Читать книгу History of Western Maryland - J. Thomas Scharf - Страница 5

The section of country embraced in the following descriptive outline is a long strip, running from east to west, widened on the ends, and extending from the western boundary of Baltimore County to the extreme limits of Maryland next to West Virginia. It consists of six large counties, among the most fertile, varied, and populous in the State. These are Frederick, Montgomery, Washington, Allegany, Carroll, and Garrett Counties. This region is bounded on the north by Mason and Dixon's line, which separates it from Pennsylvania, and on the south by the Potomac River, whose bending channel breaks the outline into a series of long and short curves, and cuts it off from West Virginia and Virginia. It might be regarded as of the form of a low bridge or arch, the keystone of which would be placed at Hancock (where the county is narrowed to a breadth of only one and a quarter miles); the wider end would rest on the District of Columbia, and the narrower end would stand on the source of the north branch of the Potomac River. The length of this strip is about one hundred and forty miles, and the width is about fifty miles, from north to south, across the east, and nearly thirty-six miles, in the same direction, across the west end.

It embraces almost every variety of surface within the State, the lowlands at tide-water and the ocean shores only being excepted. For convenience, the region may be divided into four great sections, marked by well-distinguished features of the surface, and coinciding sufficiently with the groups of rocks upon which it rests.

As no part of the Tide-water Belt strictly occurs within this territory, the first to be noticed is the Midland Belt. It begins about five miles back of the inner limits of the tides in the rivers, such as the Potomac and Patuxent, and extends westward to an oblique line running from the mouth of the Monocacy River to the sources of Piney Creek, in Carroll County.

The second is the Blue Ridge Belt, which runs from the basin of the Monocacy and the head-waters of Piney Creek to the west side of the summit of the Blue Ridge, or South Mountain range.

The third is the Great Valley, extending from the western side of the summit of South Mountain to the corresponding part of the summit of North Mountain. It is occupied chiefly by the extension of the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania, which is widely known as the Hagerstown Valley, and which, southwest of the Potomac River, becomes the great Valley of Virginia.

The fourth is the extensive Appalachian Belt. This is pre-eminently the mountain region, and extends from the summit of North Mountain to the western boundary of the State.

Each of these divisions includes smaller belts and tracts of country, which may be recognized by a difference in the quality or color of the soil, and by the kinds of native rocks which rest near the surface.

Midland Belt. — This embraces the greater part of the two most eastward counties, Montgomery and Carroll. The lowest lands occurring within its limits belong to the southern extremity of Montgomery County, where the primitive rocks dip beneath the soil to stretch off under the deep basin of the Chesapeake Bay. These are tracts of clay, gravel, and sand, the former resting directly upon the eroded surfaces of granite, gneiss, and hornblende, and the latter spread over the surface of the low hills of clay and rock by floods and by the retreating tides of a former ocean. Several of these areas reach back into the country for a distance of nearly seven miles, while the more gravelly portions are confined to a belt varying in width from two to five miles. The clay area extends through the District of Columbia and Prince George's County into this region, chiefly along the ancient valleys of the streams, spreading more broadly from thence, and covering parts of the adjacent hills. On the northwest of the former the surface rises gradually by a series of rounded plateaus, until it culminates about twenty miles back in the folds and crest of Parr's Ridge. An altitude of about nine hundred feet is now attained, and the backbone of this range is seen to stretch away from near the Potomac River on the southwest in a wavy line, through the eastern part of Carroll County in a north-northeast direction, then with a backward bend as Westminster is reached, and across the boundary into Pennsylvania. It forms a high fold in the talcose slates, which, decomposing, serve to furnish a fairly light and kind soil, capable of being made very productive of all the cereals and fruits of temperate climates. A fine agricultural tract is also seen to spread away on both sides, presenting large farms of real fertility, and attesting the thrift of the inhabitants, whose ample barns and well-kept houses greet the eye on every hand. The soils belonging to this system of rocks extend as far as to the base of the Sugar-Loaf Mountain on the west, interrupted in the west corner by the red sandstone soils, and on the east extend as far as to the boundary of the archaean lands on Rock Creek. They also send off two tongues of the same kind of soil, the one reaching to near the northern . angle of the District of Columbia, and the other running parallel with the Patuxent River as far as to the source of Paint Branch. The ridge forms the dividing line between the creeks and rivers which flow towards the east and south and those which course southwest and west. In most parts the scenery offers a pleasing variety, but the wildest and most romantic spots are to be met with in the thinly-settled section on the headwaters of the various tributaries of the Patuxent River. There the hills are abrupt, high, and broken, flanked along the sides by lower and more rounded knobs, which have lost their former angular summits by reason of the softer and less resisting materials of which they are composed. Deep, sudden ravines, set with angular and piled-up rocks, are seen at frequent intervals, and through these the limpid waters of the rivulets and branches leap with never-ceasing activity over moss-covered bowlders, amid the tangled branches of flowering bushes and creeping vines. On these ridgy hills, too, the principal forests still remain. Second-growth trees of various kinds — oaks, hickory, walnut, beech, maples, sour-gum, dogwood, tulip-poplars, elm, hazel, a few pines, and numerous chestnut-trees — still serve to cover the wilder places and store: the moisture to feed springs and rivulets.

As usual, the dark-gray and silvery minerals composing the rocks of this region are attacked by the atmosphere, frost, and heat; they crack into slaty joints, change to a rusty color, and then disintegrate into a pale-yellowish micaceous and aluminous soil. Moisture, supplied by the morning and evening vapors, creeps into these, in common with many other kinds of cleaving, cracking rocks, carries carbonic acid and other! solvents into the interstices between the grains, and sets up chemical activities which rapidly reduce them to powder.

Commencing in Montgomery, on the southeast, the country rises by series of water-worn plateaus, or hills, with shallow, narrow depressions intervening, giving the effect of interrupted table-lands. The roads intersect ledges and masses of granite, gneisses, horn-blende schists, and, at the lowest levels, the black hornblende rocks. As in Baltimore and Howard, so here, this latter seems to be the bed-rock which underlies, holds, or gives rise to all the later ones of the formation. It crops out in the beds of the streams, such as Rock Creek, Paint Branch, and the tributaries of the Potomac south of the Great Falls, and is also indicated in places adjacent to the Patuxent. It underlies the mica schists where in most places their lower exposures are visible, and it forms bowlders on the sides of the hills and partly in the drift of the lower and central parts of this county. Crossing the rolling slope which descends immediately west of Parr's Ridge, the valley of the Monocacy River is reached, and the talcose slates become more aluminous. Here and there chains of high domes stretch from the northeast towards the southwest, and the higher swellings are seen to be composed of the tougher beds of the rock, while the lower undulations appear more shattered, broken next the surface into small fragments, and exhibit marked evidences of decay. Near the mouth of the river erosion and frequent washings have opened out a wide basin, which is now covered by the alluvium of this stream. It has thus brought some of the best fertilizing ingredients of the distant rocks within the reach of the agriculturist, who has thus been enabled to profit by the opportunity to secure most abundant crops of Indian corn, clover, hay, etc. On the northwestern side of this county a broad belt of red sandstone hills runs down to the bed of the Potomac River. They begin a little east of Seneca Creek, and extend to within a few rods of the mouth of the Monocacy River. These rise in their more central parts in majestic piles, like huge ranges of masonry, swelling to a height of more than one hundred and fifty feet above the basin of the Potomac. Colossal chimney-rocks stand up like tall sentinels on the dark-brown walls of precipitous sandstone, and craggy peaks jut out at various angles over the vast piles of overthrown blocks, which join to attest the power of the forces that have snapped them apart and pitched their shattered fragments upon the buttresses below. This is a section full of delightful scenery, and beset with a multitude of surprises for the attentive eye. It abounds in objects of the weird and grotesque, and is quite unlike any other part of the great triassic framework to which it belongs. The great river itself spreads away in a silvery sheet through solitudes broken only at distant intervals by the lonely bird or the more fearless hunter or fisherman.

