143 THE SOILS OF CALVERT COUNTY 



much greater at some former time^ but which has been largely removed 

 by active stream erosion, still continued. 



The areas as they exist to-day form fiat-topped or gently undulating 

 divides between stream courses, sloping away on all sides toward the 

 stream valleys. They are frequently bordered by exposures of the 

 barren clay subsoil of the formation, which is being washed away by 

 the heavier rain storms with such rapidity that vegetation is unable 

 to maintain itself. In many cases the clay scald thus formed descends 

 to a ledge of iron-cemented sand and gravel or to a distinct gravel 

 bed. Such an occurrence can be found about one mile south of Prince 

 Frederick along the main highway. 



The soil owes its origin to the deposition of a fine sandy and silty 

 sediment in this region at a time when it formed a portion of the sea 

 bottom, and to the subsequent elevation of that sea bottom above tide 

 level followed by the usual processes of weathering which prepare all 

 soils for plant growth. 



The soil itself consists of a fine sandy to silty loam having an average 

 depth of about ten inches. It usually contains some organic matter 

 as the result of cultivation, fallowing, and fertilizing. The subsoil is 

 a heavier sandy yellow loam or, in some cases, a yellow loam. It varies 

 in thickness from about twenty inches to over three feet. 



It is usually cultivated over the entire area where it occurs, 

 so that all natural tree growth has been removed. Corn produces a 

 good crop, and it was a noticeable fact that during the 

 exceptionally dry months of August and September, 1900, the corn 

 crops on this soil were among the last to suffer. Wheat is also raised 

 on this soil and, while it is as well fitted for wheat culture as the 

 larger part of the soils of the county, it is not a typical wheat soiL 

 On the other hand tobacco does w^ell upon this, both as regards the 

 quality and the quantity of the crop. The Norfolk loam is probably 

 the best general purpose soil lying in the upland portion of the county. 



The following analyses show the texture of the soil and the subsoil of 

 this formation. 



