest industries,
with their economic relation to the people of the region and to the State
as a whole. It is primarily for the owners of forest land to furnish
them with information as to the proper management of their forest
holdings.
The study upon which this report is based was made in the summer of
1909 by J. S. Holmes, Forester to the North Carolina Geological and
Economic Survey, assisted by Messrs. W. B. Willey and A. W. Wil-liamson,
Forest Assistants in the United States Forest Service. The
cost of the investigation was borne equally by the State and Federal
Governments.
Further reports along the same lines will be published as the results
of examinations of the forests of other portions of the State.
Acknowledgment is made to lumbermen, mill men, and others who,
by their courteous answers to requests for information, assisted materi-ally
in the preparation of this report.
Joseph Hyde Pratt,
State Geologist.
.
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA,
By J. S. HOLMES.
THE KEGION.
It is probable that Western North Carolina is more widely known for
its fine climate, pure water, and beautiful scenery than for any others
of its natural advantages. Thousands of health and pleasure seekers
come each winter to this "Land of the Sky" to escape the rigors of the
northern and eastern states, while tens of thousands flock each sum-mer
from the south. The entertainment of these summer and winter
visitors or tourists forms a most important and promising industry, for
they bring into the country each year from two and a half to three mil-lion
dollars. The large part that the forests play in the tourist traffic,
by increasing the purity of the streams and making the country more
beautiful and interesting, is not generally realized ; yet forest and stream
and climate are Western North Carolina's most valuable assets. With
the conservation of the forests, the improvement of the roads, and the
extension of railroads, the attractiveness as well as the accessibility of
the country will be tremendously enhanced, and the number of visitors
will steadily increase.
Of even greater economic importance are the timber resources. The
hardwoods of the Southern Appalachians are as widely known among
buyers and users of wood products as the climatic advantages are by the
traveling public. Oak, chestnut, poplar, cherry, walnut, and other
woods are shipped to all of the eastern states, even to Canada and to
Europe; and furniture made in North Carolina from wood grown in
these mountains goes all over the world.
Agriculture, which in most parts of the State stands first among the
important industries, takes third place in the mountains, and, if only
those farm products which bring a cash return are counted, is unim-portant,
though considerable quantities of apples and cabbages are
shipped out of the region, and corn, cattle, chickens, eggs, butter, fruit,
and garden truck are sold locally.
PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES.
A portion of the Blue Kidge extends across Western North Carolina in
a southwesterly direction from Fisher Peak (3,609 feet) on the Virginia
line to Eabun Bald (4,600 feet), just across the line in Georgia, a dis-
12 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
tance of 200 miles. Approximately parallel, to the northwest, is the
Unaka Range, consisting of the Stone, Iron, Great Smoky, and Unaka
mountains, forming the line between North Carolina and Tennessee.
Between these two great ranges lie the sixteen mountain counties of the
State: Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Swain, Macon, Jackson, Haywood,
Transylvania, Henderson, Buncombe, Madison, Yancey, Mitchell, Wa-tauga,
Ashe, and Alleghany. This region, with a total length of 230
miles and a width varying from 10 to 50 miles, contains the highest
mountains east of the Rockies, more than forty peaks rising to 6,000
feet or more. The topography is for the most part rugged, though there
are large areas of comparatively level land in several of the counties.
The elevations vary from about 1,300 feet, where two or three of the
largest rivers pass out of the State along its western border, to the 6,711
feet of Mt. Mitchell ; the average elevation is from 2,000 to 3,000 feet.
Almost all the drainage is toward the north and west and, with the
exception of the northeast corner of the region, which is drained by New
River, the streams are mainly tributary to the Tennessee. Parts of a
few of the counties, however, extend over onto the southeast slopes of
the Blue Ridge, and from these small areas the streams run south and
east to rivers that flow into the Atlantic.
The geological formation is chiefly Pre-Cambrian, consisting of
gneisses, schists, granite, diorites, and other crystalline rocks, which break
down into stiff red clays. With proper care these clays make excellent
agricultural soils. Two well-defined areas, however, of Cambrian forma-tion,
consisting of conglomerates, quartzites, and slates, cross the region
—one quite narrow, in or near the Blue Ridge, and the other in the
Unaka range, narrow at the northern end but widening out toward the
southwest until it covers practically all of Swain, Graham, and Chero-kee
counties and parts of several others. The soil resulting from the
decomposition of these rocks is sandy, with a yellowish clay subsoil, and
is rather less suitable for agriculture. It seems, however, to favor a
heavier growth of timber.
ACCESSIBILITY.
The accessibility of timber largely determines its value and also de-termines
methods of forest management.
Western North Carolina is well supplied with railroads, there being
no fewer than ten railroad outlets. Yet the greater part of the best
timber is remote from transportation and can not be marketed profitably
until new lines are built or extensions made. Since 1909, however, rail-road
development has been rapid, so that now only the three extreme
northeastern counties are without railroads, while spurs or extensions
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 13
are under construction or are definitely planned for about half the
mountain counties. The wagon roads, which are the chief feeders for
the railroads, are in most cases unimproved; and though they are often
fairly good in dry summer weather, many of them become almost im-passable
in winter. Nothing could add more to the value of timber and
give proper encouragement to proper methods of forestry than the con-struction
of good roads. This question of transportation is discussed in
more detail later.
CLASSIFICATION OF LAND.
Throughout the region, agricultural land is held mostly in small
areas, and a farm of more than 500 acres is exceptional. In nearly all
counties, however, some forest land is held in large bodies by lumber
companies, or speculators; and in some counties more than 60 per cent
of the land is in tracts of more than 1000 acres in extent. But since all
of this is rough, mountain woodland, unsuited to agriculture, such ten-ure
is no drawback, but rather an advantage; for by keeping the full
stand of timber, the land retains a full valuation, which is reduced as
soon as the timber is taken off.
The proportion of cleared to forested land varies considerably in the
different counties, depending on the transportation facilities and suita-bility
for farming. In the region as a whole about 24 per cent of the
land has at one time been cleared. While most of this land still pro-duces
agricultural crops, a good deal of it in some counties has been
"thrown out," or abandoned, because it is too poor and too much washed
for profitable cultivation. Such land usually produces worthless briars
and bushes, or in some cases reverts to a scattered growth of oldfield pine
or hardwood of little present or prospective value.
VALUATION OF LAND.
Land throughout this region is taxed according to its assessed value.
The values are revised every four years by a board of assessors, and are
usually from one-third to two-thirds the actual sale value. The assess-ment
on timber land varies from $2 to $7 an acre, and is about half as
much on land that has been cut over. The sale value of well timbered
stands varies from $10 to $20 an acre, some areas having been sold for
even higher than this ; while cutover or culled woodlands sell at from less
than $3 to $10 an acre, according to location. The assessed value of
cleared land varies much more since it is influenced not only by quality
and location, but by improvements. Cleared land is, as a rule, valued
much too low when the cost of clearing and other improvements are
taken into consideration.
14 * FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
THE FOREST.
GENERAL CONDITIONS.
The forests of this region are largely confined to absolute forest land,
that is, land potentially more valuable for forest growth than for any-thing
else. The forest may best serve for the production of timber, or
it may be required mainly to prevent erosion or to protect and regulate
a water supply. In the main, the mountains are so steep and the soil
is so shallow that the removal of the forest cover and the cultivation of
the land are followed in a comparatively few years by the washing away
of the fine surface soil and the abandonment of the land for agricultural
purposes. 'Not only have practically all of the areas suitable for agri-culture
been cleared—including the bottoms along the streams, gently
rolling plateau land and hilltops, the lower gradual slopes, and the
mountain cover—but much absolute forest land has also been cleared.
It used to be that farmers cleared a "new ground" each year, and
abandoned to "old fields" an equivalent of "worn out" land. This prac-tice
is now giving place to improved methods by which the cleared land
is kept in good condition. Though much land has been cleared for agri-culture,
some of which is now reverting to forest, 76 per cent of this
region is forested, or a little more than three million acres in the 16
counties. present stand.
The greater part of the forest has been reduced to cull stands of com-paratively
small and second class timber. Only two or three counties
have virgin forests of any considerable extent, and these are mostly con-trolled
by large lumber firms. Table 1 shows the relative amount of
forest in each county, by areas and by species. About eleven billion feet
of timber in trees 10 inches and over in diameter breasthigh remains;
this is equivalent to an average stand of a little more than 3,000 board
feet for every acre of forest land. The larger part of the forested area,
however, has less than this, as shown on the accompanying forest map.
ANNUAL OUTPUT.
The lumber cut for the entire State, which had been gradually rising,
amounted to more than 1,622 million feet in 1907, but because of busi-ness
depression declined 30 per cent in 1908. In 1909 North Carolina
jumped to fourth place, from thirteenth in 1908, with a cut of 2,177,-
715,000 board feet. The figures for 1909 given in the following tables
should form a very fair and conservative estimate of the average annual
output from the region. Tables 3 to 8 show the estimated output of tim-ber
by certain industries for 1909. These estimates were made by a
careful mill canvass. The figures for the lumber cut for 1909, however,
are those of the United States Census Bureau.
14 • FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
THE FOREST.
GENERAL CONDITIONS.
The forests of this region are largely confined to absolute forest land,
that is, land potentially more valuable for forest growth than for any-thing
else. The forest may best serve for the production of timber, or
it may be required mainly to prevent erosion or to protect and regulate
a water supply. In the main, the mountains are so steep and the soil
is so shallow that the removal of the forest cover and the cultivation of
the land are followed in a comparatively few years by the washing away
of the fine surface soil and the abandonment of the land for agricultural
purposes. Not only have practically all of the areas suitable for agri-culture
been cleared—including the bottoms along the streams, gently
rolling plateau land and hilltops, the lower gradual slopes, and the
mountain cover—but much absolute forest land has also been cleared.
It used to be that farmers cleared a "new ground" each year, and
abandoned to "old fields" an equivalent of "worn out" land. This prac-tice
is now giving place to improved methods by which the cleared land
is kept in good condition. Though much land has been cleared for agri-culture,
some of which is now reverting to forest, 76 per cent of this
region is forested, or a little more than three million acres in the 16
counties. present stand.
The greater part of the forest has been reduced to cull stands of com-paratively
small and second class timber. Only two or three counties
have virgin forests of any considerable extent, and these are mostly con-trolled
by large lumber firms. Table 1 shows the relative amount of
forest in each county, by areas and by species. About eleven billion feet
of timber in trees 10 inches and over in diameter breasthigh remains;
this is equivalent to an average stand of a little more than 3,000 board
feet for every acre of forest land. The larger part of the forested area,
however, has less than this, as shown on the accompanying forest map.
ANNUAL OUTPUT.
The lumber cut for the entire State, which had been gradually rising,
amounted to more than 1,622 million feet in 1907, but because of busi-ness
depression declined 30 per cent in 1908. In 1909 North Carolina
jumped to fourth place, from thirteenth in 1908, with a cut of 2,177,-
715,000 board feet. The figures for 1909 given in the following tables
should form a very fair and conservative estimate of the average annual
output from the region. Tables 3 to 8 show the estimated output of tim-ber
by certain industries for 1909. These estimates were made by a
careful mill canvass. The figures for the lumber cut for 1909, however,
are those of the United States Census Bureau.