Montgomery County has an area of five hundred and eight square miles; it is the most southern of the counties included in the present notice, and possesses in an eminent degree those peculiarities of surface, soil, and climate which contribute to the health and prosperity of the inhabitants. It is about twenty-eight miles long from northwest to southeast, by about twenty-three miles wide on its northern boundary, and seventeen miles across its southern extremity. No mountain ranges actually exist within its limits, but, instead, the system of high hills known as Parr's Ridge crosses it diagonally a few miles from its northern border. The hills and plateaus already described occupy the chief parts of its surface, and serve to separate the numerous rivulets, branches, and creeks which so abundantly water almost all sections of its territory. Although large tracts of uncleared lands appear on the uplands and undulations next these water-courses, yet large farms have been cleared in most parts of the county, and others of even greater size form the larger part of the area in the more northern and central divisions. The upper part of the great plateau around Sandy Springs, which was originally but little better than a sandy waste, has been almost turned into a garden by the energy and intelligence of the inhabitants. An almost endless variety of soils appears as the different parts of the country are examined, and in nearly all the natural quality is well adapted to the purposes of agriculture. The northern and western portions are especially the home of the grasses and cereals; the warm hillsides promote the growth of the grape and fruit-trees; the small fruits succeed well on the more loamy and sandy depressions of the midlands and more southern sections, and in the bottoms the native bushes, flowering shrubs and plants form a varied and comprehensive collection.

In the expanded portions of the old beds of the creeks the decaying leaves and other vegetable matter, drifted down from the higher levels, joined to the washings brought down by freshets and overflows, has placed vast beds of humus and rich soil within easy reach of the florist and horticulturist. The more rocky streams are decorated by the kalmia, or common laurel, which grows in thickets between the gray rocks, in the loose, rich soil. In the spring the golden blossoms of the leatherwood, the sassafras, the clear lilac of the Houstonia, and the delicate pink of the Chiytonia add a cheerful brightness to the tender verdure of the open woods, while the advancing summer is made rich by the fragrant flowers of the magnolia and azaleas, the showy sepals of the dogwood, the clustering bloom of the snowy viburnum, the odor of the wild grape, and the splendor pf the native lily. The waters, too, are studded with the huge, fragrant rosettes of the pondlilies, and teem with the numerous varieties of pickerel plants, water plantains, arrow-heads, and a host of others too numerous to mention. Alders group themselves on the damp spots of the basins, the swamp-maples spread their broad limbs over the pools, and the greenbrier binds the crown of the bushes in a maze of perpetual green.

Between the mouth of the Monocacy River and Seneca Creek the brown sandstone hills were formerly covered with a luxuriant growth of the sugar-maple. An abundant supply of sugar was obtained from the trees, and this industry was one of great importance to the inhabitants. But now these forests are replaced by other kinds of trees, forming a later growth of uncommon variety. Chestnut, red, black, and other oaks, ash, hickory, elm, walnut, and, most of all, false locust grow in thick woods, set with a dense undergrowth of bushes, creepers, and grape-vines. At intervals, where the hills are eroded to near the water-level, wide lowlands stretch back into the country, the margins of which are occupied by large specimens of the sycamore, sour -gum, and occasionally the tulip-poplar. The vistas across these broad plains are broken here and there by low spurs of hills, which stand out like islands. These are usually wooded, fade out imperceptibly into the lowlands, and form a rich relief of dark color to the paler and yellower greens of the grasses and cereals of the wide-spreading fields. Usually the remote background, two or more miles away, is formed by higher hills of similar dark green, rendered more soft and blue by the distance, while in the interval are large farms of high culture, with excellent houses, immense barns, and numerous haystacks. Herds of cattle, groups of horses, and flocks of sheep have their appropriate places on the open undulations and in the meadows, giving a pleasant air of animation to the scene, and adding to the enjoyments of rural life. Milk is abundant, and the water is soft, pure, and plentiful. Little rills pursue their way in unbroken steadiness through these meadows, or burst with impetuosity from the rocky hillsides to plunge into the creeks beyond.

Much of the successful farming of this county has been due to the free use of lime. The soils being naturally sour, require the addition of this substance or plaster of Paris. Some of the farmers along the high-roads leading into the Frederick Valley, or near the line of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, transport the limestone to their farms, where they burn it in kilns, and then offer the surplus for sale to their neighbors. The stone is brought either from the western section of the red sandstone or from the valley of the Monocacy, in Frederick, and is partly of the variety known as calico-rock, or Potomac breccia.

The region around Brookville and the valley of Hawling's River have likewise been enriched by the intelligent use of lime. Although naturally thin, and being composed in part of the magnesian minerals derived from serpentine and talcose slates, they have been transformed into some of the richest and most productive lands in the county. The region west of this gradually changes into the ophiolite, or serpentine formation. It consists of a series of rounded hills, running from the ridge on which Damascus, Cracklintown, etc., are situated, and continued in sloping spurs towards the basin of the Patuxent River. This belt of country, which widens as it enters the county, proceeds southwestward, and maintains a breadth of about three miles, until it fades out before reaching the Potomac River. A wide strip of pine woods stretches along the greater part of its length, occupying a chain of low hills, on which the soil is the poorest and thinnest in the county.

The whole country is abundantly supplied with streams of water, which rise in the uplands, and stretch away towards the creeks and rivers by passing through the bottoms and around the hills. Five principal systems of drainage are found within its limits, — the Patuxent on the east, the northwest branch of the Potomac and Rock Creek on the south, Seneca Creek on the west, and the Monocacy on the northwest.

The Patuxent River rises in the corner of Parr's Ridge next to Howard County, in a region of high hills, very picturesque, and full of rugged rocks, disposed in almost endless variety. More than a dozen of its little tributary branches start from springs in the dark rocks, push their way in tortuous threads, as twisted as the arms of an octopus, leap over sharp bowlders, and whirl along as rapids in the wider gaps, until they have settled to a level low enough to unite with the waters in the deeper trough of the river. At first the river proper is a comparatively narrow creek, forcing its way into deep ravines between the hills, rushing violently through cracks in the rocks, and forming cascades by plunging from the bowlders which stand in its path. But after leaving the barriers west of Triadelphia it rapidly widens, and becomes a strong, full stream, running with great rapidity in a more steeply-cut channel. At occasional intervals it spreads (where the softer rocks have given way) into shallow basins, in the midst of a fine overgrowth of white and other oaks, and through almost impenetrable thickets of bushes, shrubs, and vines of various kinds. East of Sandy Spring the river has piled up for hundreds of feet back beyond its present channel vast areas of clay and reddish micaceous soil, which stand like cliffs and barriers on either side. From a remote period it has been the great sewer for the drainage of a large part of this and the adjoining (Howard) county.

During the great ice ages the amount of solid rock, in the form of bowlders, gravel, mineral paste, grit, and mud that it has contributed to the estuaries of the former Atlantic Ocean is only to be estimated by the enormous beds and deep deposits of these substances to be seen in crossing the counties of Prince George and Anne Arundel. Along the border of Montgomery County it can only be estimated as a broad, rapid creek; but at a distance of twenty-five miles south of this limit it becomes a large river, navigable for schooners and vessels of moderate size.

The Potomac River bounds the whole length of the western side of this county, and receives numerous tributaries from the adjoining hills, but its description properly belongs to the general belt of counties, in and where it will be found. The northwest branch of the Potomac River is but a small creek in this county. It rises in two principal branches, fed by several small brooks in the region southwest and south of Sandy Spring. It runs in a somewhat zigzag southeast course between the sandy and clay hills, through a rather depleted country in which the red clay and heavy soil abounds. After having pursued a course of about twelve miles amidst the tangled bushes and low woods, it passes Rock Creek, — The next system of drainage to be noticed is that of Rock Creek. This is an important stream, carrying a large body of water, fed by several tributaries along both banks, and supplying waterpower to numerous grist and saw-mills. It rises in the region northwest of Brookville, in the midst of craggy masses of talcose schists, which are traversed by innumerable veins of white quartz. The rills which form its source leap down from the silvery rocks in frequent cascades, cool and limpid, shaded by bushes, tangled vines, and canopies of ferns; then breaking into rapids as they strike the bowlders in their path, they finally spread out in a broad, active stream as the vicinity of Rockville is reached. The creek passes through a pleasantly diversified country, uncovering here and there along its margins the ledges of hornblende, gneiss, steatite, and sienite which underlie the soil. Along its banks the decomposing rocks yield red and yellow lands of decided fertility; a large part of these have been cleared, and while some parts have been worn out by crops of tobacco, others now comprehend some of the best-tilled farms in the county. The copious supply of water afforded by this stream and its tributaries has fed the trees and contributed towards the growth of a luxuriant vegetation. The original forests which here covered the land were formed of the grand old white oaks, with a numerous company of other oaks, of several kinds of hickory, of walnuts, tulip-trees, maples, gums, sycamore, and dogwood, with a varied retinue of bushes, flowering shrubs, and creepers. Now their successors, of less impressive size, still luxuriate in the rich alluvial soils of the bottoms, or spread along the misty summits of the hills. Everywhere the horizon is bounded by a stately belt of verdure, which gives variety and freshness to the dull uniformity of the plowed fields and denuded hillsides. After running in a southwestern course for about fifteen miles, the creek crosses into the District of Columbia, and finally buries itself in the Potomac River within the limits of Georgetown. A great part of its bed is clogged by the bowlders of hornblende and gneiss which have been torn from the sides of the uplands by the furious floods which have penetrated the region.

