242 THE SOILS OF CECIL COUNTY 



Cecil county. The larger areas occur as a rolling upland, from 20 to 

 80 feet above sea-level, but where it forms a border around the river 

 necks it extends from the shore-line to an elevation of 140 feet. 

 Generally, it consists of sloping terraces, but there may be well- 

 marked rises from a lower to a higher terrace. There are no un- 

 drained areas in this formation, but it often surrounds large marshy 

 places along the broad river and Bay shore-lines. 



The Norfolk sand is derived from sandy and gravelly beds of the 

 Pleistocene. These materials were deposited in comparatively shal- 

 low waters by changing currents, which were strong enough to carry 

 coarse grades of sand and occasional beds of gravel. These soils con- 

 sist of reddish and brown sands, from 8 to 12 inches in depth, over- 

 lying subsoils which consist of sands of a reddish or yellow color. 

 The subsoils contain much less organic matter than the soils, and the 

 sand is generally more compact. Often there may be a trace of well- 

 rounded quartz gravel on the surface, varying from 1 to 6 inches in 

 diameter. On the steeper slopes around the outer margin of the up- 

 land of the broad terraces there is often a belt or zone where large 

 rounded gravel and bowlders come to the surface, but outcroppings 

 of this nature are seldom noticed on the more gentle slopes. The 

 occurrence of gravel and bowlders is more prominent on the steeper 

 slopes around the margin of Sassafras Neck. Gravel beds underlie 

 the Norfolk sand soils, and thus insure their perfect drainage. 



These soils have never been brought to a high state of cultivation, 

 and the region covered by them is not very prosperous. They sup- 

 port a native forest growth, consisting principally of oaks and chest- 

 nuts. The same crops are cultivated on these soils which are grown 

 on the heavier and more productive soils, and the comparison of the 

 respective yields of the two classes is not favorable to the sandy soils. 

 On account of their light, sandy nature, they are not adapted to rais- 

 ing wheat and grass, and these crops are grown with almost invariably 

 poor results. Corn does better, but the yields do not compare favor- 

 ably with the better class of lands in this part of the county. If 

 crops more adapted to a light, porous soil were grown, much better 

 results could be expected. Almost any truck crop or small fruit 