/T*5f?fi
RGINIA BOUNDARY
FOREST CONDITIONS
WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
FIELD EXAMINATION BY J. S. HOLM ES, W.B.WI LLEY AND A.VV.WI LLIAMSON
JULY-NOVEMBER . 1909
STAND IN FEET, B.M
(
PER flCP,E
)
BELOW 1000
1000 - 2500
2500 - 5000
5000 - 7000
OVER - 7000
Spruce type is indicated by cross-lining in black . The remaining
area is Mixed Hardwood type . Figures w. thin the areas of
stand classification indicate the percentage of forest land
SCALE
Base map compile
forest Service.
United States Department of Agriculture.
North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey.
1
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 15
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FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLIN^. 17
Table 2, which shows the total output of timber in the region during
1909, is given in cubic feet as the best common basis for comparison,
much the larger part of the output being measured on this basis. The
table shows a total cut for the year from the 16 mountain counties of
about 32,270,000 cubic feet. This represents only that part of the total
cut which was marketed. To obtain the total amount of timber cut in
1909 the amount wasted in cutting and manufacturing must be added.
The waste in manufacturing lumber includes slab and kerf—about 40
per cent of each log—and the waste in the woods by tops, stumps, and
culls, amounting to about one-fourth of all the timber marketed. This,
with an estimated domestic consumption of 12,000,000 cubic feet for
firewood, rails, and posts, makes a total cut for 1909 of about 59,000,000
cubic feet. This is equivalent to a cut of nearly 19 cubic feet per acre
over all the forest land of the region.
Table 2.—Total Estimated Output op Wood Peoducts for 1909, by Counties.—Computed in
Cubic Feet.
Counties
Total
Output Lumber
Chestnut
Tanning
Extract
Wood
Pulp-wood
Tan-bark
Ties
Poles,
Pins,
Shingles
and
Miscel-laneous
Products
2,161,250
49, 167
481,327
3,321,235
1,271,505
4, 206, 643
6, 078, 780
2, 578, 783
1, 996, 708
2,452.160
1,314,323
658, 666
3,612,850
1,389,750
715.833
403, 250
800,083
49, 167
342,417
1,422,250
725, 167
1,270,333
1,714.250
260, 583
386, 833
1, 161, 000
1,128,750
589, 333
3,143,917
1,340,750
708,333
355,250
997,500 175,750 132,750 30,000 25, 167
Clay
94.050
1,459.200
268, 470
1,238.705
808, 450
1, 715, 700
1,281,075
868,490
55,290
8.075
194,035
36.005
1,380,065
3,428.550
418,000
142,500
101.175
72,200
24,885
245. 700
108, 630
118.440
82. 530
117,000
110, 700
168,525
50. 670
9.000
73,350
45, 000
4,500
45,000
11, 900
133, 233
Jackson
Haywood...
18,000
21,000
67, 500
60,000
108, 000
4,800
45,000
111,000
181, 100
24, 000
Henderson 15, 600
44, 970
2,613
15,333
Mitchell 198, 550 19,000 67,033
4,000
5.000
3.000
Totals . 32, 692, 230 15,396,416 8,985,480 5,975,405 1,336,680 465, 300 532, 949
It is estimated that uncared for hardwood forests, such as those in
Western North Carolina, are growing at the rate of from 12 to 15 cubic
feet per acre per year. Assuming even that the greater figure repre-sents
the annual growth in this region, then the timber is being cut
much faster than it is growing. This can not last indefinitely. Either
the annual cut must be reduced to coincide with the growth, or else the
growth must be made to keep pace with the demands upon it. The lat-ter
is certainly the most economical and businesslike way of dealing
with the problem. By protecting these forests from fire, and by encour-aging
the more rapid-growing and more valuable species, the annual
2
North Carolina State Libroiy
Raleigh
18 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
yield of timber per acre can be largely increased in a comparatively
short time. The large furniture and related industries in Piedmont
North Carolina, which now draw the greater part of their timber sup-plies
from the region in which they are situated, will depend more and
more on the mountain forests. The demand for this material, aided by
improved transportation facilities and methods of manufacture, should
make it evident that the establishment of a maximum timber yield would
constitute one of the most important contributions which the mountain
counties could make toward the economic development of the State as
a whole.
FOREST DISTRIBUTION BY TYPES.
The forests of Western North Carolina are a part of the great Appa-lachian
hardwood region, which extends from southern New England to
the mountainous portions of northern Georgia and Alabama. These
forests differ from those of the central hardwood region, into which
they gradually merge beyond the western border of this State, in their
possession of several important species which do not grow beyond the
mountains, or grow in very small quantities. Such species as chestnut,
red oak, hemlock, and white pine form a large proportion of the Appa-lachian
forests, and scarcely appear in those of the central hardwood
region.
There are two distinct classes of forests in this region; the spruce
forest on the tops of the highest mountains, and the hardwood forest,
either pure or associated with pine. On some mountain slopes hemlock
grows in almost pure stands, and some old fields at the lower elevations
have grown up to pure or mixed stands of pine; with these exceptions
the hardwood stand covers the whole area.
SPRUCE FOREST.
The spruce forest grows only on the tops and upper slopes of the high
mountains, and rarely below an average elevation of 5,500 feet. This
forest is an extension of the great spruce forest of the North, which
seeks increasingly higher altitudes as it extends south, and reaches its
southern limit on the western shoulders of Clingman's Dome, a peak
6,600 feet high, in Swain County. The largest spruce areas in this
region, as will be seen by the map, occur in Swain, Jackson, Haywood,
Yancey, and Mitchell counties. The distribution of the type is depend-ent
not only upon elevation but also upon moisture conditions and to a
large extent on protection from storms by the surrounding mountain
peaks. The type extends down only a short distance on the southern
slopes of even the highest mountains, but along northerly ridges and
slopes it sometimes descends to 4,500 feet.
N. C. GEOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC SURVEY. PLATE III.
A. Mature spruce forest showing adequate reproduction.
B. Mature spruce forest burnt over and destroyed twelve years ago.
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 19
The soil of this forest is a cold, black loam, usually with a sandy
subsoil which varies in depth from a few inches to two feet, but is
usually quite shallow. It always contains a large amount of humus
from the gradual decay of fallen trees, twigs, and leaves. This duff
supports a growth of moss and ferns, and in the open places a turf of
grass. The principal shrubs of the type are highbush huckleberry,
hobble bush, and, occasionally, the handsome fetter bush. Spruce and
balsam in varying proportions form the chief tree growth. Mixed with
these are usually a small percentage of yellow birch and scattered speci-mens
of mountain ash, service berry, fire cherry, and mountain maple.
These hardwoods, however, are rarely of merchantable size or quality.
The proportion of spruce varies greatly from as much as 80 per cent of
the stand in the southwestern counties to less than 50 per cent in the
more northern counties.
The stand of spruce and balsam averages from 15 to 25 thousand feet
an acre over the whole area covered by this type, and many stands will
cut from 40 to 50 thousand feet to the acre. Where this timber is being
cut for pulp wood from 40 to 50 cords per acre is an average yield.
Spruce varies in height from 40 to 50 feet on the ridges to 80 or 90 feet
on the north slopes and in the heads of coves, where it attains a diam-eter
of three feet. Balsam is smaller and is rarely more than two feet
in diameter.
In the mature forest reproduction is good, owing to the very favorable
moisture conditions and the freedom from fire. In dense stands there is
a larger percentage of balsam, but where the forest is more open spruce
reproduction is favored. On areas that have been cut over and not
burnt, the young growth which had started before cutting continues to
thrive, and on many areas seedlings of both species have started since cut-ting.
Unfortunately, no very heavy cuttings could be studied, since
logging for pulp wood has been carried on for only two or three years.
Both spruce and balsam need moist humus for successful reproduction,
and where fire recurs after cutting neither of these species will be per-petuated.
The abundant rainfall, which is heavier on these mountain
tops than anywhere else in the State, assisted by the dense shade of these
evergreen trees, affords an efficient fire protection for spruce forests while
they remain largely in their natural state. But when the trees are re-moved,
allowing the large amount of vegetable matter on the soil and the
tree tops left in logging to become dry, fires burn through the remaining
timber with disastrous results. The current belief is that it is impossible
to keep fires out of this type after logging, and that then these forests
will disappear. If fires can not be kept out, this will certainly be the
20 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
case, and all this type, amounting to some 100,000 to 150,000 acres of
splendid forest land will very rapidly become barren mountain tops.
On certain areas that have already been cut and accidentally burned,
grass has been sown, the owners claiming that the land will pay better
in pasture than in timber. There are, however, only limited areas that
are suitable for pasture, and most of the land is so steep and so rocky
that once the dense forest cover is destroyed the soil will soon wash away
and leave only the bare rocks. In the opinion of well-informed men, if
this happens the land will eventually revert to the State for unpaid
taxes.
HARDWOOD FOREST.
The hardwood forests, which occupy all but the highest peaks, vary
considerably, according to soil, aspect, and elevation. They can be sepa-rated
into four important types: plateau, chestnut, red oak, beech, and
maple.
Plateau Type.
Along the valley of the French Broad, in Henderson, Buncombe, and
Madison counties, below an elevation of approximately 2,500 feet, and
in the southwestern half of Cherokee County, and on some smaller sim-ilar
areas in several of the other counties, there is a type of forest very
similar to that in the Piedmont section adjoining the base of the moun-tains.
The greater part of this forest is composed of oak of several
species, usually in mixture with shortleaf pine, or with pitch pine, scrub
pine, and occasionally white pine. From one-half to two-thirds of the
forest, however, is oak, and the principal species in order of abundance
are: scarlet, black, Spanish, white, and post oak. In general, this type
has been severely cut over, because of its accessibility, and, for the same
reason, has often been severely burnt over. In consequence of these con-ditions
there is little merchantable timber left. The mature oaks are
fit for little besides firewood, since they are generally defective, the black
and scarlet oaks are stagheaded and wormy, and the white oaks small,
crooked, and knotty. The greater part of the merchantable timber in
this type is shortleaf pine, which, on the dry slopes of the lower French
Broad valley, may be as much as 80 per cent of the stand, and furnish a
cut of three or four thousand board feet to the acre. More often, how-ever,
this tree forms only from 2 to 5 per cent of the stand. The scarcity
of chestnut constitutes the principal difference between this and the other
types of hardwood forest. Chestnut was probably abundant at one
time, but it is now rapidly dying out. Scattering red maple, black gum,
sourwood, and two or three species of hickory are present, but are rarely
merchantable for anything but firewood.
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 21
Sprout reproduction is abundant and makes up the greater part of
the undergrowth, but consists chiefly of inferior species. Where fire
has been kept out for many years, white oaks are more in evidence, with
occasional yellow poplar.
On many of the dry, rocky slopes above the large streams which break
through the Unaka Mountains, such as the French Broad, the Doe
River, Toe River, and the ISTolichucky, the pines predominate, and there
is an apparent gradation into an almost pure pine type. In such situa-tions
pitch pine and shortleaf are of almost equal importance, with
scrub pine on the lower slopes and Table Mountain pine on the higher
ridges. These slopes and ridges will never be worth anything except
for growing timber, and some slopes are so rough that it is even im-practicable
to log them. These dry slopes have suffered greatly from
fire. There are many areas, both in old fields and in cut over forest, in
which white pine forms a large proportion of the stand. On all such
areas it is the most valuable tree that can be grown.
Chestnut Type.
On practically all situations between 2,500 and 4,000 feet elevation
and in many cases above and below these limits chestnut predominates
and forms from 30 to 40 and often as much as 75 per cent of the forest.
The proportion, size, and merchantable value of this species vary with
the situation, which gives rise to three sub-types ; ridge, slope, and cove,
with several minor variations.