Seneca Creek next claims attention as forming another separate outlet for the waters of the county. It rises by numerous tributaries in the high country bordering the fork of Parr's Ridge, and is separated from the head-waters of the Patuxent River by only the outlying barrier of talcose slates which curves from the vicinity of Damascus to Cracklintown, and continues thence to Mechanicsville and beyond. Some of its sources start in the dark mounds of serpentine rocks which contain the chrome-iron ore. The tributaries at its head bend in almost countless curves to evade the frequent hills and swells of surface studding that section. On the eastern side it receives three large branches, — the Whetstone, Long Draught, and Dawes' Branch, and on the western side the Little Seneca and the Dry Seneca, all of which are fed by copious and constant springs. Taken altogether, it is a long and wide-reaching stream, extending nearly across the entire width of the county, bending into sudden loops towards the west until Dawsonville is reached; next with equal abruptness it stretches south with fewer bends, and then straightening out, it empties into the Potomac River. It passes in most parts through a country abounding in round-top single hills and short knobs, although the whole system of swells belongs to a broad fold of the surface which runs almost to the Potomac River, and includes two minor folds, known as Oak Ridge and The Pines. This higher district is peculiar to the eastern side of the creek, and is chiefly built into the magnesian rocks, with thin and lean soils. On the western side, north of the Little Seneca, the rocks are chiefly talcose slates of green and red tints, largely invaded by veins of white quartz, and extensively shattered into joints inclosing angular fragments. " Between the Little Seneca and Buck-lodge branch the quartz is more porous, the pores lined with black oxide of manganese, and occasionally inclosing specular oxide of iron. In this direction the talcose slate varies in color from red to grayish and blue, assuming a more decidedly slaty character, and finally passing into the true clay-slate. About the region of the Dry Seneca, and stretching to the mouth of the Seneca proper, the rocks are red and gray sandstones and shales, whilst near the mouth of the Monocacy River, and between it and the Little Monocacy, the sandstone varies in color from gray to red." This rock also assumes a difference in texture and composition, ranging from a fine-grained, uniform sandstone to a gritty and uneven conglomerate. The creek, including its numerous windings, has a total length of about twenty-six miles, and, together with its tributaries, drains an area of more than one hundred and thirty-six square miles. At its head-waters the country is wilder, much diversified, and well pervaded with ledges and beds of broken rocks, but as the creek widens and takes on its well-settled form the region is more extensively cleared, farms appear on every hand, and the woodlands are more restricted to the tops of the hills and to the rocky alluvial basins of the stream. After crossing the Rockville turnpike it becomes a creek fully thirty feet wide, running through a well-defined trough, extensively bounded by alluvial banks, and continuing in a slowly widening channel until, near the splendid aqueduct which crosses it and carries the water of the canal, it becomes a full stream at least sixty feet wide, and almost equaling the Monocacy in its volume of water. The brown soil through which it passes in its lower division imparts some of its color to the creek, so that the stream is usually seen to have a rusty brown tint.

Besides the larger streams already described, a multitude of small branches pour into the Potomac River from the ravines opening out on that side of the county, and thus an abundant supply of water is seen to be secured. But here as elsewhere the injudicious clearing away of the forests has laid the surface open to the sun, and the springs which formerly supplied the rivulets that fed the creeks and rivers have become dry, and a great volume of water has accordingly disappeared from the larger streams.

The Monocacy River has several small tributaries which rise in the slate-lands within the western part of this county. But the only considerable one of these is Bennet's Creek. It starts from many sources among the broad, round, clay-slate hills southwest of Damascus, and bending westwardly, passes behind the Sugarloaf Mountain to empty into the river. Like most of the other branches which have their sources in the slates, it bursts forth from cavities in the midst of the shattered rocks, and pursues its course in deep channels along narrow ravines, expanding but little in its course, and finally passing out into the wider stream through alluvial beds of its own construction.

The resources of Montgomery County are adequate to the wants of a large and varied population. Industries of nearly all kinds possible to an inland country can be successfully conducted within its limits. As already noticed, ample water-powers for driving mills and machinery are present in nearly all the larger streams. The Great Falls of the Potomac pours the heaviest volume of water to be found in the State. Broad belts of alluvial soil suitable for meadows and fitted for the grazing of stock are present in the northern and western sections, and the mild climate, pure water, and fresh air of the higher districts supply the first requisites for a healthy and thriving population. Gold, copper, and chrome occur in the metalliferous range of formations bordering the central belt of magnesian rocks; brown sandstones, granites, etc., for building purposes, abound within easy access of the canal, and fruit culture can be conducted to an immense extent.

The native animals of the region have been the black bear, gray wolf, panther, wild-cat, gray and red fox, raccoon, opossum, mink, marten, weasel, field hare, ground-hog, skunk, fox-squirrel, gray squirrel, flying squirrel, chipmunk or ground squirrel, common mole, star-nosed mole, shrew, white-footed mouse, jumping mouse, and several others of this group, the hoary and two other kinds of bats, the otter and muskrat in the waters, and the common rat and mouse in the barns and houses. The wild beasts have been exterminated, and so have the elk and caribou, but the red deer is said to be still a casual visitor of the wilder sections near the Potomac River.

The birds still form a numerous assemblage, rich in species, attractive in habits and song, and finely varied in plumage. The famous mocking-bird, with the brown thrush and meadow-lark, are at home here, with more than twenty varieties of warblers; several kinds of wading birds, and the belted kingfisher, the blue heron, the white egret, the bittern, lesser heron, night heron, fly-up-the-creek, and several other kinds find congenial hunting-grounds along the shores of the streams. The birds of prey, such as the golden and bald eagle, the fish-hawk, and a score of hawks and owls, add to the list, while the various swallows, martins, swifts, pigeons, doves, and woodpeckers serve to furnish a catalogue of forms of great diversity and eminent beauty.

The reptiles and fish likewise comprise numerous species of curious appearance or of value for food. Among the former, the great snapping-turtle, the slider, two kinds of mud-terrapins, the musk-turtle, the land-tortoise, the gray swift, and six-lined skink may be mentioned as conspicuous and well-known creatures. Of the worm-shaped reptiles, the dreaded rattlesnake and the copperhead still occur among the low rocks in the wilder parts of the back country, besides which three kinds of water-snakes, four varieties of garter-snakes, the blowing viper, the chain and milk-snakes, the great horse-runner and common black snake, the delicate green snake, and a dozen other species affect most parts of the region where vegetation grows thickly. Of frogs, most of the kinds common to the Atlantic region occur in moderate numbers. Thus two forms of toad, two tree-toads, the bull-frog, leopard frog, woods frog, savannah cricket, and spring frog are numerous in most of the low grounds and wet meadows. The Crustacea are represented by four kinds of crayfish, the fresh-water shrimp, and a host of sow-bugs, besides the minute forms peculiar to the streams and ponds.

The insects form an almost countless assemblage of both noxious and useful forms. Beautiful butterflies of large size and brilliant colors abound in the fields of clover, fly swiftly along the edges of the open woods or settle upon conspicuous flowers standing by the river's brink. Gay sphinxes protrude their long beaks into the throats of the tubular flowers, and four kinds of large silk-worm moths find a home in the forest or field. Attractive but noxious wood-boring beetles destroy the hickory, walnut, and oak trunks or limbs; and the fruit-trees are sometimes attacked by the Aegeria, plumb weevil, apple-moth, or web-weavers, and measuring caterpillars of many varieties. Of horseflies more than a dozen kinds are more or less known; mosquitoes affect the country along the Potomac River and larger creeks, and the other flies, many of them studded with golden and silvery markings, make a host too great to enumerate. The broad-winged dragonflies dash with unapproachable swiftness over the surface of every pond and creek, and the crimson-winged Hetaerina balances itself over the waters of Rock Creek and the canal.

