The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-23

Their Hydrography, Scenery, Mn
: eral and Timber Products

Washington Special.
In the series at water supply and irri.
EATON papsrs the un as states GsoSs
in charge. has now In press Nos q and
60. being Parts L and II. OF the Hydro
graphy Of the Southern Appalachian
Mountain Region,. BY H; a. Presssy:
from Maine southwesteriy for nearly
1900 miles. terminating In Northern Ala
bama. From the Potomac South the
ranges are higher and broader than IN
Blue Ridge, the Shenandoah. the Allie
ghany and the Greenbriar Mountains. ex-
tending. with broad and fertile valleys
between In nearly parallel lines th Nnr;S
Carolina and Tennessee and eliminating
In the Iron and the Great Smoky ranges.
the great mountain region Of the South.
eastern States. In this mountain pass
sixty-three peaks equal or exceed height
Of 5000 feet, twenty-five peaks are higher
than Mount Washington, and 2SS peaks
are over 5000 feet. From North Caro-
tina ana Tennessee the ranges. leaving
spurs In South Carolina, turn more west.
ward through Georgia and Alabama. and
sink into hills Of the Guk watershed.
This great mountain system forms the
backbone and watershed of the Eastern
part of the. United States. The greatest
masses and the highest peaks are in
Western North Carolina and Eastern
Tennessee. which region NAV be consid-
cred . high plateau, bounded west by
the Smoky Mountains and east by the
Blue Ridge. These ranges. almost touch
Ing on the north. part company, and
then almost come together again In the
south. thus inclosing this upland plateau.
which has o maximum width Of nfty-fivn
mlleA
The region Ii well watered. The main
divide OF the river systems IL the Blue
easn Th so ssse c.r of vr6ns N %a
bama. Tenn-ssee and West virEinia are
partially watered by rivers rising In
mountains near the North Carolina line.
oss q md As sns s n . Of the o
the Mississippi head In the same noun
tains, and the region may Justly be
| termed one of the chief watersheds OF
the United States. Grsndfather Noun
ell and Caldwell counties, In North Car
| DINA, probably the most massive Of the
| Southern Appalachfans, may be taken
as the centre Of this watershed. Thence
| the waters pour north. east. south and
| west. From the many springs on the
| southern slope OF Grandfather mountain
| dow some Of the headwaters of the Ca
tawba, which. rising In the Black Noun
| five to 100 feet to the Piedmont Plain,
crosses into South Carolina, and, as the
Wateree. passes oil to the Atlantic. Flow
ing from this region. besides the Ca
kin. Broad, Saluda. Chatooga. Tugaloo
and Oconee; into the Mississippi are New
River and the Tennessee. From the west
ern slopes Of the Blue Ridge flow the
| headwaters of the great Tennessee River
| system. as do it's larger tributaries, the
| Broad.
The scenery Of the Southern Appalach-
| ian region Is the grandest in the East
ern States. The mean annual tempera-
ture varies from nearly 90 degrees FAN
| renheit at Salisbury GEO feep, east Of
| the mountains, 70 20 degrees Fahrenheit
the mean annual temperature Of Boston
| or Chicago. The annual rainfall Is CO.
pious, especially on the. eastern slopes
OF the mountains. At Highlands, In Ma
con County, the annual normal preclpi-
tation is about e inches: at Asheville
1t Is about ~ inches.
Notwithstanding the inroads that have
been made on the forest that once Gov.
tains. nowhere In the United States Is
there an equal area of land covered with
so great variety OF valuable timber.
The wainuts. tulips tpoplars) and oaks
grow to almost incredible sizes. White
pine occurs in large tracts. LAUNDERING
on large scale has been carried on for
only few years, but Is very destruct-
I've. Some, of the companies saw any
thing that will make a plank. In the
case of the bark gatherers the wasteful-
! ness is even more deplorabie and ruin
| rus. This section is comparatively free
| from forest free. A number of railroads
| run into this region, but the transpor-
: tation facilities and the highways are
verv poor. Splash dams are much used
In sending timber downstream. The soil
Is generally deep and fairly fertile even
to the mountain tops. but Il washes cas-
lily when exposed. The entire region is
well adapted to stock raising: some iron
ore occurs In large quantities in a num-
Der of counties; copper. mica. corundum
gold and other minerals have been mined
TO some extent. Many varieties of shrubs
| and Towering plants abound. and the
region should prove a Mecca to botan-
| lists.
| The drainage basins, discharge meas
4 rious rivers and their tributaries are de-
scribed at length by Mr.. Pressey, and
much Information of great value to mill
ers. sawmill men. lumbermen, miners
! cattlemen. farmers and travellers is to
| be found in the report. =
| Mr.. Pressey insists upon the import
| ance OF the forest ito the preservation
| OF the soil of this region, and notes with
satisfaction that the heavy forest growth
| on Grandfather Mountain Is not to be
| destroyed. In order that the springs
| which give rise to so many streams on
| Grandfather Mountain NAV not be dis
| turbed. 1,400 acres have been set aside
| as public park under Ave commits
| sioners. one of whom is the Commissioner
| of Agriculture of North Carolina. and
| another the State Geologist. Professor J
| A. Holmes, with whose active assistance
the surveys and examinations described
by Mr. Pressey were made. The study