xt73ff3kwr00 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt73ff3kwr00/data/mets.xml Shaler, Nathaniel Southgate, 1841-1906. 18841876 books b97-22-37599703 English Yeomen Press, : [Frankfort : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Forests and forestry Kentucky.Crandall, A. R. (Albert Rogers), 1840- Report on the forests of Greenup, Carter, Boyd & Lawrence counties / by N.S. Shaler and A.R. Crandall. text Report on the forests of Greenup, Carter, Boyd & Lawrence counties / by N.S. Shaler and A.R. Crandall. 1884 2002 true xt73ff3kwr00 section xt73ff3kwr00

OF KENTUCKY.

TIMBER AND BOTANY.

COMPRISING SEVEN REPORTS ON THE FORESTS AND
BOTANY OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE STATE.

STEREOTYPED FOR THE SURVEY
BY MAJOR, JOHNSTON & BARRETT.
YEOMAN PRESS, FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY.
1884.

SURVEY

GEOLOGICAL

This page in the original text is blank.

CONTENTS.

[The figures refer to bottom paging.]

r AG.
REPORT ON THE FORESTS OF GREENUP, CARTER, BOYD, AND LAW.-
RENCECOUNTIES. .. ... ... .. ... ... .. ... .. ... . 1
REPORT ON THE BOTANY OF BARREN AND EDMONS-ON:- COUNTIES . 27
REPORT ON THE TIMBERS OF GRAYSON, BRtECKINRID)GE, OHIO, AND
HANCOCK COUNTIES ......................... . 59
REPORT ON THE TIMBERS OF THE -NORTH C(XMBElRLAND: BELL AND
HARLAN COUNTIES... .. ... ... .. ... ... .. ... .. . 79
REPORT ON THE TIMBERS OF TILE TRADEWATER REGION: CALD-
WELL, LYON, CRITTENDEN, HOPKINS, WEBSTER, AND UNION
COUNTIES ... . . . . ........................ 103
REPORT ON THE TIM.BERS OF THE DISTRICT WEST OF THE TENNES-
SEE RIVER-"THE PURCHASE" ..................... . 137
REPORT ON A BELT OF TIMBERS ON' A L[NE EAST AND WEST FROM
COLUMBUS TO POUND GAP ...................... . 171

This page in the original text is blank.

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION (NEW SERIES).

It being necessary to publish a new edition of the Reports
of the Geological Survey, it is thought proper to change the
arrangement of the reports in the several volumes. This is
advisable in order to bring together in one volume the several
reports relating to a given subject or locality. In the first
edition (second series) the volumes were made uip of reports,
regardless of subjects treated, and in order to learn all that
may be published of a locality, the reader must examine sev-
eral volumes. For instance, the reports on the iron ores and
the iron manufacture of Greenup, Carter, Boyd, and Lawrence
counties is in volume i, and the Report on the Geology of the
above named counties is ill Volume 2. The Clhemical Reports
and the reports on the Timbers are scattered through four
volumes. This arrangement of reports could not have been
avoided in the early history of the Survey without a delay
in the publication of the volumes. It is thought that the
arrangement in this edition will more fully meet the wants
of the public, and will render the reports more valuable.
The first volumes of this edition will comprise the fol-
lowing: Chemical Analyses, Reports on the Eastern Coal
Field; Reports on the Western Coal Field; Reports on
Timbers. Other volumes will be published from time to
time, preserving the same order of grouping reports. Some
of the preliminary reports contained ill the first edition have
been omitted, in order that there may be no duplication when
the final reports are published. I am of the opinion that
enough preliminary or reconnoissance work has been done
by the Survey, and the work will be directed with a view of
securing (so far as the means will permit) complete reports
on the geology, soils, timbers, etc., of the various regions

IV PREFACE.

studied. As the stereotyped plates of the omitted prelim-
inary reports are preserved, new editions may be ordered
should there be a demand for them. A change has also been
made in the size of the volume by decreasing the size of the
margin, which, it is thought, will make the volume a more
convenient size, both for library use and for sending through
the mails.
JOHN R. PROCTER,
State Geologist.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF KENTUCKY

N. S. SHALER,

DIRECTOR.

REPORT ON THE

FORESTS

GREENUP, CARTER, BOYD & LAWRENCE COUNTIES.

BY N. S. SHALER AND A. R. CRANDALL.

This page in the original text is blank.

