40 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 



smaller streams near its head. The soil of this valley, formed 

 of decomposed slates and shales, is easily cultivated, yielding 

 plentifully of corn, wheat and oats, that have now a ready issue 

 to a market through the canal or by the rail-road. 



The eastern flank of the South mountain is cultivated a 

 considerable distance up; its soil nearly of the same charac- 

 ter as that of the valley, producing heavily of rye and oats. 

 Its timber in the lower regions is principally oak, birch {Betula 

 excelsa et nigra) and beach (Pagus ferruginea). This is the 

 retreat of numerous coveys of the pheasant ( Tetrao umbellus,) 

 large gangs of the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), and at 

 certain seasons of the year the trees are literally covered with 

 flocks of wild pigeons (Columba migratorid). In the upper 

 regions the pines predominate. 



Between the South and North mountains, lies the valley of 

 Hagerstown, principally based upon limestone, and possessing 

 a most fertile soil, the cultivation of which is, however, in 

 some measure inconvenienced by the protrusion of the rocky 

 masses that impede the operations of the plough. Corn, 

 wheat, oats, rye, clover {Trifolium pratense) and flax, {Linum 

 usilatissimum) grow here luxuriantly, and all the cultivated 

 fields have groves of locust {Robinia pseudacacia ;) the growth 

 of this valuable tree being judiciously fostered by the indus- 

 trious and intelligent farmers of this portion of Maryland. 

 The valley is traversed midway and nearly through its whole 

 length by the Antietam, between which and the South moun- 

 tain there lies a minor ridge of mountains, called the Elk, on 

 the south-eastern limits of Washington county. Pleasant 

 valley, a beautiful and highly improved tract of land with a 

 limestone soil, lies in this direction. At the foot of the North 

 mountain, and still in the valley of Hagerstown, flows the. 

 Conococheague. 



After crossing the North mountain the territory of Maryland 

 is narrowed down to an inconsiderable space on the flanks of 

 lateral spurs that slope abruptly towards the Potomac, on the 

 margin of which there are still some rich alluvial bottoms, 

 though they have been much interfered with by the excava- 

 tions made for the Chesapeake and Ohio canal. Beyond 

 Hancock, the country becomes very hilly and rugged, being a 

 series of approximate ridges, with numerous transverse spurs^ 