The next part of this belt which claims attention lies in Carroll County. It forms a triangular tract in the southeastern corner of the county of about ten miles from northeast to southwest, and of about six miles from northwest to southeast. On the east it is bounded by the north branch of the Patapsco River, and on the south by the west branch of the same river. It forms a part of the great archaean belt of rocks which, crossing from Baltimore County, passes through Howard into Montgomery. Here, however, it is built into higher uplands, and is characterized by the prevalence of granitic rocks. These rise in high, broad domes, reaching to an altitude of more than four hundred feet above the level of the sea. The granites and gneiss are exposed in fine sections along the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad near Sykesville, standing at high angles in great dark, forbidding masses. These form but a few hills between the serpentine formation on the northeast and the metalliferous belt on the west. Taken altogether, it constitutes a wedge of country embracing types of most of the mineral aggregations belonging to the oldest formations of the State. Within this small area may be found copper, soapstone, limestone, white quartz, and the minerals of the magnesian and chloritic series, in great abundance. Soapstone has been excavated in considerable quantities from a large quarry, and copper has been worked in the Springfield and adjoining mines. The limestone valley which runs in a line continuous with Marriottsville is a valuable addition to the resources of the neighborhood in supplying the lime as a fertilizer where it is much needed. Crossing the ore-bearing belt, the talcose and slaty rocks are reached, which characterize the region in general.

Carroll County, of which the preceding tract forms but a small corner, is one of the medium-sized but very productive sections of the State. It possesses an area of about four hundred and fifty square miles, and has a form somewhat like that of an anvil with the point broken off. On the north it is bounded by Pennsylvania, on the east by Baltimore County, on the west by Frederick, and on the south by Howard County. The surface of the country is broken by hills in ridges and domes, becoming higher towards Parr's Ridge, and then decreasing in height after the ridge is crossed. The hills are often very wide and rather blunt on top, grouped more or less in chains having a general southwest direction. Broad valleys lie between these, usually running from the direction of Pennsylvania, and intersecting smaller valleys and ravines at frequent intervals. A very large proportion of the county consists of cleared lands, on which are located extensive and highly productive farms. Large barns are to be seen in almost every section, surrounded by numerous outhouses, and with comparatively small dwelling-houses placed a few rods away, usually on some hillside or slight swell of the ground. In the near vicinity of these large hayricks or numerous stacks are conspicuous, and in the adjacent fields or meadows groups of well-kept cattle show the industry and care of the inhabitants. Grazing farms are especially numerous near the public roads which intersect the country in every direction, and along the railroads; and a vast supply of milk, cream, and butter is continually being transported to Baltimore and other cities and towns. Ice cream is also one of the manufactures of the country near the Western Maryland Railroad, and promises to become a great source of income in the near future.

Meadowlands, derived from the decomposition of slate rocks, and, to a smaller extent, from limestone, spread away in broad tracts near the brooks and rivulets which intersect most parts of the county. The entire region is watered by long streams of medium width, but whose tributaries are so numerous that large sections are charged with a network of constantly running pure water. Almost every extensive farm between Parr's Ridge and the new red sandstone has one or more springs, sending forth a steady stream from a depression in the hillside or from the head of a ravine. As many of these descend from altitudes far above the general level of the surface, they acquire a force which drives them over the rocks in torrents and small cascades, and affords ample power for the numerous mills, factories, and tan-yards. Parr's Ridge divides the county into two sections, the larger and more irregular one of which lies on its west side, stretching away to Sam's Creek and the Monocacy River. Several very wild tracts still remain to point out the original condition of the country. These are chiefly on the head-waters of the branches of the Patapsco River, on the east side of the county, among the outlying spurs of the ridge, but also in a few places at the source of Bear Creek and Big Pipe Creek. Approaching the ridge from that side, a high backbone of hills appears, which bends into broad curves and encloses wide, open basins of alluvial soil, enclosed like amphitheaters. Through these the various rivulets and brooks pass swiftly over bottoms but little interrupted by the broken rocks. But nearer their sources they pass through the gaps, reach the ledges of dark and hard hydromica schists, and at once begin to contend with the rugged barriers that would arrest their farther advance. Here a scene of great attractiveness presents itself Huge masses of angular rocks rest against the sides and ends of the broken ridges, while above them project the remnants of former ledges, sharp and craggy, disposed at every angle. In the old bed of the stream stand the great broken pieces which have fallen from the crest above, and a scattered heap of fragments of all sizes lies along the depression below. Trees of numerous varieties, chief of which are the oaks, maples, birches, and hickories, range in unbroken lines along the upward slopes, casting deep shadows over the sunny nooks, and giving shelter to a host of shrubs, phints, and vines that intertwine and mix in deep confusion among their piercing branches. On every sheltered rock the green, gray, and purple lichens have painted frescoes of marvelous elegance and beauty, and, crowning all, a dozen forms of ferns have woven their graceful chaplets of exquisite green over the crown of each dripping bowlder. Sparkling little springs sprinkle drops of limpid water upon the slender grasses and delicate creepers, keeping all moist, and adding their quota to the brook which aids to swell the vigorous river. All the streams of water in this region rise high up the slopes, rush down rocky channels choked with loose fragments of stone, form rapids, torrents, and cascades at frequent intervals, and display unceasing activity in wearing their channels ever deeper as they descend. During times of heavy rain they carry down immense quantities of sediments, in conjunction with the washings from the hills, and spread them in layers over the flat lowlands. Thus the bottoms of these basins are rising year by year, and the best ingredients of the forest humus and the mineral soil are carried into these natural meadows, to feed the grasses and wild plants. The open spaces are covered deeply with the soft soil which has been poured upon them through untold ages, and in the dim, far-back past they formed a great chain of fresh-water lakes, which stretched from beyond the Pennsylvania boundary away down into Baltimore County. While these were pent up within their rigid bounds of earth and stone, broad marshes spread along the edges of the barrier of archaean mountains on the southeast that kept back the oceanic waters a few miles north of Baltimore. Later, the melting of the great ice mass, reaching through the broad, deep valleys farther north, sent such vast floods of water into the midst of these lakes that an opening was made at their southern end, through which the waters found an outlet into the lower levels farther south. Thus the surface features of this region have been toned down near to the proportions that appear to-day, the tops of the ridges have been broken away, and the summits of the softer spurs washed into the form of rounded domes.

The region in which Carrollton Post-Office is situated discloses a scene of uncommon wildness. There the branches of the Patapsco River pursue their course in bewildering complexity, bending and turning back at unexpected intervals, and seeming to be ever in the way of the traveler. They drain the country across a width of more than ten miles, and carry a large volume of water into the north branch of the river. The ridges here are narrow and abrupt, everywhere set with broken rocks, some of the ledges of which stand like huge piles of ruined masonry on the edges of precipitous heights. Viewed from a distant hill, these broken ridges and spurs produce an effect of grandeur and variety. They stand in broken series, which seem to fade into others at lower levels, while those at the end terminate in spurs, which taper off and become lost in the general surface of the flat valleys. Crowned with trees of every variety of green, they roll away into the distance like the broken caps of huge waves in a sea of boundless verdure. Proceeding northward and westward, valleys of larger size appear in view. These are usually long depressions between the higher hills, underlaid by limestone, with deep soil of the highest fertility, and well supplied with springs and rivulets in which the water is clear, pure, moderately hard, and delightfully refreshing to the taste. Baughman's Valley is one well known for the fine farms and well-kept homes of an industrious and thrifty people. All the cereals and crops of the most favored portions of the adjoining States grow here in excellence and abundance. Fruit-trees of various kinds grow with ease, and yield fine crops of the best quality, and the smaller fruits are grown with equal facility. Grazing is practiced to a large extent, and large quantities of produce, added to the butter and milk, are transported from thence to the Baltimore market. The soil on the hills is derived from the mica-slates and talcose rocks, which, being decomposed, yield a light and deep stratum, which readily admits of high cultivation.