REPORT ON THE FOREST TIMBER

GREENUP, CARTER, BOYD & LAWRENCE COUNTIES.

INTRODUCTION.
The questions, both scientific and economic, which are con-
nected with our forests, are at once numerous and of very
great value. The student finds himself led to the study of the
laws determining the growth and succession of the trees; the
way in which they are connected with the underlying rocks;
the history of their creation or appearance in their present
places, and many other similar matters. Some of this class of
questions are purely scientific; that is to say, they do not
connect themselves with any immediate monetary result. The
plan of this Survey contemplates their study quite as much as
if they were of pecuniary value; but these scientific results
will find their place in the memoirs of the Survey which will
be specially devoted to purely scientific matters, while the re-
ports are to be given to the questions of economic value. It
must not be supposed, however, that the separation of these
two classes of treatises will be absolute; science is so far the
handmaiden of the arts that it must always go with them if
they are to retain their best value. The reader will, for in-
stance, notice, that along with the common names of the trees
in this report are given also the scientific names of the species.
In no other way would it be possible to make it certain just
what sort of tree was meant by the name; for the familiar name
of a tree may vary from place to place, while the scientific
name is the same for all countries, and enables us to designate
the given kind of tree, so that all botanists can make sure of
it. The way in which the timber is distributed, with reference
to the underlying rock and the quality of the soil, are also
3

REPORT ON THE FOREST TIMBER OF

questions at once scientific and economic in their value. These
are only a small part of the questions where the scientific and
the practical values come together, but they serve in a small
way to show the essential connection between the two.
Hitherto all the descriptions given of forest timber have
been very indeterminate, as far as concerns the size and num-
ber of the different kinds of trees on given areas. In laying
out a plan for the work of the Kentucky Survey, it seemed
desirable to take an account of our forests in such a fashion
that it would be possible to obtain precise statistics concerning
every important feature capable of being accurately measured.
It was obviously necessary to count the number of trees to the
acre on several different exposures in each district, taking ac-
count of the different species, so as to show their relative pro-
portions and average size. Mr. Crandall has been charged
with the execution of this plan, and he has perfected it in
several essential particulars. His method of indicating the-
distribution of the species of trees on different slopes of the
same hill is entirely original, and expresses the facts in an ad-
mirable manner. It is in the plan of the Survey to carry this-
same system of delineation over the whole of the State, with a
view to give a record of the present condition of our forests, in
order that their changes in coming time may be determined,
and especially that their economic value may be properly ap-
preciated. I am satisfied that, by prope:rly husbanding our
timber resources, they will in fifty years become one of the most
important of the varied sources of wealth to our State. A
large part of the eastern coal-field of Kentucky is not tillable
land. The lofty and rugged ridges between the valleys are
natural nurseries of timber. While they will not serve for
other forms of cultivation, they will yet do admirably for the
raising of many of the most valuable woods for our various
arts. So large a part of the Valley of the Ohio is arable land,
that the future sources of timber for its use are very limited.
They will be found in the lofty ridges of the Apalachian Moun-
tains where the steepness of the slopes will forbid plow till-
age.
4

GREENUP, CARTER, BQYD AND LAWRENCE COUNTIES.

I deem it quite likely that within the time of the next
generation these hill lands will become as valuable for timber-
raising as the average lands of the valley are for other forms
of culture. They are naturally suited to all the most valua-
ble woods of the Mississippi Valley. At the present value of
black walnut, an acre of this timber forty years old, growing
as thickly as it is able to stand, should be worth several hund-
red dollars; of hickory and locust of second growth the value
is about as great. There are few crops of the ordinary soil
which will give as great average returns when labor and inter-
est are deducted. A very great advantage in our Kentucky
forests is the comparative immunity from fires. In most valua-
ble timber regions this danger is so great as to reduce the
value of such lands as investments. In many thousand miles
of travel through the timbered districts of Kentucky, I have
never seen an acre of forest seriously damaged by fire. In the
present state of our American life, when men are hardly will-
ing to wait for the yearly harvests to mature, it seems almost
-too much to hope for the far-seeing thrift that will look forward
to fruits to be gathered at the end of forty years; yet these en-
terprises that take hold on a distant future will become more
attractive, with a growth of capital and an increase of confi-
dence in life. But in fact a large part of the value of such
growths as our forests would give when artificially planted
would be immediate; at five years young hickories have a value;
and the trees removed by trimming out each year, should pay
.an interest on investment. The black locust becomes valuable
in ten years, or nearly as soon as a pear orchard, and for thirty
years thereafter should give a steady supply of timber. With
each succeeding year these woods become more and more val-
uable as the original forests become stripped of their scanty
supply. The best black walnut is already priced with mahog-
any in Europe, bringing several dollars per cubic foot. The
abundant water-ways of the Ohio Valley will always make its
regions of permanent forests of peculiar value.
There is another and most important reason for retaining
the forest covering of our eastern hills. The surface of that
5

