388 



Mr. Frank A. Bard estimates the value of lands in Anne Arundel, 

 which prior to the war commanded $100 per acre, at $40, and thinks 

 $20 a fair average for the county at present. Wild lands, which are 

 very limited, may be had at $10. A few valuable " truck"-farms will 

 now sell at $100. He deems these lands wonderfully well adapted to 

 small fruits and vegetables, and thinks nine-tenths of the farms in the 

 county are for sale. 



The great staple of Calvert is tobacco, but the cultivation of fruits is 

 at present attracting much attention, are very productive, and quite 

 profitable. The prices of lands range from $4 to $40 per acre. 



There is a great variety of soils in Prince George's. On the rivers 

 there is a very fertile soil, a dark loam, very easily worked and quite 

 productive. The central ridge, between the rivers, is stiff and clayey, 

 less productive and of lower value, generally covered with oak forests. 

 They produce good crops of wheat and grass when properly enriched. 

 Mr. H. H. Pfeiffer thinks present owners would probably part with 

 half their lands with the prospect of securing good neighbors. 



Much of the soil of Charles is a clay loam. The alluvial soils are very 

 productive and easily worked, producing large crops of tobacco and 

 corn. Mr. M. Chapman says that 40 to 60 bushels of corn per acre can 

 be grown on the best lands ; a ton to one and a half tons of timothy 

 hay, and 12 bushels of wheat, for the latter of which the soil is less 

 suitable than for some other crops. He thinks one-half the land can be 

 purchased at prices ranging from $3 to $20 per acre. 



Lands on the water-courses of Saint Mary's are estimated by Mr. John 

 M. Brome at $30 per acre, and uplands at $10. He says that much of " the 

 soil is alluvial, easily cultivated, clear of stone, easily improved, and 

 healthy as any part of Maryland;" that every fourth farm is for sale 

 at prices ranging from $10 to $60, and that the natural facilities of 

 Saint Mary are "as great as those of any county in the United States." 

 The following account of the topography and resources of this county 

 is received from Mr. H. D. Smith : 



A press of business has prevented an earlier compliance with your request for informa- 

 tion in regard to the agricultural and other features of that portion of Southern Mary- 

 land embraced in the lower part of Saint Mary's County, defined by a line running 

 from Saint Mary's River across to the mouth of the Patusent River and bound by the 

 Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River to their confluence at Point Lookout. From the 

 " crop country " line southeast, a distance of about ten miles, to the " Ridge," the 

 country is composed mostly of elevated plateaus of land, gradually descending to the 

 east and southeast and northeast on the bay side ; soil rather light clay, growing more 

 heavy until the ridge is reached, which is a narrow strip of slightly elevated and sandy 

 land extending across from the Potomac to the Chesapeake. This land would be ad- 

 mirably adapted to gardening purposes, and the " truck" would find a ready sale at 

 the bathing r^ort five miles away, at Point Lookout. From the ridge to the extreme 

 southern point, or Point Lookout, the soil is dark clay, very " stiff" and almost perfectly 

 level. With proper attention to the opening of ditches it is easily worked and very 

 productive, admirably adapted to wheat and grass ; the fence-corners on the road- 

 side showing a fine sod of blue-grass and white clover. Indeed, throughout this whole 

 region, although there is no attention paid to a systematic seeding of the grasses and 

 clover, the old fields soon assume a good mat of green pasturage if not too closely 

 grazed; especially is this the case where lime has been used. There is very little stone 

 or gravel, if any, to annoy the cultivator. The general course of cultivation here is to 

 devote all the manure made on the place, and most of the time and capital, to a small 

 patch of tobacco. Such time as can be spared is devoted to putting in so much corn 

 as the owner can " break up" for the corn, to be followed by wheat, which is sown late 

 to escape the fly. If pasturage is short the wheat is grazed until it shows signs of 

 "jointing," and the stock is turned on again immediately after harvest, and this field 

 is allowed to "rest" by being grazed as long as the grass or clover shows itself. If 

 any grass or clover is sown with wheat it is very sparingly applied. There are a few 

 rare exceptions to this rule of procedure. Within the last two years there have been 

 some experiments tried on a small scale with home-made fertilizers, liberally used, 