Ridge.—Along practically all the ridges and extending the greater
part of the way down the southerly slopes chestnut forms from 25 to 50
per cent of the stand, and chestnut oak is about as abundant; and to-gether
these two species usually make up 75 per cent of the stand. Scar-let
oak, black gum, shortleaf pine, and pitch pine occur in this type more
than in any other, though there is rarely more than a small proportion
of each. The height growth of the trees is less and the quality of the
timber is inferior to that growing in the other sub-types. The trees vary
from 40 to 50 feet in height and are short-boled, crooked, and fire-scarred.
The open nature of the forest and the consequent exposure to
the sun make it dry out readily and become an easy prey to fire. As
a result, reproduction is poor, and generally confined to damaged sprouts
of oaks and chestnut.
Slope.—This type comprises all forests on the northerly exposures
from the east to the west slopes and, on the higher mountains, it extends
around onto the south slopes. The soil is usually moist and is more fer-tile
than that on the ridges, and the trees are consequently taller and
contain more merchantable timber. Chestnut is still the most important
22 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
tree, and forms from 30 to 50 per cent of the forest. Eed oak, white oak,
linn, hickory, chestnut oak, buckeye, ash, and other valuable hardwoods,
with a little yellow poplar in the lower part of the sub-type, form the
remainder. On the upper north slopes, at the higher elevations, there is
occasionally a considerable mixture of hemlock, accompanied by a dense
undergrowth of laurel and doghobble. On the lower ridges, mountain
ivy occasionally makes the woods almost impenetrable.
Cove.—The mountain coves have always contained the heaviest and
most valuable timber. Yet many have been cleared for agriculture, and
most of them have been culled of their best trees. The soil of the coves
is usually rich and moist. Though chestnut is still the most abundant
tree, yellow poplar is the more valuable. It is typically a cove tree, and
averages from 80 to 100 feet in height with long, straight boles that pro-duce
a large proportion of high grade lumber. In estimating timber it
was formerly a common practice to include only that in the coves, since
it was claimed that the timber outside of these situations would scarcely
more than pay for the logging. Because of the moisture, fire is much
less frequent in the coves than on ridges and slopes, and reproduction is
much more abundant, with a larger proportion of the more valuable
species.
Red Oak Type.
Above the 4,000 foot contour and even extending up to the spruce
forest, especially on the northerly slopes, red oak is likely to be the most
important tree. Owing to the altitude, however, and to its exposure
to high winds, the tree does not usually contain a large amount of mer-chantable
timber, and, as such situations are very difficult to log, this
forest is not now of any great value. Mixed with the red oak are
chestnut, chestnut oak, sugar maple, buckeye, and linn given in the order
of their importance.
Beech and Maple Type.
At the higher elevations just below and often extending up into the
spruce type, as well as on mountain tops where spruce does not occur,
there are areas of almost pure beech or beech mixed with sugar maple.
In the southern part of the region the trees are of little commercial
value, being dwarfed and crooked; but in the northern part this type
contains some very good timber,—not so much of the beech and maple,
but of the species that are mixed with them,—buckeye, linn, cucumber,
chestnut, ash, and cherry. The ground is usually moist and covered
with moss and ferns. The reproduction is chiefly seedlings of sugar
maple and ash, with thrifty sprouts of linn and chestnut.
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 23
FOREST DISTRIBUTION BY SPECIES.*
Chestnut.
Chestnut is typical of the region and grows almost everywhere, form-ing
28 per cent of the total forest area. It is not numerically impor-tant,
however, on the plateau lands of the French Broad River, and in
western Cherokee County. It is the most important commercial tree,
because of its rapid growth, its wide distribution, and its high market
value for poles and extract wood at a comparatively early age. Much
of it has been so seriously injured by fire and insects, however, that
probably not more than from 25 to 40 per cent of that now standing
is suitable for lumber. The recent establishment of large tanning ex-tract
plants has relieved this situation somewhat by creating a market
for low grade wood, a large amount of which is now being cut wherever
it is accessible.
Bed Oaks.
Red Oak.—Red oak, because of its wide distribution, becomes the
most valuable oak in this region, and, though it seldom occurs below
2,800 feet, it now furnishes the greater part of the oak lumber. Its
favorite habitat is moist north slopes and the coves, its numerical im-portance
increasing with the increase in altitude, till on some of the
slopes and crests of the mountains above 4,000 feet, it forms 50 per
cent or more of the forest over considerable areas. It is commonly
known here as water oak. It attains a very large size and furnishes
lumber equal in appearance, and nearly equal in price, to white oak.
Its young growth is nowhere abundant, as it is easily killed by fire,
and hogs help to keep it in check by devouring the acorns. It is the
most rapid growing of any of the oaks, and should be encouraged in
every way possible, particularly by keeping these two enemies out, when
it will reproduce itself readily.
Black Oak.—Black oak, the lumber of which is often marketed as
red oak, ranks second among the so-called red oaks. This tree is found
throughout all of the types, but decreases in proportion in the stand as
the elevation increases. In the pleateau types in Cherokee County and
in the French Broad valley it is probably the most important oak and
forms a considerable part of the local cut; but in these situations it is
of poor quality, often wormy and rotten. It attains its best develop-ment
and quality in the lower coves and richer slopes. The recent de-mand
for tanbark from this species has increased its value. Its re-production
is good and its growth rapid, especially that of the sprouts
'
The species are given in the order of their abundance in the region. See Table 1.
24 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
from the stumps of the smaller trees, and it should therefore become
one of the most valuable trees, as it is already one of the most abund-ant,
in the more favorable situations.
Scarlet Oak.—Scarlet oak is perhaps more abundant than black oak
in the pleateau type but is less so in all other situations. This oak,
usually called Spanish oak and occasionally spotted oak throughout the
mountains, is the most abundant tree in the extreme northeastern coun-ties
of the region, often forming as much as 20 per cent of the forest
and from 40 to 50 per cent of the young growth. It grows rapidly
when young, and the smaller, quick-growing trees make a good quality
of lumber ; the old specimens, however, are likely to be wormy or other-wise
defective, and it is therefore not a desirable lumber tree. Sprouts
of scarlet oak are quite resistant to fire, and they can well be encour-aged
until more desirable species come in.
Spanish Oak.—Spanish oak, known as red oak throughout the Pied-mont
region, and to some extent in the mountains, is nowhere abund-ant.
It is distributed chiefly through the plateau type, and but rarely
ascends into the chestnut type. The timber is cut for lumber along
with other red oaks, and among these is second only to red oak in quality.
Sprouts of this tree are resistant to fire, and form a considerable part of
the young growth on the dry hills and slopes in the plateau type.
Blackjack Oak.—Blackjack oak occurs on the dryest and poorest sit-uations
at lower elevations, principally in the plateau type. This tree
rarely attains a size large enough for saw timber even under the most
favorable conditions. The presence of blackjack is usually considered
an indication of poor soil.
White Oaks.
White Oak.—White oak occurs all over the region, but is more im-portant
at the lower elevations. Throughout both the plateau type
and the chestnut type up to 4,000 feet in elevation, this tree forms an
important part of the forest, attaining its best development, however,
in the rich coves, especially those with a more or less southerly aspect.
Though forming as little as 1 per cent of the forest in the rougher
parts of the more western counties, it may form as much as 35 per cent
of the merchantable forest over several contiguous watersheds. In
Transylvania County, in fact, as much as two-thirds of the timber is
white oak and post oak combined. While the quality of the white oak
timber now standing is inferior to that which for years has been cut
for staves, there is still much of good quality scattered through the
mountains. At present this tree is used chiefly for lumber, though re-cently
the bark has come into the market for tanning, but owing to its
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 25
thinness and its low price, little is being peeled. Seedlings and sprouts
of white oak are very sensitive to fire and unless the forests can be pro-tected
from this scourge, the black oaks will replace it in future stands.
Though it is slow growing, it should be encouraged on favorable areas.
Because of its special value for staves, prices will no doubt increase
enough to justify growing it for this use.
Post Oak.—Post oak is common on certain areas in the plateau type,
but it is nowhere important. It is used for rough saw timber and in
some cases for posts, though locust is preferred. This tree grows slowly
and its reprpduction is nowhere good, so that only on dry, poor ridges
should it be encouraged.
Yellow Poplar.
Yellow poplar grows in the coves and lower slopes all through the
mountain region, though nowhere forming more than 15 per cent
of the forest. It is rarely found above an altitude of 3,500 feet, at or
near which elevation it attains its best development. Practically all of
the stands, however, have been severely culled, so that it constitutes,
on an average, not more than 8 per cent of the forest. The best
timber now remaining is in the most inaccessible situations, Graham,
Clay, and Swain counties probably containing the best. Seedlings of
yellow poplar are very sensitive to fire, but where fire is kept out repro-duction
is abundant, especially where plenty of light has been let in by
logging. Tree for tree, yellow poplar is more valuable than chestnut,
but its distribution is more limited. It is a rapid grower when young,
and finds a ready market for pulp even as a small tree. Its use for pulp
should not be encouraged, if it is growing under conditions which favor
its attaining saw timber size.
Hemlock.
Though forming more than 7 per cent of the entire stand of this
region, hemlock is much more restricted in its distribution than the
abundant hardwood species. It grows chiefly on the higher slopes
and north coves of the mountains, especially above 3,500 feet, though
extending in scattered trees along the streams down through the chest-nut
slope type. On the cold, north "benches," and in the moist coves
and bottoms where it often forms from 35 to 50 per cent of the stand
over considerable areas, it constitutes a distinctive sub-type. In such
situations the trees grow to a large size and produce a good quality of
lumber, though large old trees in situations exposed to the wind are apt
to be windshaken. Stands of 10,000 or 12,000 feet to the acre are not
uncommon. Because of the demand for hemlock bark for tanning pur-
26 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
poses, much of this timber was cut years ago, but since hemlock lumber
brought a very low price at that time only the bark was used, the
wood being left on the ground to rot. This practice is now abandoned,
and even reversed, since the timber is now utilized, while the bark is
often wasted. Young hemlock cannot stand fire, and comes in on only
moist soil with a cover of humus, so that where the forest is burned
hemlock is exterminated. Many of the areas on which hemlock now
stands will be used for agriculture; others will grow more valuable
trees, such as yellow poplar, linn, and ash, so that hemlock will decrease
in the future mountain forest.
Chestnut Oak.
This oak, which belongs to the white oak group, is one of the most
widely distributed and generally important oaks of the region. Its
lumber is far inferior to that of the red oak, but its bark, which is
used for tanning purposes, greatly increases the value of the stumpage.
Chestnut oak forms a smaller proportion of the forest than red oak,
and has a smaller individual development. It is reproduced chiefly by
sprouts; its acorns are abundant enough, but are largely destroyed by
hogs and by fire.
Maple.
Sugar Maple.—Sugar maple grows chiefly on the moist slopes of the
higher elevations, but is nowhere important. Sometimes, on restricted
areas, it forms 15 per cent of the stand; over larger areas it seldom
forms more than 3 or 4 per cent of the forest, yet local saw mills occa-sionally
cut as much as 10 per cent maple. In the northeastern coun-ties
there has been some production of maple sugar, though the indus-try
has practically died out. Sugar maple reproduces abundantly from
seed where fires are kept out, but it is of so much less value than other
trees that it need not be encouraged.
Red Maple.—Eed maple is scattered in very small groups or as single
trees through all types, but is of such poor quality and inferior value
that it is unimportant. Sprouts and seedlings are abundant, and,
owing to their vitality, form a large portion of the young growth where
fires kill off other trees.
