.Vaj 



VOL. LXI— NO. 8 



HAMILTON, ILL., AUGIST, 1921 



MONTHLY, $I.50A YFAR 



BEEKEEPING IN MARYLAND 



An Outline of the General Conditions and of the Nectar Resources of an 



Eastern State— By G. H. Gale 



THE topography of Maryland is 

 such that in traveling from Oak- 

 land in the Allegany Moun- 

 tains to Ocean City, on the Eastern 

 shore, a distance of over 300 miles, a 

 range of altitude is encountered from 

 over 3,000 feet to sea level. Accord- 

 ing to altitude, the State may be di- 

 vided into three distinct regions, (a) 

 the Coastal plain, (b) the Midland 

 region or Piedmont, (c) the Moun- 

 tain region. 



The Coastal plain is separated into 

 the Eastern and Western shores by 

 the Chesapeake Bay and takes in the 

 area east of an arc extending from 

 Washington, D. C, to Elkton. Much 

 of the Eastern Shore is included in 

 two low terraces, with an average ele- 

 vation of 80 feet above sea level. In 

 places along the coast, however, espe- 

 cially in the south and about the bay, 

 are many thousands of acres where 

 the soil is saturated, giving rise to ex- 

 tensive marshes often 2 V2 miles 

 in width and frequently so salt 

 that only a few plants can live in 

 them. The total swamp area, as 

 given by Shreve, Chrysler, Blodgett 

 and Besley, in Vol. 3 of the Mai-yland 

 Weather Ser\'ice "Plant Life in Mary- 

 land," is 276,736 acres, of which 

 128,960 acres are in Dorchester 

 County. In the uplands there are 

 also numerous swamps where cedar 

 and cypress abound. Through all the 

 Eastern Shore are great numbers of 

 sluggishly flowing streams of all sizes, 

 often of an amber hue from the ever- 

 green swamps. The mouths of the 

 permanent streams extend as broad 

 estuaries. 



The Western Shore has a greater 

 elevation, rising to a maximum of 

 290 feet. The surface is level, but 

 sharply cut by streams, especially in 

 the southern part of the Chesapeake- 

 Potomac peninsula, and at the mouths 

 of the rivers there is fi-equently a 

 sharp rise from tide level to 100 feet 



or more. Marsh areas are restricted 

 to the bay shore in Harford County. 



The Midland region extends from 

 the "fall line" at the west limits of 

 the Coastal plain to the eastern part 

 of Allegany County. The eastern 

 half is at a level of 480 to 850 feet, 

 with a fairly uniform surface dis- 

 sected by streams, but the western 

 part is at a much higher elevation, 

 containing low mountain ranges with 

 fertile valleys between. The most 

 Important of the valleys, those in 

 which Middletown and Hagerstown 

 are situated, are separated by the 

 Blue Ridge Mountains, which rise as 

 high as 2,000 feet. At the western 



edge of the Midland is a series of 

 narrow valleys and steep ridges ter- 

 minating in Allegany County at a 

 1,500 foot elevation. 



The mountain region is entirely 

 above 1,500 feet and contains the Big 

 Savage and Great Backbone ridges, 

 rising to 3,200 feet. The highest ele- 

 vation is 3,342 feet, near Table Rock, 

 in Garrett County. The valleys and 

 bottom lands bordering the streams 

 are often very fertile, and along the 

 upper waters of some of the streams 

 are frequent swamps. 



Because of this great diversity in 

 topography there is a wide variation 

 in the flora throughout the state and 



Peach orchard in the Upper Midland. 