Between Westminster and Union Bridge is the garden part of the county. Talcose schists form the higher hills, the country rolls away in broad, flattened domes, and the bottoms and ravines are always traversed by streams of spring-water. The hills are to a great extent cleared of woodland, and large farms spread over uplands which are as carefully tilled as the meadows below. Limestone ledges project from the sides of the hills, and yield inexhaustible supplies of the richest fertilizing lime.

The country between Little and Big Pipe Creeks, and northwest of the latter, in which Middleburg and Taneytown are situated, forms a strong contrast to all the preceding districts. It rests upon and is derived from the new red sandstone rocks. The latter jut out in picturesque variety along the banks of the streams just mentioned, and lie scattered in indescribable confusion down the ravines through which they flow. Heavy rains and freshets grind these rocks into fine mud, which marks a trail wherever the floods carry the waters, and which stains the streams for many hours after they have subsided.

These sandstones, being soft and easily acted upon by the atmosphere, have been extensively denuded by moving water, consequently much rather flat country occurs where formerly the high domes uplifted their summits. The hills now generally appear low, wide, and separated by shallow bottoms. But along the Little Bear branch and on the upper sections of the Big Pipe Creek the hills are mixed with talcose slates, remain much more elevated, and furnish valuable water-powers from their more abrupt flanks. Taneytown occupies the center of a tract about six miles square, based upon a red sandstone, somewhat mixed with slate. The resulting soil is thin, sandy, and sour, but little valued, and which has commanded relatively but a low price in the market. Careful limeing has, however, worked wonders with some of these depauperated lands, and brought them back to their original flourishing condition.

Limestone and Marbles. — These are so valuable, occur in such vast quantities and in so many places west of Parr's Ridge that they demand more than a passing notice in this place. Beginning with the section a little northwest of Manchester, they continue southwest towards the Frederick County line, and across it to a short distance below New Market. At first they seem to occupy but a narrow belt of country, but gradually widen, until, near the line of the Western Maryland Railroad, they stretch over more than one half the width of the county. Within this range an extraordinary number of varieties may be found. Every color between plain white and black veined with white occurs. Most of them are stratified, while a very few are so much contorted as to hide all trace of their type of deposition. In general they are very fine-grained, of close texture, strong, durable, and susceptible of a very high polish. Samples taken from the exposed surfaces of beds in about fifty localities have shown what a great treasure Carroll County possesses in these remarkable deposits. The weathered superficial parts of the beds form good stones for burning, and when these are cleared away to a depth of a few feet, varying according to the situation, new, clean surfaces of the massive marble are reached, suitable for dressing, trimming, and decorating buildings. On the western outskirts of Westminster large and deep quarries of limestone have been opened and worked to great advantage. Here they form the flanks of prominent hills, and are accessible for twenty-five or more feet above the level of the ground. These are much cracked and jointed, and probably do not yield large slabs or long monoliths, but they are very prettily veined and variegated with black or . red through the white body, and take a polish sufficiently good for out-of-door work. Some of these have been used for doorsteps in the city of Baltimore, and they have proved both acceptable and durable. But it is chiefly as a fertilizer that these are most highly prized. Vast quantities have been broken into small blocks and transported in that form to great distances, or have been calcined in the kilns near at hand and shipped in the condition of lime. It is, however, a few miles farther west that the marbles are found in their finest and richest development. In the region around Avondale and in the vicinity of New Windsor the beds of marble seem to vie with each other in putting on their most splendid dress. Several quarries of wine-red rock, exceedingly close and fine-grained, capable of a very high polish, marked with veins or wavy lines of either black or white, resting on massive layers of great extent, invite the builder to employ that which in point of beauty and fineness is one of the most admired of building stones. About three-quarters of a mile north of Avondale, and in the same beautiful valley, a quarry of the deep rich red marble has been opened and excavated below the surface of the ground. It forms a large and very compact bed, of remarkably uniform texture. Blasting the surface has shattered and cleft much of the exposed upper part, but from the general appearance and disposition of the mass it seems capable of yielding very large monoliths, and might also be worked into slabs of almost any desired size. This bed seems to be more uniform in color than most of the others. Its ground tint is of the richest wine-red, toning in a few points to almost madder purple. It takes an exceedingly fine polish, and is admirably adapted for pedestals, altar bases, mosaic pavements, and for the most elegant decorations of churches and palatial residences. Another quarry, belonging to this same belt of rock, and only a few rods distant from the former, yields a bluish-purple or mauve-purple marble of similar character and quality. It takes a surface as fine as glass, and is varied by veins and wavy lines of brown, gray, or black. Large blocks can be easily secured, and it deserves to be held in high esteem for the richness and purity of its combinations of color.

From this point to New Windsor many other beds of marble occur, chiefly of white, streaked, veined, or spotted with some tint of gray, pink, red, or purple. But a particularly marked quarry is a large one, extensively worked for lime, on the property of Mr. Chew, in the first range of hills south of New Windsor. There the strata dip at a moderately high angle, spread from three to five feet in thickness, are quite long, and run deep into the earth. The upper layers are more or less stained with red, in many devices and patterns, while the more deeply-colored blocks are largely invaded by purple, somewhat mixed with green, in zigzag and wavy combinations. These fade out into greenish tints, becoming more blackish as they descend, until the extreme reached is dark gray, variegated, waved, and dappled with black, accompanied by some white. The next very prominent quarry occurs on the farm of Mr. Myers, situated about one mile south of the former. The stone there is of the same excellent quality, takes an equally good polish, and while varying somewhat as to the proportions of red, purple, and pink, presents some wonderfully beautiful patterns of color-figures on either a light or tinted ground. These latter are somewhat noted for the red pipe-clay which passes through them in belts between the layers of marble. This is of the kind that was formerly so much prized by the Indians, and tradition points to their having resorted to these places for their supply of the unwrought material.

From New Windsor to Big Pipe Creek the beds of marble are both numerous and varied. Some of them are small, and set into the earth rather than protruded from the hillsides. But they are none the less rich in stone of fine quality, and of peculiar and curious patterns of deep colors. So little has been the demand for these in the arts of construction and decoration that they have shared the fate of the coarser limestones in being broken and burnt for fertilizers. The farms next to the boundary of Frederick County, along Big Pipe Creek, are well provided with the finer marbles of the Tennessee variety. These have commonly a mixture of reddish brown, with purple, red, and white. Two patterns closely resemble the colored Castile soap, the one having the smaller diagonal spots arranged in loops and bends, while the other has purplish waves of different shades disposed in belts and irregular streaks. Some extremely fine, pure white marbles also occur in this neighborhood, and this region shares with the adjoining parts of Frederick in these treasures which nature has deposited so bountifully for the use of its inhabitants.

The limestones are properly the coarser and softer rocks of the marble group, and often invade the ledges of the more valuable and harder beds, but in general they occupy the outward limits of the belt, more particularly on the east, and yield lime of great strength and permanence as a fertilizer. They are also much used for plaster and building, giving a good surface in plastering of rooms, and forming a tough and durable cement in the construction of brick walls.

