396 Canadian Record of Science. 



examine and report on the geology, agriculture and archaeology of 



the southern portion of the state. Dr. Clark gives a geological 



section across the state from the highlands of the Piedmont Plateau 



to the Atlantic coast, the various deposits being classified as 



follows ; — 



f Recent, 



| Pleistocene. 

 Cenozoic. | Neocene . 



i Eocene. 



,, . / Cretaceous. 



Mesozoic. i -r, x 



*■ Potomac. 



The marked influence of the underlying formations on the soils 

 of the country, described in this paper, is of especial interest as well 

 as great practical importance. Referring to this Prof. Whitney, of 

 the State Agricultural College, writes as follows. "The soils of 

 each formation are so very characteristic and so uniform through- 

 out that there will be little trouble in establishing the following 

 soil types and showing the difference in the physical condition and 

 properties in their relation to plant growth : 1, Neocene, forming 

 the wheat and tobacco lands ; 2, Eocene, the fruit and truck lands ; 

 3, Columbia (Pleistocene), the fertile river terraces ; 4, Appomatox 

 (Pliocene?), the pine barrens; 5, Cretaceous. Mr. W. H. Holmes 

 gives a brief description of the Kitchen-middens or great shell 

 heaps marking the sites of ancient Indian villages or resorts at many 

 points and some of which rank both as to mass and horizontal 

 extent with some of the minor sub-divisions of the geological 

 formations. A single one of these situated at the mouth of Pope's 

 Creek is about half a mile long and 100 yards wide, the shells in 

 many places being heaped up to a depth of ten feet. This great 

 shell heap overlies the miocene beds of this locality, not only in 

 the valley of the creek, but on the slopes and summits of the hills 

 on either side and contains in addition to the shells a great many 

 Indian remains. About 200,000 cubic feet of these shells have 

 been burnt into lime for fertilizing purpose. This amount, how- 

 ever, constituting but a very insignificant proportion of the whole. 



The " oyster question" evidently attracted as much attention in 

 Maryland in those early times as it does at present. 



Frank D. Adams. 



