﻿721 



MARYLAND. 



MARYLAND. 



723 



south by the Shenandoah, the largest of its affluents, which rises in 

 Virainia, near SS" N. lat, and flows over limestone rocks, in a wide 

 and fertile vall--y between the Kitt^tinny and Blue ridires, for about 

 180 miles. The united stream passes through the Blue Ridge at 

 Hiirper's Ferry, by a pap which has all the ajipearance of being the 

 effect of a violent disruption in the continuity of the mountiin chain. 

 The river now enters the plain country, through which it flows in a 

 southeast direction, with rather a rapid course : the last falls occur 

 a few miles above Georgetown, 3 miles above Washington, to which 

 place the tide ascends. Below the head of tide-wattr the Potomac 

 becomes a deep and wide river, and passing Washington and Alex- 

 andria, it has a general east-south-east course to Chesapeake Bay, 

 which it cntera in 30" N. lat. At its mouth the Potomac is 7 miles 

 across. At the falls above Georgetown it is 10 feet deep, and at 

 Alexandria 18 feet; ships of the line ascend to the Washington 

 navy-yard. Around all the falls canals have been constructed. The 

 whole course of the river excr cd-i 500 miles : large boats ascend it 

 50 or 60 miles above Harper's Ferry, and smaller ones much higher. 

 The chief tributaries of the Potomac belonging to Maryland, are the 

 Monocacy River, the Antietam, and Conecocheague Creeks. 



The Pattu-mt, the second largest river, rises on the eastern border 

 of the hilly country, in 39° 20 ' N. lat. Its general course varies 

 between south-east and south, and it flows about 100 miles ; towards 

 its month it becomes a bay, from 2 to 3 miles wide. It is navigable 

 for vessels of 250 tons to Nottingham, 50 miles from its outh^t, and 

 boata ascend 14 miles higher, to Queen Anne's Town. The Pataptco 

 forms the harbour of Baltimore. This river likewise rises in the 

 eastern portion of the billy region, north-west of the source of the 

 Patuxent ; after a course of about 30 milea in an east-south-east 

 direction, it falls over a ledge of rocks, and before it entere Chesapeake 

 Bay it widens into an sstuaty 10 or 12 miles in length. Vessels of 

 600 tons can sail to Fell's Point, the lower harbour of Baltimore, and 

 boats may ascend to Elkridge Landing, 8 miles above Baltimore. On 

 its banks are several extensive mills. The Sutgvehanna river traverses 

 the northern part of Maryland for 15 miles, before it falls into Chesa- 

 peake Bay. 'The tide ascends to Fort Deposit 5 milen from its mouth ; 

 above this are falls. The Elk, Chester, Choptank, Nanticoke, and 

 Pocomoke belonging to the Eastern Shore, mostly rise in Delaware, 

 and are navigable for 30 or 40 miles. The Yougbiogbeney is the only 

 Maryland river which does not flow into Chesapeake Bay. It rises in 

 the extreme west of the state, shortly after passes into Pennsylvania, 

 and there unites with the Monongahela, a tributary of the Ohio, 

 which falls into the Mississippi, and empties itself into the Gulf of 

 Mexico. 



There are several short canals in the state. Some of the earliest 

 constructed were those cut for 'avoiding the falls and rapids in the 

 upper course of the Potomac, but they have been to a great extent 

 superseded by the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, extending from Alex- 

 andria to Cumberland 191 miles, on the Virginia side of the river, 

 and the Baltimore and Ohio railway. The Chesapeake and Delaware 

 Canal, which Is carried across the neck of the Delaware peninsula, 

 and of which about half is in Maryland, is noticed under Delaware. 

 Besides these there is the Susquehanna and Tide- Water Canal, con- 

 structed to assist the navigation of the Susquehanna. 