Iron Ores. — Every natural division of the State has its peculiar types of iron ore, which are in general not to be met with in places outside. Thus the ores of the mica-slate and talcose belt of Parr's Ridge occur in quartz veins in the hard rocks. The brown haeematites of the midland belt belong to the earthy series, and are confined, rather narrowly, to depressions in the body of the limestone valleys. The carbonates of iron of the hone series are peculiar to the clays of the tide-water belt, while the carbonates of the coalfields are of the black band and ball type. Dozens of other kinds occur within the limits of Western Maryland, but these have not yet proved to be in sufficient quantities nor of the proper quality for commercial purposes. The midland belt possesses immense deposits of brown haematites and smaller aggregations of specular oxide, and of magnetic oxide. Brown haematites abound in Baughman's Valley, and on the west side of Parr's Ridge from the Pennsylvania line to a point five or more miles south of Westminster. This form of ore accompanies the limestone formations, and generally occurs along the margins of the valleys, near the point of contact of the former with the talcose slates. It lies bedded in the brownish or reddish clay soil overlying the limestone. It has attracted a new attention within the last few years, and in consequence the old localities have been revisited, profitable deposits have been reopened, high prices have been realized for neglected ore-banks, and a wide-spread remunerative industry has become established in this region. This widely-known and highly-prized hematite is of the limonite series, dark brown or blackish where oxydized, often ochreous when freshly broken, and with a chalky or earthy aspect when dried. It occurs in nodules, chunks, and masses, varying from the size of a large egg to that of a bushel measure. Pieces, and especially nodules, or shell-like lumps of about the size of a quarter-of-a-peck measure, are quite common and of great interest. These are apt to be mixed with the least portion of earthy or foreign matters, and to yield about sixty-one per cent, of pure iron. They are composed of an outer shell of brown iron ore, simple and clean, more or less rounded, and set all around inside with sharp-edged loops, with bunches of knobs, with slender, tapering, tubular stems, or with blackberry-like lumps arranged in groups. Some of these are of great beauty from the fine gloss and splendid iridescence of their rich, deep purples, blues, greens, and bronze. Frequently they are filled with a series of chambers of a cavernous pattern, coated with a film of glossy deep black. This ore is apt to be arranged in more or less spherical shells, which exhibit a circle or circles of denser minerals wherever the surface is broken across. The lumpy masses partake also more or less of this shelly character, and most of this class of ores show that their development has proceeded in somewhat concentric lines. Most of the diggings thus far pursued have been superficial, very few of them having penetrated below a depth of from thirty to forty feet. The ore is extracted. from beds, seams, or pockets in the limestone, or from spaces in the talcose slates where the limestone formerly existed. These ores seem to be inseparably connected with the limestones. They were originally derived in part from them, and in some places fade into them by almost insensible degrees. Persistent search is constantly revealing new localities in which these ores occur, and wider experience is determining with increased certainty the probability of their presence in large deposits. Similar localities in Pennsylvania have displayed practically inexhaustible stores of this same class of ores, and doubtless some of the beds recently opened in the central parts of Carroll County will prove equally extensive.

A variety of this iron ore has been raised for several years past from a deep shaft opposite Avondale, on the line of the railroad. It has now penetrated to a depth of over one hundred feet, and seems to be incalculably productive. It is placed on the side of a limestone basin, directly next to a high hill of shattered talcose slate. A stream of water runs through the alluvial basin which overlies the white and variegated limestone. The ore is rather less nodular than that from the northern part of Baughman's Valley, and is somewhat lumpy and less coherent than the former. It is, however, a rich ore, and is shipped from the railroad station in large quantities. The same kind of ore has likewise been taken in large quantities from the section lying about two and a half miles west of Westminster, and also near the suburbs of that city. It contains a certain proportion of manganese, and has been worked from almost the first settlement of the region. A brown haematite belonging to the same group has also been found near Brighton, in Montgomery County. The samples thus far exhibited are rather extensively mixed with a gangue rock which holds pockets and seams of the ore in close embrace. It occurs in the metamorphic rocks, and has narrow wedges and layers of limestone spread through the mass. The deposits need deeper excavation in order to prove the value and extent of the metal there present.

The specular oxide (or red oxide of iron") also is found within the limits of Carroll County. The metalliferous range which courses along the east side of Parr's Ridge is the natural resting-place of this form of the metal. The heavy talcose schists near their line of contact with the older archaean rooks are charged with great seams and beds of quartz. In these the pockets and veins of this somewhat silvery-looking oxide occur in great variety and beauty. The highly-polished surface of the metal, as it branches and spreads out through the milk-white quartz, presents a very attractive appearance. Exposure to the atmosphere renders it more black and destroys the luster of its surface. No very extensive deposits of it have thus far been reported, although it is quite widely distributed. It accompanies the copper-bearing veins at Mineral Hill, it has been broken from quartz near Sykesville, and is not infrequent in the rocks near Carrollton Post-Office and southeast of Manchester. It is a difficult and expensive ore to work, because of the hard matrix in which it is imbedded, and has yet to be found in larger masses in order to prove a profitable metal here.

The magnetic oxide of iron is a black or black-gray mineral, often quite massive, and turning to a black powder when crushed in the mill. It is one of the richest of our iron ores, and sometimes yields as much as seventy per cent, of the metal. Much of it is mixed with the oxides of titanium and of manganese, which lessen its purity and lower its value. Some varieties are highly magnetic, and hence the name magnetic is given to such as possess that property. It belongs to the copper-bearing series of rocks, is most extensively mined in the vicinity of Sykesville, and is smelted at the furnace near that place. The talcose rocks along the eastern side of Parr's Ridge form its chief resting-place, but it has been neglected or overlooked in most of the other localities in this region. It is found in masses or pockets in the metamorphic rocks, and occurs there also in the form of grains or octahedral crystals.

Copper has been mined at the Springfield, Florence, and Mineral Hill veins, and near Finksburg. It has been at various times actively carried on at all of these places, as well as at a few others in the neighborhood of Sykesville, but since the rediscovery and opening of the vast deposits at Lake Superior operations have ceased at all of these mines. Other metals, such as gold, silver, zinc, and lead, have been found in small quantities in the metalliferous belt of both Carroll and Montgomery Counties, but not as yet in profitable quantities. Gold ore has been found near Brighton, in the latter county, and a gold-mine is now being worked west of Brookville, about two miles from the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.

Frederick County. — The Blue Ridge Belt consists of Frederick County alone. It forms a tract of country extending from the Monocacy River and Little Pipe Creek on the east to the summit line of the South Mountain range on the west. The total area is about seven hundred square miles. It is about thirty-two miles in length from north to south, by twenty-five miles from east to west. In form it is somewhat of an irregular trapezoid, with an uneven triangle taken from its eastern side next the north. The South Mountain ridge separates it from Washington County, while the Potomac River forms its southern boundary. Montgomery County touches it along the southeast, Carroll County stands next to it on the east, and Pennsylvania on the north. The Catoctin range of mountains runs through its whole length from north to south, and forms the dividing line between two great valleys of great beauty, diversity, and fertility. That on the west is the Middletown Valley, while the other on the east is the Frederick, or Monocacy Valley. The former is not a deep trough scooped down to the base of the mountains, but it is a series of intervening foot-hills, which originally constituted the minor elevations of the great group of ranges connecting the Blue Ridge with the Catoctin. At the northern extremity these swellings rise to equal altitudes with the primary ranges, and fade into them by imperceptible degrees. The effect is to build there one great mountain mass, with three principal ridges rising only a few hundreds of feet above the inner depressions, but inclosing minor valleys of enchanting beauty, and throwing off spurs at intervals of from one to three or more miles.

The valley slopes from the central part of Hauver's District, widening as it runs towards the south, and gradually expanding and lowering as it gets nearer to the swellings of the Catoctin range. It is traversed throughout two-thirds of its length by Catoctin Creek, and is plentifully watered in all parts by rapid brooks and branches originating in springs. An unlimited supply of the purest mountain water, poured from the sandstones and slates, is ever present, as well for running mills and factories as for the direct uses of man and animals. Farmers are thus enabled to place their dairies upon streams of perpetual cool water, and every home is accordingly supplied with an abundance of well-kept milk, cream, butter, and cheese. The valley is one of great loveliness, and ranges over a large tract. It is about thirty miles in length by nine miles in its greatest breadth. Beginning at the northern end, it seems to be contracted out of existence by the spurs of abrupt high ridges which press into it from the right and left. But as it is followed towards the south the hills gradually open, become round-top broad swellings, falling lower at every grade, until near the Potomac River they rise to scarcely more than one hundred feet above the alluvial lowlands.

