140 THE SOILS OF ST. MARY's COUNTY 



ing. This rotation is observed on all soils in all parts of the county, 

 though some individual farmers have modified it. Thus, in a great 

 majorit}' of cases, the fundamental factor of soil differences is neglected. 

 The success of the rotation in the county has depended upon the liighly 

 accidental factors of the location of the farm and tlie energy of the 

 farmer. Thus, the energetic man located on the proper soil for the 

 tobacco crop will be highly successful, while his no less energetic neighbor 

 located on the wi'oug soil may be unsuccessful, and the imenergetic man 

 may absolutely fail. 



The natural selection of farm lands dependent upon these conditions 

 has led to the abandonment of large areas of the Leonardtown loam to 

 forest occupation, for the soil is not adapted to the ciilture of the 

 cjuality of tobacco which buyers expect from the county. On the other 

 hand, the Norfolk loam is tilled over almost every acre of its extent, 

 because it is adapted to the production of this chief crop. 



In the same way natural selection has led to the extensive cultivation 

 of the Sassafras sandy loam, and it is worthy of notice that the very first 

 white settlers, as well as their Indian predecessors, located on this soil 

 type chiefly because of its location near water transportation, biat also 

 probably in part because it is an excellent soil for general farming pur- 

 poses. Contrasted with this soil are the large areas of meadow land 

 still clothed with forest growth, though similarly located to the Sassafras 

 sandy loam. It is not entirely an accident that leads to these selections 

 and to the introduction of new crops, such as peaches, on the Norfolk 

 sand, or to the cultivation of canning crops and broom corn on Sassafras 

 sandy loam. The climate of the region is suited to the crops, the soils 

 are similar to those upon which the crops have been raised elsewhere, 

 the facilities for transportation are in part equal to the necessities of the 

 crops, while the energy required for their introduction is supplied by 

 well-informed and progressive citizens of the county and of other regions. 



A local and partly defined soil classification has been reached through 

 this process of selection, though the areas suited to certain crops have 

 not been located nor mapped over any part of the county until the 

 present time. Nevertheless • experience, often bought at a dear price, 