Basswood.
In the coves and on northerly slopes basswood, or linn, as it is gener-ally
called, is scattered as single trees or in clumps rising from the same
root. Though nowhere forming a large proportion of the forest, it is
yet abundant enough to constitute more than 2 per cent of the entire
stand. Two species are common, the white and the American, the latter
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 27
perhaps slightly more extended in its general range. The species are
not distinguished commercially, and, as there is practically no differ-ence
in the timber or the rate of growth, they can well be classed to-gether.
The timber is usually of good quality, but forms such a small
part of the cut of the local mills, that favorable prices are secured
only by the larger operators and dealers. After logging linn reproduces
chiefly by sprouts which grow rapidly, but are generally destroyed by
cattle, which should always be excluded from areas of young growth
till the shoots have grown out of their reach. Fire is not a serious
menace where linn flourishes. This is a valuable and important tree in
the situations to which it is best adapted.
Hickory.
Several species of hickory grow throughout the region; pignut on
the higher and poorer situations; mockernut, or white hickory in the
lower coves and richer slopes; bitternut, or red hickory, in the moister
situations along the streams ; other species are only occasional. Hickory
is nowhere abundant, but sometimes forms from 5 to 10 per cent of the
stand on restricted areas; taking the area as a whole, however, only 2
per cent of the forest is hickory. While more common on the lower
slopes, this tree ascends all through the chestnut ridge type, but is so
scattered that it has had mainly a local utilization for axe handles and
firewood. Reproduction of hickory is fairly good nearly everywhere,
and the insistent and increasing demand for second growth hickory
justifies its encouragement in every possible way.
Yellow Pine.
Four species are included under this blanket term, though shortleaf is
by far the most important and abundant.
Shortleaf Pine.—Shortleaf pine occurs at the lower elevations and
through the plateau type, and along the dry ridges and south slopes of
the chestnut type, where it often forms a large proportion of the forest.
It comes in on abandoned fields in the plateau type, where it has its
greatest value, though with proper encouragement it may form an im-portant
part of second growth forests wherever it thrives.
Pitch Pine.—Pitch pine grows on situations that favor shortleaf and
is usually mixed with it, but is decidedly inferior in rate of growth and
in quality, and shortleaf should always be favored.
Scrub Pine.—Scrub pine occurs only at the lower elevations and is
so much inferior to shortleaf that it should not be encouraged.
28 FOEEST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
Table Mountain Pine.—Table mountain pine grows only on the dry-tops
of the higher ridges and is of no great importance, though it is
occasionally cut for lumber in the Unaka Mountains along with short-leaf
and pitch pine.
White Pine.
White pine occurs chiefly along both slopes of the Blue Ridge, and
along the valleys of the French Broad, Pigeon, Tennessee, and Hiawas-see
rivers. While it may extend to the top of the Blue Ridge it is
rare above an altitude of 3,500 feet. There are pure stands in small
groves, but it is usually mixed with hardwoods, and may form, over
considerable areas, from 10 to 15 per cent of the stand. The mature
trees are tall, and usually stand out prominently above the surround-ing
hardwoods. The timber is much sought after, and, except in
remote places, the best trees have been culled out, and it is now being
cut and transported by wagon or flume, from twenty to thirty miles to
the railroad.
White pine reproduces well in old fields and unburned woods, and
in favorable situations young trees grow very rapidly, often making an
annual height growth of two feet. On both sides of the Blue Ridge,
and in most situations in the plateau type, this tree is of first import-ance.
In the reforesting of cutover and waste lands, seed trees of white
pine should be reserved.
Red Spruce.
Red spruce, known locally as "he balsam," is confined almost entirely
to the spruce forest of the higher mountains, though a few straggling
trees descend into the hardwood forest below. In the richer situations
on comparatively level ridges and more gentle slopes, it attains a con-siderable
size, and specimens 3 to 4 feet in diameter and 90 feet in
height are not uncommon. On the poorer, exposed situations, however,
mature trees are from 6 to 18 inches in diameter and from 30 to 60
feet in height. This tree almost always occurs mixed with balsam, the
two forming 95 per cent of the stand of the spruce type, where spruce
alone furnishes from 50 to 80 per cent and averages about 60 per cent.
Spruce is being used chiefly for pulp wood, though lumber is cut in
several places, and in one county spruce is used in a small way for the
manufacture of doors and blinds.
Spruce reproduces well where moisture is abundant and where the
forest is open. One area in Yancey County, where the old trees had
been killed by disease, has almost perfect spruce reproduction, but un-fortunately
this condition is rare, and the greater part of the new
growth under the old trees in the spruce forest is of balsam.
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 29
Beech.
Beech grows chiefly on cold northern slopes and coves in the higher
altitudes, but occurs as scattered trees along the streams throughout the
mountains. There are occasional pure stands just below the spruce
forests, but there it is small and unmerchantable. It is cut to some
extent from the chestnut type, where it rarely exceeds 2 or 3 per cent
of the forest. In the beech and maple type, however, this tree forms
20 to 30 per cent of the stand, and is of large size and good quality;
yet owing to its limited amount, its great weight, and its remoteness
from transportation, it is not valued very highly. Other trees, such as
linn, ash, yellow poplar, and red oak, should be encouraged to take its
place in the second growth forest.
Ash.
White ash is found throughout the region, though the greater part of
it has been cut, except in remote situations. The best ash is in the
remote coves of Graham, Swain, Haywood, Yancey, and Mitchell coun-ties.
The tree has a range similar to that of yellow poplar, though
somewhat more restricted, in coves between 3,000 and 4,500 feet eleva-tion.
The greater part of the cut is shipped out of the State. Where
the woods are not burned, and seed trees are present, natural reproduc-tion
is usually abundant. Owing to its value and comparatively rapid
growth it should be encouraged.
Buckeye.
Yellow or sweet buckeye occurs throughout the higher coves and
north slopes of the chestnut type, and even extends up into the spruce
type. It rarely constitutes more than 2 per cent of the forest where
it occurs, but occasionally forms as much as 10 per cent over restricted
areas. Buckeye is a soft, white wood, for which there is no great de-mand,
though it usually forms a small portion of the cut in most of
the larger mills. Buckeye grows slowly when young, and linn, red oak,
poplar, and cucumber, which flourish in the same situations, should be
given preference.
Birch.
Two species of birch grow in the coves and on the slopes of the higher
mountains, and of these, sweet or black birch, or mountain mahogany,
as it is often called, is the more valuable. This birch forms a small
part of most forests above 3,000 feet, though it rarely exceeds 1 or 2
per cent of the forest except in the higher elevations. Yellow birch
is confined to cold northern slopes, chiefly above 4,000 feet. On such
30 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
situations, and extending up into the spruce type these two birches are
together, and often classed as one species. Here they form from 5 to
20 per cent of the forest, hut are crooked and defective. They repro-duce
well and form from 25 to 50 per cent of the young stands on old
burns or windfalls in the higher mountains. The sweet birch is a good
tree for such situations and should be encouraged. Another species,
the river birch, grows along streams in the plateau type. It is of little
value, and is rarely used for anything except firewood.
Balsam.
Frazer's balsam or "she balsam," as it is called locally, is mixed with
spruce in proportions varying from 15 to 50 per cent of the stand.
Though this tree makes a somewhat more rapid growth than the spruce,
when young, it does not attain as large a size, a tree 2 feet in diameter
being exceptional. Balsam has been little used for lumber in North
Carolina even where lumbering operations have been carried on; it is,
however, now being used with spruce for pulp wood, the two being cut
indiscriminately. Balsam reproduces better than spruce, and in most
second growth stands young balsam predominates. Spruce is more
abundant in the old stands simply because it is a longer-lived tree.
Cucumber.
Several species of magnolia are locally known as cucumber, but
among lumbermen this name is generally applied to but one species,
Magnolia acuminata. This tree grows to a large size in the rich coves
and slopes of the chestnut type, though its commercial distribution is
confined to the more remote parts of Graham, Swain, Macon, and Hay-wood
counties. Over considerable areas in Graham County it forms
as much as from 8 to 10 per cent of the entire stand. The value of
cucumber lumber is second only to that of poplar, with which it is
generally sold. Its comparative rarity prevents any general demand
for it under its own name. Seedlings of this species are scarce even
where seed trees occur, though where areas are protected from fire it
comes in rapidly in the second growth, both as sprouts and as seedlings.
One other species of magnolia grows throughout the higher mountains,
the mountain magnolia or Frazer umbrella-tree. This tree rarely at-tains
sufficient size to make merchantable lumber, though it is occa-sionally
cut by some of the large mills.
Black Gum.
Black gum grows in scattered stands throughout the plateau type,
and on the ridges and lower slopes of the chestnut type. It is so often
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 31
hollow that it has a local use for "bee gums." This tree forms a small
part of the cut of some of the larger mills, but the lumber is inferior,
and warps badly unless carefully handled. In burned over forests of
the plateau type black gum forms a large part of the young growth,
but where fires are kept out the proportion is much less, because it is
supplanted by better trees.
Sweet Gum.—Sweet gum is limited to small areas in the plateau type
in the western part of Cherokee County. Here it is useful to reforest
abandoned fields, and should be encouraged.
Cherry.
Black cherry was at one time scattered through most of the mountain
forest, but now little of it is left except in the most remote regions.
This tree attains its best development in the rich coves and "benches"
of the higher mountains above 3,500 feet elevation. At present the
finest cherry timber is in the western part of Graham County, where
near the top of the Unaka Mountains it forms as much as 2 per cent
of the forest over a large area. The timber is of great value for in-terior
finish, and is greatly sought after by lumbermen and dealers.
Owing to its slow growth, to its exacting demands on soil, moisture, and
situation, and to its intolerance, the reproduction of cherry is unsatis-factory.
Wherever it succeeds well, it should be encouraged, though it
may not pay as well as many of the faster growing and less exacting
species. Another species, the red or bird cherry, is found in the higher
mountains mixed with hemlock and to a limited extent with the spruce.
It is small, short-lived, and of no commercial value.
Miscellaneous Hardwood Species.
Several other species are cut to fill special demands and are of con-siderable
value both in the present and future forest, though because
they grow in limited quantity they might be considered as comparatively
unimportant.
Black Walnut.—Black walnut was at one time abundant, though lit-tle
is now left. It prefers the Piedmont region, and the rich, deep
coves, and the lower slopes of the chestnut type below 3,000 feet in
elevation. Where it is still standing it has been left with the idea of
profiting by its increased value. Yet its value has not appreciably in-creased
in the past 20 years.
Butternut.—Butternut, usually called white walnut in the south, is
scattered through the rich, rocky coves, at higher elevations than black
walnut. Where it attains merchantable size, it is cut for lumber, and
sold for much the same purposes as black walnut, but at a lower price.
OZ FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
Black Locust.—Black locust grows almost everywhere below 3,500 feet,
but chiefly in the rich coves and slopes. Little merchantable locust is
now standing, except on areas where the timber is being preserved, as
this tree has been exploited for many years, first for ship building and
later for insulator pins. At the present time its chief use is for fence
posts. Eeproduction of locust is comparatively rare through the forest,
but it comes up readily in old fields on the lower slopes of the chestnut
type, where it grows very rapidly.
Dogwood.—Dogwood grows all through the region, but more espe-cially
in the plateau type and the lower elevations of the chestnut type,
though it is nowhere abundant. Where it could be reached readily by
road or railroad, it has been cut for shuttle blocks. Dogwood is a very
slow though persistent grower, and will be of little value in the future
forest.
