MARYLAND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 153 



latitude of Huntingtown the sands of the Norfolk sand are not so 

 coarse as farther to the south, and a sticky clayey subsoil is reached at 

 a less depth. This is due to the fact that the lowest divisions of the 

 Miocene — the Calvert clay and diatoraaceous earth — comes out at the 

 surface and the sandy materials which once covered it have been more 

 completely removed. However, the sandy layers are still represented 

 by small areas on the higher uplands, and the long-continued and con- 

 stant rain wash has spread a thin layer of sand even over the heavier 

 subsoils. This action is still in progress and many acres of this soil 

 type consist of rain washed materials which have accumulated in hollows 

 and valleys. 



The agricultural values of these ddfferent accumulations remain 

 remarkably constant, so they have been classed as a single soil type 

 though varying considerably in origin and in geologic age. 



The Norfolk sand is a yellowish sandy loam of medium coarseness, 

 containing a scattering of gravel in some instances and very often 

 mingled with broken fragments of iron crust. The soil has an average 

 depth of about nine inches and is usually succeeded by a slightly heavier 

 yellow, sandy loam, which may extend to a depth of many feet, as 

 in the case of the areas weathered out from outcropping strata or which 

 may be underlain at various depths by much finer-grained material, as 

 is frequently the case in northern Calvert County. 



The natural timber growth is pitch pine, chestnut, and oak. The 

 soil is one largely used for the cultivation of tobacco at present, and 

 some of the best tobacco farms in the area are located on this type. 

 On the other hand a few farms, located near the Patuxent Eiver, on 

 this type, are reported as not so successful in the production of the crop 

 for, while a large growth is secured, the quality is not of the best. 



The Norfolk sand, as represented by the finer-grained grades of 

 northern and northwestern Calvert County, produces good crops of 

 tobacco, and the type in general is also well adapted to the production 

 of truck crops. The peaches raised upon this soil are of good color 

 and bring good returns. Wheat and corn are raised in regular rotation 

 with tobacco, but tlie Norfolk sand is a type distinctly too sandy 

 11 