REPORT ON THE FOREST TIMBER OF

country is so rugged that nearly seven eighths of its area lies
in slopes of great steepness. If stripped of their timber, the
water will not lie on these slopes much longer than on the
house tops.
By the forest covering a large part of the water is retained
as by a sponge, and is allowed to filter away slowly into the
streams. A heavy rain of say five inches in depth, falling
within say two days, will have at least one half of the precipi-
tated water retained for some days in the mat of decaying
leaves of the forest, which would otherwise be precipitated at
once into the streams. To strip away the forests is to double
the amount of water thrown at one stroke into the rivers. A
glance at the map of the Big Sandy or Chatterawha Valley will
show that this stream has a great many branches, and gathers
the water from about five thousand square miles of mountain-
ous country. Every part of this area is made up of narrow
valleys and steep hillsides. As it is, the floods of the Lower
Sandy rise to about fifty feet above the low-water stage of
the river, and are formidable in their violence. If the country
should ever become stripped of its timber, the consequences
would be disastrous in the highest degree. Some of the val-
leys of a similar character in Europe, which have been reck-
lessly stripped of their timber, have become almost devastated.
by the violence of the floods. There are several such cases
in France where the soil has been in good part stripped away
since the timber was removed, and the government has been
compelled to intervene in order to restore the forests. When
this restoration has been accomplished, an immediate change
for the better has been brought about. Thus we see that there
are two good reasons for endeavoring to retain the forests of
the Big Sandy Valley. Firstly, that they may remain a source
of supply for valuable timber, which each year must enhance
in price on account of the increasing population of the Ohio
and Mississippi Valleys; secondly, on account of the safety of
the agricultural and mining interests of the region which must
be located along the valleys, and thus be in great danger from
any increase of the floods which now sweep them.
6

GREENUP, CARTER, BOYD AND LAWRENCE COUNTIES.

It may be urged in addition that the best interests of this
valley demand that the streams, even to their second and third
branching, should be used as a means of bringing out the min-
eral and timber stores. This will require the extensive use
of locks and dams; and these structures, already difficult to
construct on account of the violence of the floods, would be-
come quite impossible if their force is increased, as it will be by
the destruction of the forests. The mineral region of Eastern
Kentucky has a precious heritage in its forests, ores, and coals.
All the skill of legislation, and all the discretion of private
enterprise, should be directed to securing the best products
from these resources, avoiding destructive waste. This cannot
be done except by preserving the forests without great reduc-
tion from their present area. If the State, or the counties
thereof, still own large tracts of forest timber, it would be
clearly in the line of true policy to retain those areas as public
domains in the interest of coming generations. Throughout
Switzerland and other parts of Europe the communal forests,
rarely large in area, are the most precious of the public do-
mains. From them the citizens derive in many cases sums so
large as to form a considerable element in their private rev-
enues. Every county in our mountain districts that will put
aside as public land ten thousand acres of forest, worth to-day
as many dollars, will, at the end of a century, have a princely
domain. There is, in a word, no gift that the present genera-
tion can make to the future so precious and so noble as un-
touched areas of our magnificent forests. For us it requires
little forbearance to spare what will be to them a most precious
heritage.
N. S. SHALER.
7

INTRODUCTORY LETTER.

Professor N. S. SHALER,
Director of the Kentucky Geological Survey:
The accompanying brief report on the Timber of Eastern
Kentucky is made up from observations made during the prog-
ress of the geological work in the field which it includes.
The work on which it is founded is, therefore, secondary, and
somewhat unsatisfactory in details. It may serve, however, as
an introduction to a study of the forest growth of this sec-
tion.
A. R. CRANDALL,
Assistant Ky. Geological Survey.
S

REPORT ON THE TIMBER GROWTH

GREENUP, CARTER, BOYD & LAWRENCE COUNTIES,

IN EASTERN KENTUCKY.

By A. R. CRANDALL.