Silverbell.—Silverbell, known through the mountains as box elder,
bellwood, or tisswood, is of merchantable size only on the higher slopes,
mixed with hemlock, yellow birch, and sugar maple. It is cut by a few
of the larger mills. It extends into the plateau type along the larger
streams, but does not there attain merchantable size.
Holly.—Holly grows along the rich bottoms close to the streams in
the deep valleys of the higher mountains, where it occasionally attains
a size of from 1 to 1 1-2 feet in diameter. Owing to its inaccessibility
and the small amount obtainable, it is seldom cut into lumber, which
usually can be disposed of only by special orders.
Sycamore.—Sycamoie is limited to rich bottoms and along the
streams, mostly at lower elevations. In favorable soil it attains a very
large size, and is cut to some extent for lumber. It is used locally and
in furniture manufacture.
FOREST AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS BY COUNTIES.
The forest and economic conditions of the various counties differ
according to physiographic features and to transportation facilities.
A brief description of these conditions is given so that the recommenda-tion
for proper forest management may be made more specific and
definite.
CHEROKEE COUNTY.
Cherokee, the most western county, has an area, of approximately
288,000 acres. All but the southernmost part is drained by the Hia-wassee
River, which crosses the center of the county from east to west.
The topography is very rugged, the range in elevation being about 4,000
feet ; and except along the valley bottoms the country is not well adapted
FOEEST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 33
to agriculture. The most mountainous and inaccessible parts of the
county lie along its northern and eastern borders.
The Southern Railway and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad,
both terminating at Murphy, are the principal transportation lines.
In addition to these a logging road runs from Andrews across the Snow-bird
Mountains into Graham County, and a Tennessee lumber company
is planning to extend its narrow gauge logging railroad in to the virgin
timber of the Tellico River region. The roads are rough, poorly graded,
and poorly drained. Several miles of road running out of Andrews
have been macadamized, however, and Murphy Township is macadam-izing
its roads.
The land is held chiefly in small holdings, and scarcely one-fourth
is made up of tracts of 1,000 acres or more.
The only body of virgin timber is in the Unaka and Snowbird Moun-tains
at the headwaters of the Tellico River, where there are nearly
10,000 acres on which the timber averages about 8,000 board feet per
acre. Elsewhere the heavily culled forest averages scarcely more than
1,500 feet per acre, and consists of comparatively poor and defective
timber. Below 2,500 feet considerable shortleaf pine is scattered over
the area, associated chiefly with post and other oaks, and gums. Red
oak and chestnut, on the other hand, are more common at the higher
elevations.
Yearly fires keep the young growth down and ruin much of the old
timber. Grazing is unrestricted and range burning is common. Along
the western border of the county many trees have been injured or killed
by the sulphur fumes from the copper smelters of Ducktown, Tenn. In
the past this smoke nuisance was much worse than now, but it is being
remedied.
About 20 per cent of the county has been cleared for agriculture, but
much of the land proved too steep for successful farming, and has been
abandoned to forest. About one-fourth of this cleared land has thus
come up to young stands of yellow poplar or shortleaf pine. It is prob-able
that still another fourth is too steep for cultivation and should
be allowed to revert. This would afford needed protection from soil
washing, and at the same time put the land to its best use. Though the
average farm is not very fertile, there are some very rich lands along
the Valley River, which range in value from $50 to $100 an acre.
Lumbering is growing less important with the diminishing supply of
timber. Wagon hauls of from 15 to 25 miles are often necessary to
deliver poplar at the railroad. Other forest industries are represented by
a large tannery at Andrews and a furniture factory and planing mill at
3
34 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
Murphy. These get their material chiefly within the county. A great
deal of pulp wood and chestnut extract wood is shipped out of the
county.
Cherokee must, of necessity, remain chiefly a forest producing county
;
and the chief need of the forests is protection from fire and from in-discriminate
grazing. This protection could hest be attained through
a paid fire warden system, together with the adoption of the stock law,
which would aid in removing the principal incentive in burning the
woods. With these problems solved, intensive methods of forestry, so
much needed, would become possible.
CLAY COUNTY.
Clay, with an area of less than 120,000 acres, is one of the smallest
counties in the State. The topography is rough and the elevations high,
ranging from 1,700 to 5,300 feet. The ridges are narrow and average ap-proximately
2,000 feet above the main valleys. The upper slopes are
precipitous and boulder-strewn, with a thin and rocky soil, while lower
down the slopes become less rugged, and the soil is deeper, and in the
valleys there is a deep alluvial sandy or loamy clay soil.
The Hiawassee River and its tributaries, Tusquitee and Shooting
Creeks, form the principal drainage system. The Nantahala River
forms part of the northern border of the county; and the Tallulah, a
tributary of the Savannah, rises in the mountains of the Blue Ridge
and passes out of the county across its southern border.
Hayesville, the county seat, in the Hiawassee valley, is some 17 miles
distant from Murphy, the nearest railroad station.
In the western portion of the county about 25 per cent of the land
has been cleared, of which 10 per cent is now in pasture or reverting to
forest. This is the principal agricultural section of the county; corn
and hay are grown for home consumption. Hogs, goats, sheep, and
cattle, are raised, but the industry is not large. In the northern and
eastern portions of the county, not more than 10 per cent of the land,
is cleared, and the remainder is covered with the original forest growth.
This part of the county is owned mostly in large tracts by lumbermen
and others, more than one-third of the county being thus held.
The roads, it must be confessed, are very poor, and this fact, cou-pled
with the long haul to a railroad, limits lumbering to four portable
mills. Only the better quality of poplar, oak, and chestnut, which
can be sawed into first class lumber, is cut. The long haul practically
prohibits the cutting of ties, bark, acid wood, or pulp wood east of
Hayesville. Some eight or ten years ago a company cut out a large
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 35
amount of poplar in the vicinity of Fires' Creek and attempted to float
the logs to Murphy, but this was not a financial success.
The forests in the southwestern portion of the county have been culled
several times for rails, ties, bark, and lumber; the present stand con-sists
of over-mature, stag-headed, and defective trees scattered through
a second growth of black oaks, white oaks, poplar, chestnut, ash, and
hickory. Those of the northern and eastern portion of the county still
retain most of the original stand, except along the streams and lower
slopes, where the best timber has been removed for local use.
On the ridges, where the soil is thin and rocky, chestnut and the oaks
predominate, with occasional yellow pine. In such situations the trees
are scrubby and their growth is slow, but on the benches near the heads
of streams, the trees are tall, with long, clear trunks. Here the chief
species are chestnut, poplar, the oaks, linn, ash, and hickory, with hem-lock
scattered on the damp north slopes or along the streams. This type
contains some of the best timber, and it is not unusual for it to run
10,000 to 15,000 feet to the acre over limited areas. The largest timber
is in the vicinity of Sugar Cove and at the head of Fires' Creek. Most of
the virgin stands are in bad condition, however, the trees being over'
mature and fire scarred, and the ground strewn with windfalls and
old logs. There is not enough grazing to injure the forest materially,
except where young growth is coming in.
Throughout the northern and eastern portions of the county fires are
common, and it has been estimated that 50 per cent of the land is
burned over every year. Fires are set by men who believe that they
will improve the range, or by nut gatherers, or even by malicious per-sons.
The damage to mature stands is very evident on the ridges,
where probably half of the trees are fire injured, especially the chestnut.
The amount of reproduction, the ground cover, and the general good
of the forest depend upon freedom from fire. Where fires run over an
area every year reproduction is poor or lacking, and the soil is exposed to
washing because the leaf cover has been destroyed. On the other hand,
where fires have been kept out, dense stands of young trees are present,
and the soil is deep and well protected by a thick cover of leaves and
litter.
A healthy sentiment is growing throughout the county in favor of
putting a stop to the wholesale firing of the forest. People are begin-ning
to realize the damage that is done, and good results are already in
evidence. One tract of some 15,000 acres in the Tusquitee Mountains
has not had a fire on it for three years, and this is due not so much to
the fact that the tract has been posted, but to the fact that the people
in the neighborhood are opposed to fires.
36 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
GRAHAM COUNTY.
Graham County, with an approximate area of 193,000 acres, borders
on the Tennessee line. It is extremely mountainous, with several peaks
over 5,500 feet in elevation, and shows an altitudinal range of about
4,000 feet. The Cheoah Eiver and a few smaller streams drain the entire
county, and empty into the Little Tennessee Eiver which forms the
northern border. The soil of the narrow valley bottoms is quite fertile,
though restricted in extent. The most rugged and inaccessible part of
the county is the western half, occupied principally by the Snowbird
and Unaka Mountains. Only 10 per cent of the county is cleared and
scarcely four-fifths of this is true agricultural land.
Two-thirds of the county is owned in tracts of a thousand acres or
over, principally by lumber interests, and one company alone controls
about a third. The water powers of the Cheoah and Tennessee Bivers,
of great potential value, are now controlled by power companies.
The western third of Graham County, of which not more than 2 per
cent is cleared, contains a large amount of valuable hardwood timber,
where less than 10 per cent is cut over or culled. Much of this area
averages more than 10,000 feet per acre of oak, poplar, cherry, ash,
chestnut, and hemlock. .
A branch of the Southern Eailway now skirts the northern boundary,
running down the Little Tennessee Eiver in Swain County. A branch
line may be built soon to go up the Cheoah Eiver ; this will put a large
area of virgin timber within reach of the markets.
Here, as elsewhere, the former practice of splashing and driving has
been superseded by the use of logging railroads. Fifteen years ago an
attempt was made to exploit poplar timber by splash dams on Little
Snowbird, West Buffalo, and Big Santeetlah Creeks, but the loss was
too heavy for even that excessively wasteful period of lumbering, and
the attempt was abandoned. Along the Little Tennessee Eiver, how-ever,
much timber has been floated out and a considerable part of the
adjoining forest has been culled of much of its best floatable timber.
Two narrow-gauge logging roads now enter the county, one of them
crossing the county line at an elevation of between 3,200 and 3,300 feet
above sea level.
Lumbering is the chief industry, with an annual cut of no less than
15,000,000 board feet. Most of the county is too remote from the rail-road
to make the cutting and sale of tanbark and cordwood profitable,
though one company states that from 8 to 10 cords per acre of extract
wood are left after heavy logging. Farming is of importance in the
valleys and is usually carried on in connection with stock raising.
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 37
Stock is allowed to roam at large, and in consequence the mountain for-ests
suffer from fires which are set with the false idea that they improve
the range. There is, however, a growing sentiment against this destruc-tive
practice.
This mountainous county, largely made up of absolute forest land,
must depend in great part upon its forests as a source of revenue. This
being the case, fire protection and improved forest management are of
vital importance, not only to the community as a whole but to the lum-ber
companies whose timber holdings will usually be retained after being
cut over. With an efficient fire warden system, toward the maintenance
of which the lumber companies should contribute, the perpetuation of
the forests ought to be assured.
SWAIN COUNTY.
Swain is the second largest county of the region, and contains some
358,000 acres of land, 60 per cent of which is held in large blocks by
speculators and lumbermen. Its northern border extends 50 or 60
miles along the top of the main ridge of the Smoky Mountains; its
southern border is formed by the Little Tennessee River, which sep-arates
this county from Graham. The general elevation of the Smoky
Mountains is over 4,500 feet. The highest point in the main range is
at Clingman's Dome, which has an elevation of 6,600 feet, while there
are several other peaks more than 5,500 feet in height. The county is
drained by many swift mountain streams, which flow into the Little
Tennessee and its two main tributaries, the Tuckaseigee and Nantahala
Rivers. These streams come together near Bushnell, in one of the wild-est
and most picturesque parts of the mountains that are penetrated by
a railroad.