The soils are derived from the decomposition of sandstones next the mountains, or of slates, talcose schists, quartz, and trap rocks upon the more central lines. On the north, and in a few places along the flanks of the South Mountain, decomposing epidote adds another ingredient to the soil, and contributes to its fertility. The Catoctin Creek has built for itself a path of surprising variety, with a tortuous channel cut out of the hard sandstone and slate rocks. It rises by half a dozen brooks of great activity, high up the eastern flank of the South Mountain, in Catoctin and Hauver's Districts. In the midst of untamed grand scenery, where high peaks rise to an altitude of more than two thousand feet above the level of the sea, where the great white sandstone rock-masses have been split and riven asunder with titanic violence, and the dark heavy slates have been pitched into craggy piles of threatening aspect, there the little streams come creeping out of the clefts in the rocks, and leaping, as freed spirits just escaped from prison, to the terrace below, dash against the fragments and bowlders which stand in their way, and force a deep and rugged channel, ever widening as they run. Their advance is strangely attractive. Not by one even and continuous line of water do they quietly press along, but basin by basin, as every new stage is reached, dashing with impetuous force against broken ledges, leaping over huge bowlders which have pitched from the frightful chasm above, creeping between the tangled branches of broken, fallen trees, then roaring beneath the overlapping jaws of the precipice farther down, and then bounding along still lower until the distant valley is reached. Tributary rills add their quota to these at every stage, running out of the mossy and vine-clad banks, from the midst of dense thickets of graceful shrubs and flowering bushes. Here the beech grows, with its fresh lichen-painted gray and white bark, its neighbor being the fringe-fingered spruce, clad in scaly bark of deep brown, with its companions, the birch, peeled by the tearing winds, the chestnut, oak, the maple, and the tulip-tree.

Other branches come rolling into the widening creek from between the sharp mountain spurs, bending around their rocky flanks to find a more peaceful path, and distributing nourishment to the rank undergrowth in the little valleys which they have helped to cut. The Catoctin runs over a course of more than twenty miles from its farthest source, becomes a moderately wide, rapid creek after reaching the base of Middletown Hill, and thence continues widening and baying out in the bottoms until finally it enters the Potomac River through an alluvial basin. Besides the tributaries of the Catoctin, there are two long branches, which rise, likewise, in the South Mountain ridge, flow southeast, and empty into the Potomac. The longest of these is the Little Catoctin. It is a narrow but vigorous creek, with a full body of water running swiftly between the rolling hills, and furnishing power for several flour and saw-mills. That nearer the mountain is an active little brook which runs over the bowlders in the ravines of the farms next the ridge, and conies out bright and clear along the road running through Knoxville. All of these were originally the native places of the speckled trout, that found a congenial home in the little gravelly basins and deeper trenches in the dark sandstone or slate rocks. At present the valley is mostly cleared, and belts of trees rest here and there in rocky places, where the surface is more abruptly broken, or where the soil is too full of large surface bowlders to be made readily available for tillage. The greatest proportion of the Middletown Valley is covered by large farms in a high state of cultivation. Wheat, rye, oats, Indian corn, and forage plants are raised in vast quantities, and large stores of hay, placed in stacks near immense barns, indicate the extensive provision made for the numerous horses and cattle kept by the industrious inhabitants. Large distilleries have also been settled in various parts of the valley, and the production of whisky from the abundant cereals of the region furnishes immense quantities of liquor for exportation. Grazing is also carried on to a fairly large extent, and extensive droves of beef-cattle may at all times be seen in the fields fattening for home consumption, but chiefly for transportation to Baltimore, Washington, and other markets. The greater part of the region is based upon the talcose slates. These are largely invaded by veins of quartz, some of which are of enormous thickness, and the surface of the fields in many places is so full of the fragments of this white rock as to be a great hindrance to the rapid cultivation of the soil. Decomposition of the talcose rocks and the less ready disintegration of the quartz yields a soil more or less chocolate colored, but light, porous, easy to till, and well supplied with the natural nourishment of the cereals.

Wells cut into this rock to a depth of thirty feet or more generally furnish a permanent and abundant supply of water. This is often rendered a little hard by the presence of magnesia; but the taste is sweet, and no unhealthful influences have been attributed to its permanent use for drinking.

This is not one of the limestone valleys, such as these on the other side of the ridge. It belongs to an older system of rocks, and the only limestone yet discovered within its limits is a small bed situated at the western base of the Catoctin range, on the canal, near the mouth of Catoctin Creek. Viewed from one of the more central spurs at the entrance to some of the gaps leading over the South Mountain, the valley presents a picturesque and highly-attractive scene. Instead of a monotonous trough with nearly level bed, curving at the sides directly from the mountains, a series of bold reliefs appear, varying in proportion and arrangement as one or other side of the Catoctin Creek is observed. At the upper end it forms an acute triangle, and becomes lost in the high spurs which stand in wavy lines to unite the Blue Ridge with the Catoctin. Here the forests cover the principal part of the higher ridges; wave after wave of varying green leads off the perspective, until the distant horizon blends into the universal blue of earth and sky. On the south the beautiful groups of houses composing Middletown, with its white spires standing up in the midst, rise out of the hollow and from behind the hills, like a bird ready to take its flight. Bolivar, Burkittsville, and a dozen other villages and little towns nestle between the rolls of surface, almost buried in the sea of waving grain, or only half disclosed among the belts of tall oaks and other woods which decorate the fields, while still more southward the broad opening valley spreads its wide mouth to receive the Potomac, and becomes lost to view in the spreading channel of the mighty river. North of this valley, but placed at a much higher level, the truly mountain-valleys, but of small size, find a place. The larger and nearer one of these is Harbaugh's. It is situated to the east of the extremity of the former, and is separated from it by a scalloped ridge, or series of knobs, terminating in spurs. These taper acutely on their inner ends, and thereby open a passageway for the streams and roads. It is a diagonal eroded basin, having a northeast by a southwest direction. Its base is only a few hundred feet below the summit of the general high levels of the Catoctin range. It has a length of about seven miles by a width of one mile. In crossing its lower end abrupt spurs appear on both sides. These rise in terrible majesty, loaded with heavy projecting ledges of gray, greenish, and blackish rocks, threatening to fall at any moment from the startling precipices into the road below. The mountains are heavily wooded with numerous varieties of trees, of which the chestnut and oaks predominate. Chestnut-oak is here a fine, abundant, and conspicuous tree. In the gap of Owen's Creek, leading up to this beautiful valley, some of the most romantic scenery in the county is to be found. The Catoctin Mountain is cleft in a sinuous line, broken at intervals by the downfall and erosion of sandstones and slates; huge masses of cracked and pointed rocks slant off at every angle, or form beetling cliffs of enormous size far overhead; wide, open spaces, strewn with fragments of rock and bowlders, appear at frequent intervals, in the midst of which the busy little creek comes tumbling down from the terraces above, broken into foam by striking against the ledges in its way, or pouring in cascades over the sandstones blocking its path. The limpid water of the stream shines like molten silver where the sunlight strikes it in the openings between the trees, and many a moss-covered bank projects from the terraced slopes, where the beech-trees lend their graceful branches to shade the pools in the quiet bayed-out nooks. In the wider openings a few pines lend variety to the woods, groups of hemlock offer a still stronger contrast of fringy foliage in the midst of broad-leaved trees, and the cucumber-magnolia decorates the rich spots on which vines, creepers, and ferns form luxuriant masses of fresh green.

The purity and coolness of the atmosphere in this region, combined with the moist exhalations from the tangled growths along its basins, offer most refreshing retreats from the heat and dryness of the summer temperature. A considerable part of the valley and adjoining slopes is already occupied by farms of promising fertility, and the deep alluvium of the lower levels is well watered and rich in elements most important to the growth of cereals and grasses. On the very rocky ridges the trees grow far apart in the soil which has accumulated in the cracks and cavities, and from these places the lumbermen and tanners derive ample supplies of wood and bark. Leaving this region and passing towards the east, four other small valleys, running in the same general direction, occupy the deep depressions between the spurs of the Catoctin. These are Eylers, Hampton, and two smaller ones which stretch off for a mile or more in the direction of Pennsylvania. The two former are the larger, and are two miles or more in length by about a half-mile in width. All of them are highly picturesque, and placed in the midst of startling and romantic scenery. They occupy the old cracks in the mountain summits, where the floods and streams of past ages have widened the gaps and ground the slate, sandstone, and epidote rocks into rich alluvial soil. Accordingly, pockets of rich earth along the sides of the ridges, kept in place by ledges and fragments of rock, support copious forests of many kinds of trees, while the trough below receives the richest supply of plant food in the transported sands, clays, and humus, and responds in a vigorous outgrowth of ash, oaks, hickory, maple, tulip-trees, etc., and an endless accompaniment of bushes, plants, vines, ferns, mosses, and lichens. Leaving the valleys of the Catoctin side of the mountain mass, proceeding towards the west, and crossing the upper end of the Middletown Valley, the roads traverse the eastern flank of the Blue Ridge. Rising by steep grades the summit is reached, in the midst of farms growing abundant crops of Indian corn and well supplied with orchards of apples and other fruits. A few straggling peach-trees have attempted to develop in the corners of the fences, but at best have only been able to struggle for existence, and to yield small, unpalatable peaches of uninviting aspect. A high, broad plateau stretches out before the eye at this point, and the view is limited by the forest-covered high knobs, connected with ridges, which form the horizon. After ascending to the top and going beyond the flat cultivated lands, the side of the mountain slopes rather steeply into a lovely, well-tilled basin, known as Mount Zion Valley. The common milk-weed grows in astonishing abundance over the cleared slopes, and showers its silky, plume-like seeds all over the region reached by the drift of the winds.