The timber of Eastern Kentucky might, from its suitableness
to meet two classes of wants, be considered with reference to
use in iron-making, or as fuel; and with reference to the uses
which give rise to a demand for lumber and other forest pro-
ducts. Following this division of the subject, a very large
proportion of the forest growth would fall under the latter head-
ing. But as practically the purpose to which it will be turned
depends not so much on the character of the timber itself as
on the character of the demand for it-a demand shaped largely
by such accidents as the facilities, or want of facilities for
transportation-it will be as well, perhaps, to treat the subject
in a more general way, or simply as to the kinds of forest trees
and their distribution.
The difficulties which now stand in the way of bringing the
more valuable timber of Eastern Kentucky into market, inev-
itably turn it to furnace use where furnaces are within reach;
and where neither furnaces nor marketing facilities give imme-
diate value to the forests, the timber that is not burned in the
ordinary process of clearing and fencing land, or that is not
wantonly destroyed, awaits the developments of time only to
determine whether the more valuable part shall be turned to
use in a wide range of wood manufactures, or consumed in-
discriminately with the rest in the smelting of the ores which
abound in this region.
9

REPORT ON THE FOREST TIMBER OF

The subject may be conveniently divided, however, so as to
present it with reference to a number of questions which nat-
urally arise with the study of the forest growth. After the
occurrence of species, the number and size of the various trees,
of scarcely less importance is their geographical distribution;
the effect of varying surface conditions, as found in a hilly
country, and also the effect of varying exposure. Not alto-
gether foreign to an economic view of the subject is the ques-
tion of geological distribution, or the assemblages of species
on particular geological formations. It is possible that gener-
alizations may be reached by which the forest growth will give
an important clue to geological formations. A sufficient num-
ber of observations have not yet been made to warrant such
generalizations for this field. But it is important that the facts
should be so recorded as to facilitate a careful study in this
direction, when additional data shall have been gathered from
a wider range of country. This branch of the subject will,
therefore, be left for future treatment.
No complete list of the kinds of trees found in this section
can yet be given, as, indeed, only a beginning has been made
in so considerable a task as is involved in even a preliminary
study of the forest trees of so extended and so varied a field.
Still enough has been done to foreshadow good results, both'
economic and scientific.
In the presentation here made, it is taken for granted that
the value of the different kinds of wood for the various pur-
poses to which they are suited, is too well known to require
special mention. For the present also the question of facili-
ties for transportation and marketing will be left to the enter-
prising, in the hope that a simple statement of facts will serve
equally well to encourage practical solutions of the question to
the advantage of all parties interested.
The accompanying tables show approximately the relative
abundance of the more common species of trees. These
tables are made up from studies made partly by Mr. J. A.
Monroe and partly by myself. The timber on an acre (esti-
mated or paced) is included in each observation; and when
10

GREENUP, CARTER, BOYD AND LAWRENCE COUNTIES.

Practicable, observations were made so as to give an account
Df the number of trees representing each species. First, in-
:he bed of the valley, including also, in most cases, about an,
equal area of slope; second, the side hill at that part of the
slope which appeared on all accounts to be most nearly a
medium between hill-top and valley; and third, the top of the
hill or ridge, including more or less slope. The tables are so
arranged as to give the relative abundance of different species
for a number of localities at these levels. The per cent. of
each species in a given locality, the per cent. of each species
at the several levels for all localities included, and the per cent.
of each species in the whole timber growth of the country, are
also given; the counts chosen being regarded as representa-
tive for this part of Eastern Kentucky. It should be remarked
here that in some instances an unusual growth of certain spe-
cies, from some cause to which it is important to call attention,
has been included; but with such qualifications as are made iM
the general mention of species, the tables will be found reason-
ably correct.
, I.

I L

REPORT ON THE FOREST TIMBER OF

TABLE LJ.-O Forest Growth.

SPECIES.

White oak .....

Black oak .....

Chestnut oak ....

Post oak ......

Other oaks .

Beech .

Maple .

Chestnut. . .

Hickory . .

Yellow poplar.

Gum .. - . .

Ash .

Linden. .

Sycamore . .

Buckeye .

Elm .

Black walnut....

White walnut.

Hemlock . .

Pine. .

Lear head of
Irisk Creek,
L aawrencc
beay.

I b

i:.

14 20

-31

0
C:

25 .224

1 .13

25 -8

6.02

..09
.03

15 .15

.011

.01

.o68

[oJ. ..6
...