The topography of nearly the whole county is rough and rugged, the
slopes of the ridges being steep, rocky, and often precipitous. The
valleys for the most part are narrow, and contain only small areas of
bottomland.
Conglomerates and gneisses are the principal soil-forming rocks. The
soil of the lower valleys is a deep, alluvial loam, while on the lower
slopes and in the coves a fairly deep, stiff clay soil predominates, which,
when cleared, is likely to be eroded. The soil of the ridges and upper
slopes is usually thin, rocky, and unproductive.
Swain cannot be said to be an agricultural county. Corn and hay are
grown for local consumption in the little valleys and on the lower slopes,
and stock raising is carried on in a small way in the mountains. The
best farming land is found in Oconalufty and Tuckaseigee Valleys,
above Bryson City, the county seat and principal shipping point, on the
38 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
Murphy branch of the Southern Railway, which runs through the cen-tral
part of the county. Much lumber and cordwood, however, are
shipped from Bushnell. A branch line of the same railroad extends
down the north bank of the Little Tennessee River from Bushnell to
Eontana, a distance of 12 miles, which line is to be continued to Knox-ville,
Tennessee. The Appalachian Railroad runs out from Forney eight
miles to Cherokee, and is soon to be extended four miles farther up the
Oconalufty River. With these extensions, transportation facilities will
be materially improved.
The wagon roads in the western part of the county are rough and
badly washed, so that the lumber hauling is difficult. In the central and
eastern part of the county, however, the roads are in fair shape, the best
roads being those on the Cherokee Indian reservation.
This reservation is located in the northeastern part of the county and
contains some 18,000 acres of land. Up to a short time ago the Chero-kee
Indians owned several times this amount of land, but a large tract
has recently been sold off to a lumber company.
Lumbering, the principal industry of the county, is carried on chiefly
by means of small portable mills. One large band mill, however, is in
operation at Eagle Creek, the logging being done by a narrow gauge
railroad. The Whiting Lumber Company, also, runs a narrow gauge
railroad from its mill in Graham County to Judson, the shipping point,
where it owns a large planing mill.
Most of the lumber sawed in the county by small mills is flumed out
to the railroad, because of the difficulty of transporting lumber by road,
and the expense of building railroads. Within easy hauling distance of
the railroads and near the flumes, where the better grades of timber have
previously been removed, the land is now being cut over again for tan-ning
extract wood, pulp wood, and tanbark, which find a ready sale
delivered at all the small stations. These industries have become im-portant
factors in forest utilization. After the farm crops are harvested
many persons spend the rest of the year getting out wood and bark.
This thorough culling has resulted in a second growth of black oak,
white oak, poplar, chestnut, ash, and hickory, which in a few years, if
fires are kept out, will produce good timber.
About 94 per cent of the land is forest, of which at least one-third is
virgin. The best stands are found near the heads of the streams and in
the coves. The trees are tall, often with 80 feet clear length, and with
diameters varying from 2 to 5 feet. The forest in such situations is
made up chiefly of chestnut, poplar, hemlock, red oak, and basswood,
associated with small quantities of other and sometimes even more valu-
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 39
able trees. These stands will sometimes run from 25,000 to 40,000
board feet to the acre over considerable areas, but the average yield will
not exceed 7,000 feet.
About one and one-half miles north of Siler's Dome, on the Great
Smoky Mountains, occurs the southwestern limit of the spruce type. The
trees near the windswept summit of the mountains are rather small and
scrubby, but where protected they average 2 feet in diameter and 4 to 5
logs to the tree. Some of the better forests of this type will run from
40,000 to 50,000 board feet to the acre.
Fires have been numerous in Swain as in the other mountain coun-ties.
It was estimated by some of the residents that from 30 to 50 per
cent of the land has been burned over every year for a long period.
Fortunately, however, conditions are changing, and most of the large
companies now employ men to watch against fire, and there is a growing
sentiment throughout the county against burning the woods.
MACON COUNTY.
Macon, in the southern tier of counties, is largely mountainous. It is
drained by the Tennessee and Nantahala rivers, which flow north from
the Blue Eidge. The Tennessee River, flowing through the center of
the county, has formed a broad flood plain from one to four miles across,
and this plain extends several miles along the principal tributaries. The
Cowee, Blue Ridge, and jNantahala mountains rise abruptly above this
fertile farming region and cover four-fifths of the county's area of 340,-
000 acres, of which about 15 per cent is cleared. The rock formation is
chiefly granite, gneiss, and schist, decomposing principally into a mica-ceous
red clay soil. This soil washes easily where it is cultivated on the
steeper slopes, though most clearings on these slopes are kept in grass,
which largely prevents erosion. The soil of the Highlands plateau is
sandy and poor. Only about one-third of the county is owned in tracts
of 1,000 acres or more. Most of such tracts are held for timber or spec-ulation.
Lumbering is extensive. In 1909 some 25 mills manufactured
about ten million board feet of lumber, though most of this was cut by
only three companies. There are some valuable mineral deposits, such
as iron, mica, gold, and precious stones, but only the mica resources
have been developed.
Franklin, the county seat, is the terminus of the county's only rail-road,
which enters from Georgia. Shippers complain of excessive
freight rates, which, they say, render impossible the proper utilization
of the poorer grades of lumber and of the less valuable species. The
Nantahala Transportation Company operates a flume in the western
part of the county, which carries, besides a great deal of hemlock, oak,
40 FOEEST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
poplar, and chestnut lumber, practically all the pulp and extract wood
that leaves the county. It connects with the Murphy branch of the
Southern Railroad at Nantahala. Much bark is shipped from the
county, though with but little profit to the farmer, who receives only
$6.50 a ton loaded on the cars. This low price is a result of the high
freight rate and of the roundabout railroad route to the tanneries.
Fully 80 per cent of the area of Macon County is absolute forest
land, and only a little more than 3 per cent of the present forested area
has soil suited to farming. These farming areas are chiefly in the center
of the county. The main body of timber is in the western mountains.
Here is virgin forest covering from 10 to 15 per cent of the county, and
containing valuable poplar, oak, chestnut, buckeye, linn, and cherry.
The forests of the eastern mountains have been more heavily culled of
their valuable timber. Around Highlands are extensive areas of hem-lock
and some remnants of what were a few years ago valuable white
pine stands, which are now nearly exhausted. The forests of the cen-tral
lowland area consist chiefly of woodlots of second growth black and
white oaks, none of which are larger than tie size.
The reproduction of hardwoods is good where the forests are pro-tected
from fire. White pine reproduces well on the Highlands plateau
both on cleared fields and under the open defective stands of white oak,
red oak, and chestnut. A little more than 3 per cent of the county is
abandoned farm land, chiefly steep slopes seldom cultivated, but kept in
grass. Abandoned fields generally seed up thinly to pitch pine and
occasionally to fairly good stands of yellow poplar.
The object of management should be to encourage white pine on the
Blue Ridge, and to remove also the inferior species when lumbering the
valuable timber. Macon County will always remain primarily a forest
region, though it has a good proportion of farm land.
JACKSON COUNTY.
Jackson County, with an approximate area of 316,000 acres, is rough
and broken with elevations which vary from 1,875 feet near Whittier to
6,400 feet on the top of the Balsams, while the average of the southern
half of the county is more than 3,000 feet. The extreme southern por-tion
is cut off from the rest of the county by the Blue Ridge and is
drained by the headwaters of the Chattooga and Whitewater rivers to
the Atlantic. The northern, comprising much the greater, portion of the
county, is drained by the Tuckaseegee and its tributaries. The bottoms
are generally small and narrow, though there are some fairly large areas
on Cullowhee Creek and Tuckaseigee River.
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 41
The northern half of the county has a red clay sub-soil, excellent for
farming where the slopes are not too steep, and the soil of the bottoms
is very productive ; near the Blue Ridge, however, the soil is poorer and
more sandy. The chief agricultural products which are shipped out of
the county are apples, cattle, and sheep. From 10 to 15 per cent of the
county has been cleared for cultivation, about one-sixth of which is in
cultivable crops, one-half in pasture or meadow, while one-third has been
abandoned. Over a large part of the county the land is either too steep
or the soil too poor for the best growth of corn or small grains, but if
seeded to grass within a year or two after clearing it yields good forage.
Transportation facilities are as yet inadequate. The Murphy branch
of the Southern Railway crosses the northern part of the county while
the Toxaway branch comes within about seven miles of the county line
on the southeast. Lumber and tanbark are hauled from 20 to 25 miles
to these railroads over roads that are only fair, so that only the better
grades of material can be marketed at a profit. Dogwood blocks have
been hauled from the south slope of the Blue Ridge, from 35 to 40 miles,
to Westminster, S. C, where they are manufactured into shuttles and
bobbins. Flumes are used principally in getting out cordwood, and,
to some extent, lumber. Three long flumes are now in operation and
two more are contemplated. Road improvement would greatly facili-tate
the development of the county.
More than half the forest land is held in tracts of more than 1,000
acres, and half of this is held by three owners, the Jackson Lumber Com-pany,
the Toxaway Lumber Company, and George H. Smathers. The
average assessed value of timber lands is from $2 to $3 per acre,
varying according to stand and location. Probably 85 per cent of the
entire county is absolute forest land, and many of the clearings should
never have been made.
The forests have been largely culled of the best poplar and other more
valuable trees ; even on the farm woodlots little merchantable poplar has
been spared. White pine was at one time quite abundant over the south-ern
half of the county, but now there is scarcely any left. Yet these
are the two species which at the present time can be profitably cut and
hauled long distances to the railroad. They will bring from $3 to $4
per thousand stumpage, at from 20 to 25 miles from a railroad, though
together they will average less than 1,000 board feet per acre.
Chestnut and oak now form the principal part of the forest. The
chestnut is, for the most part, wormy and windshaken, and is valuable
chiefly for extract wood. The stand varies from 10 to more than 40
cords per acre. There is a fair proportion of pulp wood, hemlock,
42 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
poplar, linn, and pine, in addition to the chestnut, which greatly in-creases
the desirability of such tracts as fluming propositions. Flumes
are the chief means of transporting to the railroad.
Oak, on the whole, is of inferior quality except at the higher eleva-tions
and on northerly slopes, where red oak becomes important. White
oak, as a rule, is small, short-boled, and often defective, and forms a
comparatively small proportion of the cut. Scarlet oak is abundant on
the dry flats and ridges, but makes only low grade, inferior lumber.
Chestnut oak has been cut for bark within 20 miles of the railroad, ex-cept
on the large holdings. Uncut stands containing chestnut oak will
yield from one-fourth to one-half cord of bark per acre. Little timber
of this species, however, has been utilized for lumber.
The forests south of the Blue Ridge are, on the whole, poorer than
those north of it, largely because of the greater damage caused by fires
on the south slopes. For these south slope forests a stand of 2,500 board
feet per acre, including all merchantable timber over 10 inches in diam-eter,
is considered good, while the average will not exceed 1,500 or 2,000
board feet. Many stands north of the Blue Ridge, however, will yield
from 4,000 to 10,000 board feet, and occasionally more.
