32 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 



The soil on the ridge varies from sandy to clayey-j some- 

 times unmixed, whilst the hills and valleys between it and 

 the river are composed alternately of sand and gravel, white 

 and ferruginous clays, forming a soil varying from sandy and. 

 clayey, to sandy and clayey loam, which, according to circum- 

 stances, is very productive in corn, tobacco and oats. The 

 river flats are generally a stiff clay. There is, however, a 

 very perceptible improvement in the natural condition of the 

 soil after reaching the western branch of the river, between 

 which and the north-east branch of the Potomac lie the famed 

 forest lands of Prince George's. These are variable mixtures 

 of sand and clay that are found to be most readily enriched 

 by the use of clover and plaster, and yield abundant crops of 

 a bright leaf tobacco : they produce abundantly too in corn, 

 (^Zea mays) and could be made, by the addition of lime or 

 calcareous matter, excellent wheat lands. The soil appears 

 to be peculiarly favourable to the growth of the locust (Robi- 

 nia pseudacacia;) it also allows of the partial cultivation of 

 the cotton plant {Gossypium herbaceuin). 



Formerly the native forests that covered this peninsula, 

 were inhabited by the deer (Cervus Virginianus ;) but they 

 have been nearly, if not entirely destroyed ; so that the lover of 

 field sports is now restricted to chase the American hare 

 {Lepus Americativis ;) or to the more rustic amusement of dis- 

 lodging either a raccoon, {Procyon lotor ;) or an opossum, 

 {Didelphis Virginianus). The brakes and stubble still furnish, 

 however, to the sportsman smaller game from the feathered 

 tribe, of which the most esteemed is the partridge {Perdix 

 Virginiana). The ortolan {Emberiza orizivora) is also shot, at 

 certain seasons of the year, in the neighbourhood of the Mount 

 Pleasant ferry and of Queen Ann ; whilst on the setting in of 

 the winter the mouths of the creeks that make in from the 

 Potomac and Patuxent, and the waters of these rivers are 

 covered with large flocks of wild ducks and geese (Ansei' 

 hyperboreus). The fisheries on the Potomac side likewise 

 furnish a great resource to the inhabitants of this peninsula. 



The second division mentioned above, possesses, as would 

 naturally be expected, many characters of resemblance with 

 the one that has just been described. Commencing at its lowest 

 extremity it presents on the bay side perpendicular clifl"s from 