The turupike roads are generally good. Perhaps the most important 

 lines are that from Baltimore to Haggerstown and thence to Cumber- 

 land, and the great national road from Cumberland westward. The 

 total length of railway completed in Maryland in 1854 is said to exceed 

 600 miles : but all the longer lines belong in part to other states. The 

 Baltimore and Ohio railway, running from Baltimore to Wheeling on 

 the Ohio in Virginia 387 miles, belongs in part to Virginia and Ohio 

 as well as to Maryland : it has two branches which belong to Mary- 

 land ; the Washington 31 miles long, from Relay House, 7 miles S.W. 

 from Baltimore to Washington, and the Frederick branch 3 miles 

 long. This line opens a ready communication between the midille 

 and western states, and is of great commercial importance to both. 

 The Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore railway, 100 miles long, 

 connects the cities so named; about half its length belongs to this 

 state. The Baltimore and Susquehanna line, from Baltimore to York 

 in Pennsylvania, has two-thirds of its extent in Maryland ; the West- 

 minster branch, from Relay House to Owings Mills, 7 miles, is wholly 

 in t^je state. The Newcastle and French Town line, 16 miles long, 

 connects Newcastle in Delaware with French Town in Maryland. The 

 Annapolis and Elk Ridge railway, 21 miles long, belongs throughout 

 to Maryland ; it connects the capital with the Baltimore and Ohio 

 railways. 



Otology, Mineralogy, Jke. — The geological features of Maryland are 

 varied and interesting. Through the western side of the western 

 shore and the eastern part of the mountain district runs a belt of 

 eruptive and metamorphic rocks, from 50 to 100 miles wide, but 

 covered in the centre by a band of uncomformable red-sandstone. The 

 hills included in this series are generally round topped, and seldom 

 rise more than 900 feet above the level of the sea. West of the 

 red-sandstone they rise much higher. The rocks iu the easteni part 

 are granite, gneiss, mica-, and talcose-scbists, serpentine, primary lime- 

 stone, fta On the west these rocks are botinded by a narrower belt 

 of the Lower Silurian formation, extending like the hypogene series in 

 a north-east and south-west direction across the state. West of the 



oaoo. DiT. VOL. in. 



Lower Silurian, and following its general outline, is a still narrower 

 belt of Upper Silurian strati ; both the series being bent, foldeil, and 

 fractured in a very remarkable manner. The country west of the Upper 

 Silurian series consists almost entirely of Devoniau strata, covered in 

 places by small basins of the Carboniferous formation. The Upper Car- 

 boniferous strata, or coal-measures, occur in uumerous small detached 

 b:isins, outlying portions of the great Alleghany coal-field of Ohio, 

 Pennsylvania, &c. These upper carboniferous strata consist of shale, 

 grit, sandstone, limestones, argillaceous iron-ore, and coal, and dip on 

 every side towards the centre of the basin. The north-eastern angle 

 of the state, from the head of Chesapeake Bay, is for the most part 

 occupied by Cretaceous strata, chiefly greensand and marl ; but the 

 cretaceous rocks are to a great extent covered by more rocent deposits. 

 The whole of the state east of Chesapeake Bay (except the small 

 portion occupied by the cretaceous rocks), belongs to the tertiary 

 formation, as does also the level tract along the western shore of 

 the bay. 



Maryland is rich in minerals, though they have as yet been only 

 partially rendered available. The first place is claimed by the coaL 

 The area of the coal-fields is estimated at 135 square miles; and the 

 whole thickness of available coal at 45 feet. The coal is of excellent 

 quality, but much of it lying in the midst of a wild forest region the 

 larger part has been left undisturbed, and is likely for a long period 

 to remain so. Iron is also extensively found. Brown bematitic ore, 

 producing iron of excellent quality, occurs on the borders of the 

 primary limestone district. Iron-ore also occurs extensively In the 

 upper carboniferous strata. Titaniated iron, which has been worked 

 successfully, occurs in the gneiss rocks of Hartford county. Copper is 

 obtained largely in the new red-sandstone strata. The serpentine 

 rocks yield a large amount of peroxide of chrome, extensively used in 

 the making of dyes and pigments. The primary limestones yield a 

 beautiful saccharoidal marble, in much request for building purposes 

 in Washington and Baltimore ; and the conglomerates of the new red* 

 sanilstone series are much admired as au ornamental stone. 