Fires are becoming less and less frequent, as the result of a distinct
sentiment, particularly among the larger land owners, against the prac-tice
of burning the woods. Probably not more than 20 per cent of the
forest was burnt over last year ; and where the woods have escaped fire
for several years reproduction is satisfactory. White pine and poplar
reproduce readily along the Blue Ridge, while sprout growth of chest-nut
and the oaks is abundant in nearly all parts of the county. The
old fields at lower elevations near the Tuckaseigee River are stocked
chiefly with shortleaf, pitch and scrub pines, while white pine is a com-mon
old field tree in the southern part of the county. The stock law is
in force over the middle part of the county alone, yet its extension to the
entire county would unquestionably benefit both forest and cattle owners.
HAYWOOD COUNTY.
Haywood County covers approximately 346,000 acres, with an aver-age
assessed valuation of about $5 per acre. Much over half the land is
held in large tracts by lumbermen or speculators.
The general topography of Haywood is very rough and the elevations
high. The highest point, Richland Balsam, has an elevation of 6,540
feet, and several other peaks are 6,000 feet or over. The main ridges,
along the county line to the west and south, average higher than 5,000
feet.
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 43
The county comprises the entire Pigeon Kiver watershed in North
Carolina. This river has its source on the north slope of the Pisgah
ridge, and flows north throughout the central portion of the county,
being joined by several large tributaries, all rising within the county.
Above Ferguson, the river flows through a comparatively broad valley,
the principal agricultural region.
The soil in the valleys varies from a sandy clay loam to a stiff, heavy
red clay, while on the slopes the soil is clay. On the ridges the soil is
a very thin sandy clay except on the high Balsam Mountains, where
there is a deep black loam, rich in humus, that is easily destroyed by
fires and by washing.
Waynesville, the county seat, with an elevation of about 2,700 feet,
is one of the principal summer resorts in Western JSTorth Carolina.
The Southern Eailroad runs through the central southern or best ag-ricultural
portion of the county, through the Pigeon Eiver and Rich-land
Creek valleys, and affords good transportation facilities. A nar-now
gauge railroad, used by the Champion Fiber Company to get pulp
wood to their plant, runs up Allen Creek a distance of about eight
miles. This company has graded a railroad from Clyde to Sunburst,
and expects to put it in operation soon. About 50 miles of macadam
roads have been built in different directions from "Waynesville. The dirt
roads in the valleys are in good shape, but the rougher mountain roads
are in bad shape.
Practically 17 per cent of the county has been cleared for agriculture,
and the farmers specialize on stock raising, Haywood's cattle and mules
being known all over the region. Little of this, however, is grazed on
forest range, since the greater part of the county is now under stock
law. At least half of the cleared land on the lower slopes and broad
ridges is used for grazing. Unfortunately, much of the land which has
been cleared for grazing is very steep and has washed so badly that it has
become almost worthless.
Haywood probably leads the mountain counties in the manufacture
of forest products. The Champion Fiber Company, at Canton, is the
largest mill of its kind in the South. It employs from 600 to 800 hands,
and furnishes a steady market for a large amount of timber, much of
which would otherwise have little value. There are. several wood-work-ing
factories at Waynesville and Hazelwood, and a tannery at the lat-ter
place.
Lumbering is carried on mainly by small, portable sawmills, the lum-ber
being hauled to the railroad on wagons. Flumes are being used to
great advantage on three large operations to float cordwood and lum-ber
to the railroad.
44 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN 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 Kichland
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
Eidge a small section drains into the Horsepasture Biver, 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
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 45
southern part of the county, sand predominates. Most of the county is
absolute forest land, yet the forest is in. poor condition, the repeated
burnings having hastened the death of mature timber and largely pre-vented
its replacement by young growth. Near the railroad the woods
have been culled of their best timber during the past ten years, and the
poorer species are gaining ground.
A tract of 50,000 acres in this county, belonging to the G. "W. Van-derbilt
estate, has had fire patrol for several years. In spite of some
wilfull setting of fires the reproduction is remarkably good over more
than half of this protected area.
This county contains several large holdings, aggregating nearly 100,-
000 acres, or 42 per cent of the total area. Most of this land lies in a
solid body which could readily be placed under a system of fire patrol,
which could be maintained at a cost of only a few cents per acre. The
stock law is in force over probably a third of the county, but not in the
more mountainous parts.
One of the chief sources of income is the summer tourist trade, and
some 12,000 acres are owned by summer hotels in solid holdings. This
is one of the best known summer resort regions in the Appalachian
Mountains, the celebrated "Sapphire Country" lying in this and Jack-son
County. For this reason, the forests should have special consid-eration
here, because of their great aesthetic as well as economic value.
Aside from the summer resort business, the great industry is the
marketing of chestnut extract wood and tanbark, and the old over-mature
chestnut is being cut and disposed of for extract wood, of which
there is still probably 30 cords to the acre on the forested area of the
county. There is a large extract plant and a large tannery, both cen-trally
located. A very small proportion of this chestnut wood is fit for
saw-timber. Much pulp wood from hemlock, poplar, linn, and pine, is
shipped out of the county.
The lumber trade is not active at this time, and no large mills are in
operation, though one is being erected in the Cathey's Creek region,
which will cut 1,000,000 feet a year. The reasons for the present small
annual cut are : the poor stand on much of the area ; the inaccessibility
of some of the better timber ; and, most of all, the control of large bodies
of timber by companies which do not wish to have them logged.
The county has good railroad facilities, since the Transylvania branch
of the Southern Kailroad extends almost across the county, making good
connections at Hendersonville and Asheville for the north and south.
The roads of the county are good in the larger valleys, but much of the
county is still somewhat inaccessible, even by trail. Though there is con-
46 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
siderable undeveloped agricultural land in the large holdings, this is
typically a mountain county which will remain largely dependent on its
forests for its revenue and prosperity.
HENDERSON COUNTY.
Henderson County, with an area of nearly 232,000 acres, has a larger
proportion of comparatively level land than most of the mountain coun-ties.
The Blue Eidge crosses the eastern part of the county and the
Pisgah range borders it on the west. Between these two is a large
plateau drained by the French Broad and its principal tributaries,
Mills River and Mud Creek. The south slope of the Blue Ridge is
drained by Green and Broad rivers, both flowing eastward.
The rock formation is mostly granitic. The soil is sandy, underlaid
by deep red clay, except in the southern part where clay comes to the
surface. Though not the best agricultural land, the soil is productive
when properly farmed and fertilized.
The county is well provided with railroad facilities, the Toxaway and
Spartanburg branches of the Southern Railway connecting it with all
important markets. The public roads form a complete network over
the greater part of the county and are kept in condition by the county
chain-gang. A few areas along the more distant borders, however, are
still somewhat inaccessible. On Big Hungry River, about the head-waters
of Green River and in the extreme northwestern part of the
county are large areas, several thousand acres in extent, that are too far
removed from the railroad to be properly opened up for lumbering or
settlement.
These three localities, together with the Broad River drainage basin
in the northeastern part of the county, include all of the best timber,
though the larger and better poplar is mostly culled out. Whip sawing
has been extensively practiced in lumbering poplar, and is still employed.
Some logging was done in the extreme northwest, chiefly on the Vander-bilt
estate, and the timber splashed down Mills River from 12 to 15
years ago. Elsewhere in the county most of the merchantable timber
has been cut.
Since there are so few extensive tracts of valuable timber in the
county there are few large mills, but 25 or more small mills are scat-tered
over the county; none of them cut much more than half a million
feet annually. Many of them have little else than small black oak and
poor quality pitch and shortleaf pine to work on. Among these mills
are at least three old-fashioned sash-saw water mills ; their presence in-dicates
the exhaustion of the supply of accessible timber, since the
owners say it would not pay to install modern circular saws. Several
FOREST CONDITIONS IN" WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 47
small shingle mills are operated in connection with the saw mills, and
this enables them to utilize small and poor timber. One mill was cutting
laths from pine logs that were as small as 5 inches in diameter at the
top. The only shingle mill of importance cuts 500,000 shingles annually.
The pulp and extract wood business is carried on very extensively
with no immediate sign of lessening. Probably about four-fifths of the
exported wood is chestnut, about one-tenth poplar, and one-tenth pine
and miscellaneous pulp wood, together with a considerable amount of
fuel wood which is shipped to Asheville. Tanbark is nearly exhausted,
though several carloads are shipped annually from most of the railroad
stations. A considerable number of ties are cut and delivered along the
railroad right of way. Other minor wood industries in the county are a
handle factory, a planing mill, and a furniture factory. Henderson is
one of the most densely settled counties, and will always make a consid-erable
demand upon its forests. Its location with reference to markets,
and its population, make possible a complete utilization of the timber
resources. It will remain primarily a farming and stock-raising county,
though it contains large areas of absolute forest land. The people are
progressive, and are aware of the damage by forest fires. There is a
county stock law and a live public sentiment which help to keep most
forest fires in control.
Forest reproduction is good, except in remote mountain districts
where fires still occur. White pine, while not abundant commercially
except in the southwest, comes in remarkably well on old fields where
there are nearby seed trees. Its height growth will average fully 2 feet
a year, and this makes it one of the best species for planting. Chestnut
is not reproducing well, which is possibly partly due to the fact that it
is culled out so that the stumps are too much shaded by other species
for successful coppice growth. Its poor sprout growth may also be due
to the fact that the trees are cut at the season of the year which least
favors sprouting. Poplar also comes in poorly except along the edge of
clearings and waste areas. The chief reproduction in the forest here, as
elsewhere, is oak, especially scarlet oak. On many old clearings, poplar
and locust come in well, and on clear cuttings the oaks and chestnut
flourish. White pine is seeding abundantly under the rather open wood-lot
forests of black and white oaks, where there are seed trees. In many
places, especially south of Hendersonville, it would be wise to cut out
the overhead oaks for fuel, leaving a good stand of young white pine
which is already on the ground.
This county is widely known for its advantages as a summer resort.
Large areas about Hendersonville, Flat Eock, and the several artificial
48 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
lakes in the region are kept in forest and protected from fire for the
beautifying of summer homes and estates.
Henderson County has special reason to protect and perpetuate its
forests on the absolute forest land, because their benefits are needed for
the large and growing population on the extensive farm areas.
BUNCOMBE COUNTY.
Buncombe, with an approximate area of 400,000 acres, is the largest
county west of the Blue Bidge. The topography is on the whole more
open and level than that of any other county of the region, though sev-eral
peaks rise to over 6,000 feet in the northeast corner of the county,
and in the southwest also the mountains attain considerable heights ; all
the central part, however, is a rolling plateau, varying from 2,000 to
2,500 feet in elevation. This condition, together with the favorable
markets, makes Buncombe one of the best agricultural counties of the
region.
The French Broad Biver, which flows through the center of the
county, with its tributaries, Swannanoa Biver, Hominy, Cane, Sandy
Mush, Big Ivy, and other smaller creeks, drains the entire county.
Owing to the comparatively slight fall in most of the streams, there
are large areas of bottom land, which produce excellent crops. Alto-gether
50 per cent of the county has been cleared for cultivation, but
probably 10 per cent of this is now abandoned. There is much forest
land left, however, that can be cleared. Five-sixths is held in farms and
small areas under 1,000 acres in extent, so that much the greater part of
the forest land should be considered as farm woodlots. Of the remain-ing
one-sixth, nearly one-half belongs to the famous Biltmore estate,
which, besides forest, includes much rich and well-tilled agricultural
land.
Bough forest land has an assessed valuation of from $2 to $5 per
acre, varying according to location and the amount of standing timber.
