Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1873-01-14
FACTS ABOUT EAST TENNESSEE.
Greasy Cove, Cumberland County.

Y
NO. XCII.
| The following letter has been handed Us
for publications:
Greasy Cove is small valley; situated
| q little south of q straight line from Nash
vile to Knoxville, about 120 miles from
the former and IS miles from the latter
| place.
This valley is about 400 feet below the
table lands of Cumberland Mountain. On
! two sides of the Cove, however, the noun
l.tains are much higher than the surround
ling country, being 900 to 800 feet above the
table lands. The Cove contains nearly
| {, 900 acres of land, and is about 6 miles
| long by - wide. The soil is exceedingly
fertile, producing large crops of corn, pota-
toes, rye, oats, hay, wheat, &c. 1t is what
is termed limestone soil, and is, therefore,
very lasting. There are portions of this
land that have been cultivated-or rather
cropped; Il. e. have been plowed and planted
every year for sixty years. This kind of
| farming is, of course, very exhaustive to
the soil, and although there is "a continual
draft on the land in this way, there is
nothing returned to it in the way of ma
-artificially-and this style of farm
| ing lras been goiug on ever since the coun-
try has been settled. The present rich
ness of the soil is accounted for i'll this
way:
The sides of the mountains around the
| Cove being covered with limestone, which
wastes and washes down, supply the Cove
with material manure, thus enabling
the soil to sustain this heavy cropping
from year to year without the addition of
any other fertilizer Here we have the
advantage over most other countries of a
good soil that is inexhaustibl9.. This is
the first essential of a farming country.
The next thing to good soil for farming
country is pure water. This we have in
abundance Cove Creek runs almost the
entire length of the Cove. Then there are
many smaller streams flowing into the
the creek with great quantity of springs
oozing out from the mountain, and making
towards the creek-and it would be rare
thing to fluid hundred acres of land in
Greasy Cove without good spring on it,;
and there are usually two, three or four
on hundred acres. Cove Creek is large
enough to run both grist and saw mill
the greater part of the year, and II grist
mill aloneaH lifetime. rFz
While we are able to produce the crops of
| the North almost, if not quite equal to the
North, we are also able to grow the
products of the South. Winter apples, Irish
potatoes, sweet potatoes, oats, hay, pea
nuts &C., grow here side by side, of the
finest quality.
1t is generally thought by those of the
Northern States, that it is impossible to
cultivate the tame grasses to any extent, as
far South as Tennessee, but this is entirely
an erroneous idea. Greasy Cove will pro-
duce asJmuch hay per acre as Western
New York, which is conceded by all to be
equal to any part of the North for grass.
One meadow in the Cove, of 20 acres
has averaged for four years past, ton OF
| hay to the acre each year, while some
acres cut two and a half and three tons.
This meadow was seeded 80 years ago; is
pastured every winter, and it lay III COM
mons two years during the war.
Timothy, clover and redtop all do we'll
for hay, while bluegrass makes excellent
pasture. This latter grass seems to be per-
| fectly natural to the limestone soil of this
country whenever it has a chance to spring
up, without sowing seed.
Orchard grass has not yet been cult
waited to any great extent, but is a success
as far as has been tried.
! Fruits of all kinds do exceedingly we'll.
! The trees live to great age and attain all
astOnishingly large growth.
| Wild grasses grow in profusion, eS-
pecially on the sides Of the hills around
the Cove, and it is no rare thing to see a
grape vine reaching from the top of a
hickory or poplar tree a hundred feet to
/ the ground. ~ :2H II
| Among our forest trees are the poplar,
sycamore, ash, pine, gum, beach, maple,
oak, chestnut, cherry, walnut and hickory.
| Of these poplar grows the largest.
| The chestnut and oak are next in size
the largest of these exceed p feet in cir
conference. = g s4a .f-;a .-sr
There are many curiosities in the Cove
and on the surrounding hills, in the way
of caves, water falls, bluffs, rocks, &c.
|. On this as well as other accounts this
would make a good resort for semi-inva-
lids, as there is plenty of sight seeing and
no samenessI or mOnotony. One can eX-
plores every day fora whole month and
each day find something new under the
sun )" and, indeed, this has been tried as
an invalid resort number of times, with
beneficial results in every case.
! This climate is especially healing TO all
! throat and lung diseases, not excepting
that inclined to consumption.
There about forty families living in the
Cove, and, all being DESTROYS Of more
dense population, those owning large
farms are willing to part with portion OF
their lands at from s. to $15 per acre to
induce Northern Immigration.
Hoping you may conclude to come and
examine this country for yourself,
am yours respectfully,
Y4t..I[I 81. -. +. a. STRATToN.