1836.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



297 



bellicrerent spirit of ihe limes compels us unfortu- 

 nately to calculate as a possible event, by provi- 

 ding against the almost total non-intercourse be- 

 tween one section of the State and another. It 

 forms a part of the duties of the undersigned to 

 report to your Excellency, that the geological con- 

 stitution of the country is highly favorable to the 

 easy accomplishment of these projects. 



Tlie agriculture of Worcester is not in so favor- 

 able a condition as it might be brought to with a 

 little more exertion. The soil is alternately sand 

 and cla}', or a mixture of both in variable |)ro[ior- 

 tions, and entirely deficient in calcareous matter. 

 On the western siJe of the Pocomoke, the upper 

 portions of tnis district that are not swamp\', ex- 

 hibit a succession of sandy knolls and ridges, with 

 occasional basins, as it were, of level land, com- 

 posed of stiti'clay. The growth is principally pine 

 and sweet gum; but on the branches, and in the 

 swamps, there is seen a profusion of alder, maple, 

 magnolia, kalraia, with the cypresses, of which 

 two species were observed, — one deciduous, called 

 (he bald cypress, the other an evergreen. Between 

 the Naseongo and Dividing creeks the soil varies 

 from almost pure sand to a sandy loam, rarely, 

 (hough sometimes clayey: the pine and sweet 

 gum form the principal growth upon it. Along 

 the margin of the river the soil is very sandy. 



East of the Pocomoke the country is more 

 swampy, the runs that feed the river beinar princi- 

 pally on this side. It is covered by a heavy 

 growth of oak and cypress, and when cleared and 

 dramed shows a stiff clay soil. On some portions 

 of the newly cleared land a young grovvth of pa- 

 paw was observed, and in some places the less 

 auspicious persimmon makes its appearance. Re- 

 ceding from the river the country is gently eleva- 

 ted, forming a low dividing ridge between the 

 feeders of the Pocomoke and the waters of the St. 

 Martin river and Sinepuxent bay. This ridge-land 

 runs north and south, in the direction of the main 

 road through St. Martins, Berlin, and Newark. 

 Sinepuxent neck is a level tract of land, with a 

 soil varying from sandy to clayey loam, occasion- 

 ally passing to a stiff clay. The middle portion of 

 the neck is tolerably well wooded ; the extreme 

 end, towards South Point, has been stripped of its 

 timber. Tiiis, the Berlin vicinity, and the St. 

 Marlin district, are amongst the most flourishing 

 parts of the county. 



From Newark to Snowhill, on approaching the 

 river and town, the soil becomes very sandy ; and 

 proceeding southwardly, as far as Newtown, the 

 soil passes over a succession of sand hills, barely 

 possessed of a soil. Towards the extreme end of 

 the county, continuing along the Pocomoke, the 

 country is more level, with a more substantial soil, 

 said to yield good corn crops, and is much better 

 wooded. 



Crossing the peninsula in the direction of the di- 

 viding line between Maryland and Virginia, the 

 country, at first level, soon appears gently undula- 

 tory, with a mixed soil, frequently a stiff clay .to 

 within two or three miles of the sea side, when it 

 becomes decidedly hilly; occasionally well wood- 

 ed with pine, oak, hickory, and dogwood, having 

 a good loamy soil, that could be made very pro- 

 ductive in corn and oats. This sea side, as it is 

 called, is an uneven country, stretching along Si- 

 nepuxent Sound, descending to it occasionally by 

 a gentle slope, and sometimes encroaching upon it 



Vol. IV— 38 



in the shape of extended marshes. The ridge- 

 land, between the sound and river, is more level, 

 soil more clayey and equally improvable, but no 

 where in a good state of cultivation. 



Smepuxent Bay or Sound, to which reference has 

 so frequently been made, forms a very important 

 feature in the physical geography of Worcester 

 county. The map A. appended to this Report, 

 and furnished for its illustration by the Topograph- 

 ical Engineer of the State, exhibits its actual ap- 

 pearance contrasted with that it bears in the mapa 

 and charts now extant. Its condition, as a naviga- 

 ble slieet of water, has been fully described in the 

 "Report of the Commissioners of the States of 

 Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, for the survey 

 of the sounds between Cape Charles and Cape 

 Mcnlopen," submitted last year to the General 

 Assembly of Maryland. For present purposes it 

 is only necessary to consider it as a narrow and 

 shallow sea, interspersed with broken marshes and 

 shoals, composed of oyster shells, mixed with 

 clam, scallop and olher marine exuviic. It is in- 

 teresting in a geological respect, and not a little so, 

 as will immediately be shown, for the agricultural 

 resources which it actually does and can more ex- 

 tensively be made to yield. 



It is an interesting fact connected with the past 

 and present condition of Sinepuxent Sound, that 

 since the closing up of some inlets admitting the 

 ocean into it, its waters having thus become com- 

 paratively fresh, the oysters and clams, by which 

 they were formerly thickly iidiabited, have died, 

 leaving extensive beds of their exuvife. These 

 accumulations of shells, or oyster rocks, as they 

 are here termed, seem to point at the manner in 

 which similar deposites. now fiir inland, and con- 

 stituting the shell-marl deposites of other districts, 

 have been made. They are evidently the quiet 

 and gradual accumulation of years, covered by a 

 deposition of sand or mud, varying, according to 

 circumstances, with the altering condition of the 

 country where they are now found, and in some 

 measure serve to explain the mode of formation of 

 our fbssiliferous beds. At no very remote period of 

 time, they will probably furnish the prototypes of 

 a geological formation, hitherto undescribed and 

 characterized by the presence of a new species of 

 zoophytes. In their present state, these 03'ster 

 rocks afford an abundant supply of a very valua- 

 ble material, already put to good account, but that 

 ought to be much more extensively employed. 

 They are now dredged, and their contents, con- 

 sisting of oyster shells, clams and other marine 

 shells, incrusted by a zoophytic production which 

 has received the name of JBunyan, are burnt into 

 lime. From this source not only an important and 

 profitable branch of industry is created, but an in- 

 valuable product obtained for the improvement of 

 the whole of Worcester county. The question 

 has been asked, whether ihe lime obtained from 

 this source is good ? It may at once be answered, 

 that it is as good as from any other quarter; but a 

 more satisfactory reply will perhaps be (bund in the 

 third section of this report. Indian shell banks 

 also are found on Sinepuxent Neck where they 

 have been partially applied, and always with the 

 best results, which ought to be an encouragement 

 to their more liberal employment. 



The mineral product of VVorcesler county is con- 

 fined to the bog-ore, occurring abundantly on the 

 Naseongo, where it has been v.'orked \\\\\\ varia- 



