PREFACE 



The present volume on Cecil county forms the second in a series 

 of reports dealing with the physical features of the several counties 

 of Maryland. In it are full descriptions of the geology and mineral 

 resources, the surface configuration, agricultural, climatic, hydro- 

 graphic, magnetic, and forestry conditions of Cecil county. The 

 more systematic treatment of the geology and paleontology of the 

 area will be presented in other publications. 



The Introduction contains a brief statement regarding the location, 

 boundaries, and history of Cecil county, and a summary of its chief 

 physical characteristics. 



The Development of Knowledge Concerning the Physical Features 

 of Cecil County with Bibliography, as sketched by George Burbank 

 Shattuck, gives a concise statement regarding the history of geo- 

 graphic and geologic research on the physical features of the county, 

 while the bibliography gives a list of more important papers in which 

 this knowledge has been set forth. 



The Physiography of Cecil County, by George Burbank Shattuck, 

 embraces not only a description of the surface features characteristic 

 of the region and their distribution, but includes a clear statement of 

 the manner in which these features have been produced and of the 

 processes by which this has been accomplished. 



The Geology of Cecil County, by F. Bascom and George Bur- 

 bank Shattuck, is described in two well-defined chapters, determined 

 by the geological deposits of the county. The Geology of the Crystal- 

 line Rocks, by Dr. Bascom, dealing with the older and more intricate 

 rocks of the Piedmont Plateau, was conducted under the auspices of 

 the IT. S. Geological Survey. In this paper is a careful description of 

 the character, structure, and area! distribution of the metamorphic 

 and igneous rocks which form part of the complex series of crystalline 

 rocks found along the eastern fianks of the Appalachian Mountains 