Bailroad facilities in Buncombe County are excellent. Four lines of
the Southern Bailway radiate from Asheville, the center of the county,
to the north, south, east, and west; besides which there is an electric
road which is being extended from Asheville to the northeast corner of
the county. There are 700 miles of wagon roads in the county, 60
miles of which are macadamized.
Buncombe is essentially an agricultural county. There are a few
small woodworking plants in and around Asheville, a tanning extract
plant, and one of the largest plants in the South for the manufacture of
coffins and caskets is now being built at Asheville. Asheville is head-quarters
for a large hardwood business, but the dealers draw their sup-
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 49
plies chiefly from outlying counties. There are many portable mills
which cut small amounts of timber here and there over the county,
though only one or two large logging operations have been attempted.
The forests have been so closely and so frequently cut over that there
is little virgin timber left. Practically the only good timber is on the
high, steep mountains in the northeast and even here most of the larger
poplar was culled out years ago. There still remains some smaller pop-lar
and considerable chestnut, red and chestnut oaks, and a little maple.
The best timbered stands are variously estimated at from 2,000 to 7,000
board feet of merchantable timber per acre, with 3,000 feet of saw
timber as a fair average. Throughout the remaining forested portions of
the county there is little salable saw timber left. Second growth, espe-cially
of the different species of pine, has come in abundantly on the
more severely cut over woods of the rolling uplands as well as on the
old fields. Pine does not seem to flourish above 2,500 feet in elevation.
Eeproduction of the hardwoods, such as chestnut, poplar, and the oaks,
is abundant on the steeper and higher slopes, while locust is found prin-cipally
on the abandoned cleared lands. In the flat woods, a gravelly
area in the southeastern part of the county, young chestnut is almost
entirely absent, and even the old trees which were once common have
nearly all died.
There is a strong sentiment against burning the woods and much of
the woodland has not been burnt for many years. Carelessness on the
part of farmers in cleaning up land for cultivation in the spring has,
however, been the cause of several very destructive fires.
The forests of Buncombe have their chief value to the people in
furnishing fuel, posts, and other timber for local uses, and in preventing
erosion. While the mountainous regions in the outskirts of the county
will continue to produce timber of the more valuable kinds, the forests
of the central part will be required chiefly to supply the local needs. By
keeping fire out absolutely, and by cutting for fuel all the slow growing,
inferior species, the productiveness and value of these forests should con-tinuously
increase.
MADISON COUNTY.
Madison County contains approximately 270,000 acres. About 35
per cent of the land is held in large holdings of 1,000 acres or more in
extent, which are situated for the most part in the northern and west-ern
portions of the county, where the land is valued chiefly for its tim-ber.
The topography, like that throughout the western part of the State,
is rough. The highest point is Sandy Mush Bald, in the extreme south-western
corner, which reaches an elevation of 5,168 feet, while the lowest
4
50 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
altitude, 1,300 feet, is in the valley of the French Broad at the Tennessee
line. This river, which falls about 227 feet in its northwestward course
through the center of the county, together with its tributaries, the larg-est
of which are Spring and Laurel creeks, makes a very complete
drainage system. The valleys of the streams that flow into the Trench
Broad are generally narrow, with steep, rocky slopes near their mouths,
generally becoming broader with more gentle slopes near the head-waters.
The ridges are low and broad in the eastern portion of the
county, while in the west they are not uncommonly rocky and precipi-tous.
The principal rocks are conglomerates, quartz, and sandstone.
In general, the soil may be described as a loamy clay. On the lower
slopes and in the valleys it is deep and alluvial in character, becoming
poorer and thinner in the upper slopes, until on the higher ridges it
occurs only in thin patches or between the crevices of the rocks.
The principal agricultural crops, corn, hay, rye, and wheat, are raised
for home consumption; recently Burley tobacco has been tried in the
western portion of the county; stock raising is extensive.
Marshall, the county seat, is built on a small area of flat land in the
French Broad Gorge, and is enclosed on either side by steep hills rising
some 200 feet above the stream. A cotton mill utilizes the water-power
at this point.
The chief shipping points are all located along the French Broad on
the Southern Railway, of which Barnard, Stackhouse, Hot Springs, and
Paint Bock are the most important. Barnard has a hickory handle
factory.
Transportation facilities are poor. The roads on the high ground are
washed and rocky, and many of the valley roads have been relegated to
the creek beds. These conditions, together with the rough topography,
prevent the close utilization of timber at present market prices, except
near the railroad; as a result thousands of feet of dead and down tim-ber,
which might be utilized for ties or cordwood, are going to waste.
Approximately 29 per cent of the land is cleared. The agricultural
sections are along the valleys, the lower slopes, and the broad hilltops of
the eastern, southern, and central portions. Here the woods have been
cut over several times for lumber, so that the present forest is made up
of second growth oak, chestnut, hickory, maple, and poplar, mixed with
over-mature, stag-headed trees, chiefly of chestnut and oaks. These
stands would be greatly improved if the mature trees were removed.
Yellow and white pine have come in on the old fields of the eastern por-tions
of the county, forming dense stands that should be cared for and
protected from fire.
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 5i
The northern and western portions of the county still retain a large
part of the original growth of chestnut, poplar, and red and white oaks.
Along the main streams and in the more accessible places, however, por-table
mills have taken out much of the better grades of oak and poplar.
Several years ago a company splashed logs down Big Laurel to its
mouth, but the operation was unprofitable.
"West of Shelton Laurel, white pine grows in mixture with the hard-woods,
and is the chief tree in the stand. Over considerable areas it still
forms as much as one-quarter of the merchantable standing timber. In
rocky cliffs along the French Broad River the three common species of
pine—scrub, shortleaf, and pitch—often mixed with a few white pines,
form almost pure coniferous stands. Their growth is slow and the
trees are small, averaging from 6 to 12 inches in diameter. The soil is
thin and susceptible to erosion, so that in cutting this type, enough trees
should be left to protect the soil and to furnish seed for a second crop.
These pines are prolific seed bearers, and if fire is kept out reproduction
can readily be obtained.
Fire scalds, or old burns, are very numerous on the southern slopes in
the western part of the county, and much damage has been done by
forest fires elsewhere. It is estimated that at least 25 per cent of the
forests throughout the county are burned over annually. The present
sentiment of the people, however, is against fires, but nut gatherers and
campers still do enormous damage with fire each year. In the more
thickly settled regions the woods are injured by cattle which run at
large in the northern half of the county, where in many places reproduc-tion
from this cause is almost wholly lacking.
YANCEY COUNTY.
Yancey has an approximate area of 193,000 acres, with an average
assessed value of $2.60 per acre. Over 40 per cent of the land is held in
large tracts of 1,000 acres or more in extent. These holdings are valued
chiefly for their timber and are held principally as investments.
The topography is generally rough and the average elevation high.
The Black Mountain Range in the southern portion of the county con-tains
many peaks more than 6,000 feet high, and Mount Mitchell, the
highest peak east of the Rockies, rises to an elevation of 6,711 feet above
sea level. In the northern and western sections of the county the ridges
have an average elevation of about 4,000 feet above sea level, Bald
Mountain rising to 5,500 feet.
Four considerable streams, South Toe and Caney rivers, and Jacks
and Crabtree creeks, rise within the county, and flowing in a northerly
direction empty into Toe River, which forms the northern boundary of
the county.
52 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
The rocky and often precipitous slopes and narrow ridges of the
higher mountains give place below the 4,000 foot contour to broader
ridges with more gentle slopes, these, in turn, gradually descending into
comparatively level, though narrow, valleys, where most of the land has
been cleared and is devoted to agriculture.
The principal rocks are sandstones, conglomerates, and quartzites.
Micaceous rocks occur throughout the county, but are most abundant in
the eastern portion, where mica mines are being operated. The soil on
the higher ridges is very thin, except in the spruce formation, where, on
the slopes, there is a deep, black sandy loam which washes away when
the forest is cleared off. The lower ridges and slopes are covered with
a sandy clay of varying depth, which is well adapted to the production of
grass, and of fruits, especially apples. The principal crops are corn,
hay, and potatoes, all of which are used locally. Stock raising is ex-tensive,
and though cattle, sheep, and hogs still roam the woods in the
roughest districts, large areas have been cleared on the ridges for graz-ing
purposes. Good grass land is valued at from $10 to $15 per acre,
while farm land in the valley ranges from $20 to $50 per acre.
Lumbering is carried on for the most part by small portable mills.
Some seven years ago a lumber company put in a band-mill near Bald
Mountain, built 18 miles of narrow gauge railroad down Caney River to
Huntdale, and failed after taking out some 15,000,000 feet of timber.
Lumber that is shipped out has to be hauled over rough roads, which in
winter and spring are almost impassable. Besides this the railroad
points are on the north side of the Toe River in Mitchell County, and
there are no bridges. Since the larger streams can not be forded after
heavy rains, the building of roads and bridges would enormously in-crease
the value of property in Yancey County.
Burnsville, the county seat, has all the advantages of an ideal summer
resort, except accessibility.
Of the 85 per cent of forest land, considerably more than half has been
cut over ; virgin stands still remain in the southern and western portions
of the county. The Murchison boundary of 13,000 acres, located on the
headwaters of Caney Creek, is the largest single tract of virgin timber.
In the northern, central, and eastern portions, a large amount of the
land has at one time or another been cleared for agriculture, but much
of it has been abandoned and now generally supports a thrifty second
growth. Here the forests have been culled several times, and the better
grades of oak, poplar, and pine removed, leaving the poorer species. As
a result most of the woodland is second growth, with scattered old chest-nuts,
red oaks, poplars, and white oaks, many of which are stag-headed,
FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 53
decayed at the butt, and over-mature. These are in many cases hinder-ing
the development of the younger trees, so that the forest would be
benefited by their removal. Where the cuttings have been comparatively
recent and severe, an even-aged second growth of oaks, chestnut, poplar,
hickory, and maple is common. Where fires have not burned the stands
are thrifty and in good condition.
In the forests which have not been culled heavily, chestnut and the
oaks make up at least 60 per cent of the stand; poplar, hickory, and
maple are also important. Over-mature and defective trees of all
species, but especially of chestnut, are present. Chestnut and the oaks
are reproducing prolifically from sprouts, while seedlings of poplar and
hickory are common. At present, there is very little market for the
large defective chestnut trees, and this must continue to be the case until
means of transportation are improved,* so that this wood can be got out
at a profit.
Several areas of the beech and maple type occur in Yancey, as well
as in the counties to the east. Beech, birch, sugar maple, and linn make
up about 70 per cent of this type. Unfortunately, under present market
conditions, the beech, birch, and maple have little value, so that only the
linn, ash, cucumber, and buckeye are cut. This gives the inferior species
such a great advantage in reseeding the woods that the second growth
forest can not help going backward, because it will contain a smaller
proportion of the better species than the present one.
A considerable area of spruce forest occurs on the Black Mountains.
Ked spruce and balsam each make up about half of the stand, the two
together running from 20 to 50 cords an acre. Owing to the inaccessi-bility
of this timber it has little commercial value at present, but as
transportation facilities improve it will no doubt come into the market
for pulp wood and lumber.
The spruce forest has suffered severely from fire. On the east slope
of the Black Mountains at least 10 per cent of this type has been totally
destroyed. After burning, the soil has been washed away, leaving only
bare rocks. The fires are said to be set by hunters. Some 15 to 25 per
cent of the county is still burned over each year. The people,