U/aim, x psi/c
ahove mouth
of Cl2croke
Creek, Law-
rence Co'ty-

'C
C

ID
5I

-C

it
fl

et
0

1 2

0i
a

10
0'

21I

0
0
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14
1

.055

.241

.22
.051

.02

.14

.03

.009

.004

.017

Little Fork of
Littl a ndy,
Gra aCHioly
Cane r Ce ty.

Various local-
ilies in Car-
ter, La.rcc,
axd Boyd.

Sluah Branch
Laurel Fur.
mace Land
Grccnnj Ce.

0
0

C
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et

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10.

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o Oc

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0
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.11

35 -
[1I 20

n
it

it
P

.14

.075

.15

.02

.075

.131

.045

.042
.02

.a03

.03

.05

.01

.07

- 0o3-

51721.252

(D
I,
LQ
P-

0 i o
0 7

C..
oCr

X7::

17 8 177

6 ic .09I

4 17 .100

3 . .014
11. .120

3 . 033

.12 .077

8 3 .100

4 8 .091

2 3 .033
1. -

. .019

0..043
.014

..014

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6. .029

.6 .029

'44

37
26

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6

5
6

3
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lo. .15

2 .092

. . 0
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1 .003

j13 .043

-
-

GREENUP, CARTER, BOYD AND LAWRENCE COUNTIES.

TABLE f-0d Forest Growth-Continued.

SPECIES.

Y nl-eK . . . . . . . . . .-

Black oak ..........
Chestnut oak.

Post oak ..........
Other oaks .........

Beech . . .

Maple.

Chestnut. . . .
Hickory.. . . .

Yellow poplar .
Gum.
Ash . . . . . . . . .

Linden. . . . . . . .
Sycamore .........

Buckeye ..........

Elm . . . . . . . . .
Black walnut.

White walnut.

Hemlock . . .
Pine .

0
n
P

aecoon Fur-
vace Lands,
:reen, Co.

C-

a
Db1

2
0

IaI
C2

F
Ca

14 17
1211

9"I

32"

3
8 .

7.
3

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Y-a

! 2
0 -

2 14

6 5 .

. 8

F,
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0
C.

18
17

.02o

.055
.07

.072

.047

.021

.034
.03c

.03c
.03Z

.03.

C
C

ust Fk., near

and of V.
dtivin, Boyd
ovat,.

z. X
zz

171912 -19;
121019 .12

l 7 8 .o6l

.34 .02
7 5.08

23'. . .09
6 9 ..o6'

2 31 2,.02

4 7 6.o6
76 31 .0"37
3.1

13. ..053

'4 8 . .o8q

3 . . .012
2. .. 00

.491-(5

1iingito a S,
gear Creek,
oyd County.

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o6

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.278 .0o6

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.o64 .o58
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.007 -.oiS

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.o62 .

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.026 .023

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164
297

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171
117
.I 12 -

.007

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.119

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.035

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.003
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--
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1,3

'1:F_!. --I

REPORT ON THE FOREST TIMBER OF

Table I is made up from counts of old forest trees. Table
I of second growth.
It will be noticed that the white oak (Quercus alba, L.) has a
wider range and a greater development in numbers than any
other species. In size, it ranks with the largest of the hard
wood trees, often reaching a diameter of three and a half feet.
It is probable that, along with its adaptation to a wide range
of surface conditions in its growth, there is some variation in
the quality of the wood; but it occurs in nearly all valleys, and
well up on the slope of most hills, in such size, and apparently
of such quality, as is usually sought after for the purpose for
which it is most valued. In many instances of growth on a
southern or southwestern exposure, it is comparatively small
in size. 'fhe same may be said of the tops of many hills; but
the average size and height is such as to warrant a very liberal
estimate, wherever the forest remains, for that alone which is
available for lumber. In point of number the white oak makes
up about seventeen per cent. of the forest growth. Its large
average size gives it still greater prominence.
The black oak or yellow bark oak (Quercus tincloria, Ber-
tram.) has a range not unlike the preceding. It also consti-
tutes a large per cent. of the forest growth. A considerable
number of smallish trees, which doubtless represent to some
extent a second growth, are included in most of the observa-
tions of Table I, giving undue prominence to this species. It
will be noticed that, in the table of second growths, it is still
more prominent, showing an adaptation to a wide range of
surface conditions. It would seem from these observations
that the black oak is less fitted by the strength and durability
of its wood to attain great age than is the white oak, though
instances are not wanting in which it reaches a size equally as
large.
The chestnut oak (Q. castanea) often predominates on the
ridges, extending its range downward in a rapidly decreasing
proportion, rarely being found in the valleys. In this section,
while it frequently attains a large size, it is generally inferior
in height to the white or black oak. This is doubtless owing
J4

