246 THE SOILS OF CECIL county 



"brown and yellow. The soil is not nnlike that of the Sassafras loam. 

 The subsoil has a depth of 16 inches, consisting of a yellow light clay 

 loam, which is underlain by a mottled clay loam or clay to a depth, of 

 at least 36 inches. This subsoil is of various colors — drab, yellow, 

 red and pink, all mixed together, best described by the term mottled 

 clay. As this clay is very compact the natural drainage of the soil 

 through such material is by no means good. When this soil occupies 

 a place where the natural conditions are conducive to good drainage 

 the soils are productive and yield good crops of wheat, corn and grass, 

 as well as oats, potatoes and tomatoes, but where the formation occu- 

 pies areas with little opportunity for natural drainage it makes an 

 undesirable soil for general farming purposes. These soils are apt 

 to be cold and wet late in the spring on account of the compact 

 nature of the clay subsoils. They bake hard in dry seasons, and it is 

 difficult to keep them in good condition at any period of the growing 

 season. The wet, poorly-drained land on the north of Grays Hill is 

 just such an area. About Elkton and on many other occurrences of 

 this formation are fine farm-lands, where good crops are harvested as 

 a general rule. Many dairy farms are situated on these soils. In 

 some few areas a slight trace of white quartz gravel is scattered on 

 the surface, but this is only in exceptional occurrences. Southwest 

 of Chesapeake City are some areas with a thick, heavy growth of oak 

 and pine, but this does not represent the original timber. 



SUSQUEHANNA CLAY. 



Susquehanna clay, with the possible exception of the Conowingo 

 barrens, is probably the most unproductive soil formation found in 

 Cecil county. The principal area is several miles in extent in the 

 neighborhood of Charlestown, at the head of Northeast Eiver. There 

 are other areas surrounding some of the hills on Elk ISTeck and a 

 small, typical area surrounds the western part of Grays Hill, east 

 of Elkton. The surface generally consists of eroded, even terraces 

 or long deep slopes around the larger hills of Susquehanna gravel. 

 The formation is often found at an elevation of a few feet, but it 

 seldom exceeds 200 feet. 



