The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-08-12

tainly within the South, has been
made in the great Appalachian re
Sion. Section hy section this wonder-
ful country. SO rich IN mineral, tim
Der, agricultural resources, and water
power has been opened up to the
outside world and developed chiefly
through the railroads that have been
built in that section.
The last of this nightly favored sec
ton, and in many respects the richest
and most beautiful in this entire re-
glon. is that now being opened up. |
which embraces the extreme Western
end Of North Carolina, composing a
large part of Cherokee and all Of Clay
county, and towns, Union White, Ra- !
bun and Lumpkin in Georgia. The
Gainesville and Northeastern railroad
has just been completed which gives
an outlet to hat portion of the sec
ton Of Georgia lying South of the
Blue Ridge, and it is now practically
assured that the HiaWaSSee Valley
railroad will be built from Andrews
and Murphy, n. C., via Hayesvine, and
which Will ultimately be extended via
HiaWaSsee, Ga, across the Blue Ridge
TO connect with the Gainesville and
Northeastern at RobertStown, thus
connecting the entire section with the
main line of the Southern at aines
vile, and affordlng communication i.
every direction.
1t is hard to conceive g. the wax
POSSIBILITIES OF tHlS WOvfueIlul t0uH-
try-the last of the West-interlnk-
ed as it now is with the outside world
from which it has ever been shut in
and separated.
Here is an area of 2,os1 square
miles, as large almost as the entire
states Of Vermont, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island and Connecticut, yet
containing a population of only 45,011
people; while the states above named
have a population of 5,3T9,I3S Con-
slider for a momen what the future
holds in store for this delightful coun-
q try. with and advantages
) vastly superior to the bleak New
England country.
There, too, is a native White pop
ulation unsurpassed by any people or
the American continent, unnlSed as
) it is with scarcely any foreign ele-
!, ment, and a very. small percentage OF
Z colored people; a people Anglo-Saxor
q to the core, unhampered by none OF
the racial and caste distinction
which embarrass many other sec
$ tions.
e It is the proud boast of this sec
n ton, and one which the records sus
e tain, that there is less crime here
than anywhere else in this country
AS an evidence, Clay county's Jail i
n used almost entirely as a residence
and the county Of Towns in Georgia
has never had sufficient criminals e
necessitate the building Of a jail. II
, fact, so different is this section from
the rougher mountain sections else
where that the jails in several Of tn
q counties named could be rented on
as Sunday Schoo quarters, with lit
r tie disturbance to the schools or in
al convenience to the prisoners.
S, In this region there is vast min
s. eral wealth as yet untouched, waite
le power amply sufficient for all pur
poses Of power and manufactur
~
% will make this county one Of tn
wealthiest to be found anywhere.
- Alphabetically this county is pr
marily a grass and stock section; an
when once thoroughly developed, an
modern OF farming and stock raisin
Mt leading sections of the middle We:
x in these lines Of industry.
n Adde to these are the almost II
exhaustible timber Of tn
mountain region I am describing. A
most the entire area abounds in vi
gin forest, heavily and thick
4 wooded, very little Of which has v
~ been cut. Having secured railroa
facilities, this section Will u~ndoubted
Is. become one Of h leading centers II
the manufacture OF furniture ar
hard wood products.
AS a fruit country it is hardly su
aa passed by any section Of the Sout
oSDoCldtly 1o1 Tx - W VIM
apples, the apples here being equa
when properly cultivated, to those
10 Washington, Oregon and Westel
" New York, and superior in flavor.
II. But the advantages which lends
IT. this country its chief char
re- to the home-seeker is its equable, {
in the-year-round, pleasant climate, al
20 its lovely. picturesque scenery. As
lg- whole, the country IS less rough al
m rocky than most mountain section
fe- has larger valleys and more arat
as lands than is generally ound in t
mountains.
1ae Among its many attractive and fe
on tile valleys may be mentioned I
Valley River valley, in Cherokee, e
Ain tending near the Southern and HI
m wassee Valley railroads., being abo
gh six miles in length and nearly Y
sa- miles in width. and being perhaps t
lp- finest agricultural valley west
are Ashevil1e.
al Entering Clay county We find
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