GREENUP, CARTER, BOYD AND LAWRENCE COUNTIES.

partly to exposure to sweeping winds, and partly to the rocky
character of the ridges on which it abounds. Further back in
the country, and especially as noted on Laurel Mountain, where
it is abundant over the greater part of the slope, the chestnut
oak is not inferior in height to any of the oaks. While this is
suggestive as to the cause of the disparity in height noted in
the field covered by this report, it also gives rise to questions
relating to its distribution, questions which may, however, with
the suggestion, be left for further investigation.
The post oak (Q. obtusiloba, Michx.), a tree of medium size,
is less abundant. It is found in various exposures in scattered
growth. Its wood is very close, hard, and durable.
The other oaks noted, but which, for want of accurate dis-
tinction in some of the counts, are thrown together in the
tables, are the red oak (Q. rubra, L.), which is abundant in many
places. It reaches dimensions scarcely less imposing than
those of the white and black oak.
The Spanish oak (Q. falcata, Michx.), which occurs mostly
as second growth, but also as large trees, especially in Law-
rence county.
The laurel oak (Q. imzbrecaria, Michx.) also occurs in small
size at a number of points in each county. Along Blain, and
especially for some distance above the Falls, trees of large size
are found.
The black jack or barren oak (Q. nigra, L.) occurs in various
exposures, but mostly on the more barren and rocky slopes.
The oaks constitute about forty-two per cent. of the forest
trees.
The beech (Fagus ferruginea, Ail.) ranks with the chestnut
oak in abundance; but in distribution it is quite unlike that
tree, being found mostly along the foot of the hills. It some-
times becomes prominent well up the slope, and not unfre-
quently occurs in scattered growth along the highest ridges.
It often shows a diameter of three feet, and is on many ac-
counts one of the most interesting trees in this section.
The maple is also abundant in some valleys, having a range
not unlike the beech. The sugar tree or rock maple (Acer
15

I 5

REPORT ON THE FOREST TIMBER OF

sacchannum, Wang.) makes up a very large proportion of the
maples. Along the banks of streams the white maple (Acer.
dasycarpum, Ehrhzart) is common, while an occasional red
maple (A. rubrunm, L.) is found, as also the ash-leaved maple
(Negundo aceroides, Meanch). The latter tree affords a wood
that is perhaps better suited for making small patterns or
models than any other of our native trees. The numerical
proportion of the maple, as of all those trees which have their
greatest development along river and creek bottoms, has been
greatly reduced by the clearing of land. Good sugar orchards
have to be sought for the most part in unsettled localities.
The chestnut (Cas/anea vesca, L.) is found in all localities,
and in such size as to give it a prominence much greater than
is shown by its per centage in the tabular view. In the table
of second growths an increased proportion is shown. The
dwarf chestnut or chinquapin (C pjumila, Michx.) has not been
noticed in this section.
The hickories are represented by many large trees. Table
I, however, includes a considerable number of smallish trees,
giving, perhaps, undue prominence to the hickories; but this
fact is largely offset by the great number of small hickories,
which are a common feature of the undergrowth, and which
afford a large supply of hoop-poles.
The yellow poplar, the tulip tree or whitewood (Liriodendron
tulizpifera, L.), occurs in all localities. It ranks in size above
all the other trees of Eastern Kentucky, unless the sycamore
be excepted, which occasionally reaches immense size. The
tulip tree ranges in size from two to five feet in diameter, hav-
ing a cylindrical trunk of great length. The young tree is
highly ornamental, both in form and foliage. Few small trees
of this species are included in Table I, yet in number of indi-
viduals it makes up about five per cent. of the forest growth.
The gum tree or black gum (Nyssa multif/ora, Wang.) grows
in all localities, and is represented here and there by a tree at
all levels in nearly all exposures. Its value as a suitable wood
for wheel-hubs, and for other purposes for which a cross-fibred
x6

GREENUP, CARTER, BOYD AN-D LAWRENCE COUNTIES.

wood is desirable, will doubtless give rise to a demand for this
now somewhat despised tree.
The ash (mostly Fraxinus Americana, L., or the white ash,
but including two or three other species o