Climate, Soil, Productioni. — The climate is rather mild in the level 

 part of the country ; but the winter is severe enough to block up the 

 harbour of Baltimore with ice for some weeks. The range of the 

 thermometer in Baltimore is from 9° to 92° ; the mean annual tempe- 

 rature exceeds 53°. In the level and hilly di><tricts the summer heat 

 is modified by sea-breezes; but in the valleys between the mountains 

 it is frequently almost insupportable, and these valleys experience 

 very severe winters. The prevailing winds blow from north-west and 

 south-east. Rain is rather abundant, the mean annual fall amounting 

 to about 40 inches, and it occurs nearly in equal proportions through- 

 out the year. Drought is rare. On the low chorea of Chesapeake Bay 

 agues and intermittent fevers are prevalent duriug summer .iiid 

 autumn. The mountain districts are very healthy. 



As has been already mentioned, the soil of the level tracts known 

 as the Eastern and Western Shores is everywhere more or leas sandy ; 

 but marls, shell-lime, marsh-mud, peat, and other substances used as 

 fertilisers abound, and with careful cultivation render the soil very 

 productive. The valleys between the mountain ridges have an 

 excellent soil ; the slopes afford good grazing-ground. Wheat, maize, 

 and tobacco are the staple productions ; rye, oats, and barley are 

 grown, and cotton is said to flourish in the southern counties. South 

 of Baltimore a very choice kind of tobacco known as Kitesfoot is 

 grown. The whole country was originally covered with a dense 

 forest, of which a considerable part still remains, composed of a great 

 variety of trees, especially oak, hickory, cbestuut, ash, walnut, pine, 

 the cedar, locust, ami the tulip-tree, with a great variety of herbaceous 

 plants. Along the coasts of the Atlantic and the adjacent swamps a 

 wild grape grows, the fruit of which yields a pleasant wine. In the 

 upper valleys hemp and flax are produced in considerable quantities. 

 Vegetables of various kinds are abundant. The common fruits of 

 England, as apples, pears, plums, and peaches, succeed in most places, 

 and are of good quality. 



The common domestic animals succeed well in Maryland. The 

 forests abound with nuts suitable for fattening hogs, which are 

 suffered to run at liberty in the woods, and when fattened are killed 

 and exported in great quantities. The wild animals have nearly 

 disappeared from the plains, but in the forests on the mountains 

 wolves, bears, and deer are still found. The wild turkey is still seen 

 in the western districts; the land-tortoise is also common. Fislf is 

 abundant, especially in the Potomac. 



Mantifacturet, Commerce, <kc. — Manufacturing establishments are 

 rather numerous, but chiefly concentrated in the neighbourhood of 

 Baltimore. The principal articles made are iron utensils, woollen and 

 cotton goods, hats, paper, ropes, leather, sugar, and tobacco. Vessels 

 are built at Baltimore and Annapolis. 



In commercial importance Maryland ranks fifth or sixth of the 

 sbttes of the Union. The maritime commerce is almost entirely in 

 the hands of the inhabitants of Baltimuro ; Annapolis and Easton 

 having only a small portion of it. The exports consist of flour, 

 wheat, rye, and Indian corn, flax-seed and flaxseed oil, salt beef and 

 pork, butter, hogs' lard, whisky, lumber, and a considerable quantity 

 of tobacco, which is greatly esteemed in the European market. The 

 imports are colonial merchandise from the West Indies, wines and 

 spirituous liqimrs, tea and spices, hardware and other manufactured 



3 A 



