HOWARD COUNTY. 



Howard, ohq of the smallest counties of the State, lies in the cen- 

 tral portion, between the Patapsco and Patuxent Rivers. It is in the 

 Piedmont Plateau, though adjacent to the Coastal Plain. The surface 

 is rolling to hilly, and well-watered, with soil of exceptional quality. 

 Seventy-one per cent of the total surface is improved farm land under 

 tillage, in this respect rankiiig third in Maryland. Local soils are gen- 

 erally of the loam type, which is well adapted for general farming 

 where surface conditions permit. There is, however, a fair amount of 

 absolute forest land, which, due to quality of soil and efficient fire pro- 

 tection, is at present quite productive. 



The Forests. 



Of the county's entire area, 25 per cent is classed as wooded, there 

 being a very even distribution of forest lands throughout the eountj'. 

 They are frequently in small areas owned by farmers, and in general 

 well cared for by them. Oak predominates, and there are numerous 

 heavy stands of timber in the central and northern parts ; in the south- 

 em section, where transportation facilities have been better, the 

 forests are more severely culled, and the resulting stands of timber not 

 so heavy. The forests are nearly all of the mixed hardwood type, 

 with the pine stands confined almost exclusively to the southeastern 

 part, where the Coastal Plain and Piedmont formations overlap. The 

 pine found here is the scrub pine, a tree of low timber value. Mixed 

 oaks are most important, and next to them are tulip poplar, hickory 

 and chestnut, although as compared to some of the adjacent counties 

 there is very little of the latter here. 



The forests of Howard County are 96 per cent hardwood, accord- 

 ing to the survey made in 1910, with only 4 per cent of pure pine 

 stands. Of this, 9,399 acres contain stands of 5,000 board feet up- 

 ward, and 27,709 acres of timber amounting to less than this. The 

 stands of pine, 1,536 acres in extent, are all of less than 5,000 board 

 feet per acre. 



Uses of the Forests. 



Looked at comparatively, the forest industries of this county are 

 by no means unimportant for its size. The cut in 1914 of the 12 saw- 



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