THE FORESTS OF ST. MARYS COUNTY 



BY 



C. D. MELL 



Inteoductoky. 



The forested areas of ,St. Mary's County are evenly distributed through- 

 out, as shown by the accompanying map. As a rule, timber is left 

 standing along the streams and about swamps, and occasionally along 

 the bay shores. The slopes near the banks of streams are seldom 

 cleared, owing to the danger of their becoming gullied and otherwise 

 eroded. This precaution gives considerable area under forest cover. 

 On the higher reaches, and on the well-drained and sandy portions form- 

 erly cleared for farming purposes and later abandoned, the areas have 

 grown up to scrub pine. Where the soil was not too poor, hardwood 

 species, principally red gum, oaks, and hickory, have formed a mixed 

 stand with the scrub pine. Loblolly pine takes the place of scrub pine 

 in moister situations. There are 105,960 acres of forests, while 124,J:-iO 

 is farming land. The more fertile farming land lies along the Potomac 

 and Patuxent rivers. 



According to the testimony of the old inhabitants, the forests of this 

 part of Maryland were originally composed chiefly of hardwood species. 

 They claim also that when their fathers were boys there was hardly a pine 

 to be seen, but that by the gradual clearing away of the original forest, 

 and by the exhaustion of the soil, it could no longer yield a good crop 

 of the exacting hardwoods. In consequence, the less exacting pine has 

 come to form a considerable part of the forests of the county. Areas 

 which are said to have been formerly covered with very desirable species 

 of oaks, chestnut, poplar, and red gum are now covered with scrub pine 

 and loblolly pine. The scrub pine came in from the north and the 