A descent of about one hundred and forty feet readies the bed of the valley, in the midst of clover-fields and fertile meadows. This depression, placed so high in the great chain of the South Mountain, is about two and a quarter miles long by three-quarters of a mile wide. The boundary line separating Frederick from Washington County passes along the eastern flank of this valley from north to south, consequently the depression is all in the latter county, although still within the limits of the Blue Ridge Belt. Several fine brooks rise in the bed of the valley, and lend a delightful moisture to the air while contributing to the fertility of the soil and stimulating a most varied growth of valuable timber-trees, such as hickory, oaks, walnuts, and maples. A deep dark soil fills the moist woods, where, in the midst of lichen-covered and fern-set bowlders, a thousand bright flowers, rustic vines and creepers adorn the varied scenery. Wild grapevines grow luxuriantly here in the rich depressions, and yield ample supplies of the native grapes. A great gorge leads out between two high abrupt spurs, traversed by an active stream of limpid water. Crossing this stream a few rods farther on, in a southern direction, the mouth of the gorge is passed and another valley, of character very similar to the last, is reached. Its bed is, however, rather more flat, and the bounding ridges are very steep.

On the eastern side of this trough, known as the Bull-Tail Valley, away up near the summit, stands the celebrated Raven Rock. It is not black in color, but derives its name from the ravens which made their homes upon it when the country was first occupied. These birds have long since changed their habitations, and have fled away from the face of man by degrees farther west, until not one seems left to represent the species among the ranges of our eastern mountains. The rock is an immense swelling of jointed white Potsdam sandstone, projecting from the flank of the abrupt mountain spur, in the midst of the thin chestnut forest. It has been rounded off by the heavy storms and rains which have driven against its faces and broken off the sharp cliffs of its upper corners. Time has softened the glaring whiteness of the rock, and gray tints have been added by the fringes of ferns and the patches of lichens which have settled in every inequality of its surface. This little valley is scarcely more than three miles long, by a half-mile wide, but it is full of romantic scenery, shady dells, immense craggy rocks of white, gray, green, and black, disposed in the wildest confusion, in the greatly varied forests or woodless gaps. Dogwood and pawpaw are common growths in the lower parts of the basin, and laurel abounds in thickets along the watered hillocks.

Coal has been dug from a bed of blackish slate in a hillside near the northern end of this valley. It served well for blacksmith's uses, and was reported to resemble anthracite in its hardness and general appearance. Unfortunately, only a single deposit has been discovered, but nowhere else than in the shaly slate, and this was only excavated in a quite small bed.

Mountains. — The mountain ranges of the Blue Ridge Belt deserve especial mention because of the important influence which they exert upon the adjacent country. Standing up as barriers to the clouds, they aid in giving direction to the masses of moisture which form areas of precipitation of rain and snow. On the western faces they rise in general quite precipitously, while on the eastern they mount by a series of gradual slopes of fairly easy ascent. Only in the most northern divisions are the roads excessively steep, and there the gaps or chasms between the spurs and knobs generally open out in a series of terraces, forming resting-places at occasional intervals. Frequently an avenue rises gently along the projecting flank of a ridge, leading up to a chasm nearer the summit, through which it passes to the next stage above. The highest summits of the South Mountain range, as it appears in this State, are met with on the western side, overlooking the Hagerstown Valley. There at the most northern extremity the well-known High Rock rises beyond Pen Mar Park to an altitude of two thousand feet above the level of the sea. The view from this peak is very extensive, and takes in a vast range of country, reaching out into the three States of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. A charming country lies spread out before the eye from this point, including the richest regions in the great valley which crosses the three States before mentioned, and takes in to the southward the most varied and romantic parts of the Shenandoah basin. The mountain-side is here strewn with huge bowlders and fragments, the shattered remnants of colossal rocks of the Alp that once rose far above any point now reached by the loftiest pinnacle of this region. On this side of the range, also, two or three high knobs, only a few miles farther south, rise to altitudes of two thousand two hundred to two thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea. Some of these are almost flat on top, the shattered rocks which formerly rested there having been carried away by the torrents and tempests, and the summits thereby worn off and leveled. On the outer limits of the chain short spurs and ridges have been split off" from the ancient mass, and these form the outliers from which the foot-hills swell away into the broad valleys. The South Mountain range, when viewed alone, appears to form an undulating line of nearly horizontal ridges, sloping gradually, for a few miles, to be successively more rounded, and then by more abrupt summits, until the whole series of swells is lost in the misty blue of the distance. It is a series of high and very narrow parallel folds, which become a single ridge on the south, and having a general width of less than a mile in that part of its course. This view is, however, somewhat deceptive, since it presents only that part of the system which rises above the beds of the high adjoining valleys. It forms what appears to be only the larger western division of a great fan-shaped synclinorium. or series of depressions, of which the Elk Ridge is the extreme western member and the Sugarloaf group the eastern. Both of these outer divisions are superficially detached from the great central body of upfolds, but formed of the same rocks, having continuity throughout along lines below the surface, and produced by the same set of continental forces as those which let down the valleys. The same tremendous agencies have likewise squeezed together the two great chains on the north, breaking enormous cracks and chasms along and across their course, throwing them into curving spurs running nearly east and west, forcing the underlying older rocks, such as the epidotes, porphyries, and amygdaloids, to the surface in huge ranges, and twisting the whole series of strata far out of place. At the southern end of the South Mountain the ridges rise generally to a height from eleven to thirteen hundred feet above the level of the adjoining valley, while farther north several of the more single knobs reach an altitude of nearly five hundred feet higher.

The Catoctin forms a less elevated but wider, alternately contracted and expanded ridge, sloping in general rather gently along its eastern side, and, as usual, more abrupt on the western. It is well buttressed by swelling hills along its whole length, and rises very slowly from the domes, which roll away and become lost in the valley of the Monocacy. It forms a highly picturesque body of mountains as the upper part of its course is pursued; but the lower end, near the Potomac, is rather monotonously blunt and flat, except where relieved at the Point of Rocks by the rigged black slate mases which have been torn asunder by the terrific forces that opened a way through them for the great river. The high billows of the range are succeeded at occasional intervals by sharp ridges and knobs. These rise with some irregularity from a height of about nine hundred feet above the level of the sea, until nearly half-way up the chain, at High Knob, an altitude of fifteen hundred and thirty feet is reached, while two or three outstanding knobs towards the north are reported to rise to a height of sixteen hundred to seventeen hundred feet. Probably the highest of these is Round Top, which towers in magnificent altitude at a distance of about three and a half miles southwest of Emmittsburg. Eagle Mountain is another single spur, standing out from the great body of the range, on the right of the grand gap of Owen's Creek. On the side of the gap through which the turnpike runs from Frederick to Middletown the Catoctin becomes lowered to a level of about eight hundred and seventy feet above tide. At least seven openings between the spurs make easy entrances for the roads which cross into the Middletown Valley. These rise through comparatively easy grades, are remarkably even and well kept, and open out broadly wherever the swelling terraces of the mountain permit. Only in the most northern division, where the two ranges unite, are the roads steep and difficult, and even there they are so wide and excellent as to greatly facilitate the crossing of such sudden heights. The most conspicuous rock on the higher surfaces, and which lies broken and scattered in endless confusion, is the Potsdam, with its related sandstones. It forms enormous beds above and in the gaps, and crops out at frequent intervals in scattering crags and beetling summits. Hard, compact talcose slates, grading into aluminous sandy rocks, constitute the body of the mountain, while its central core and inner base is found to be filled up with the metamorphosed slaty porphyries, epidote, amygdaloids, and quartz. These hard, almost volcanic rocks have been so distorted and torn by the expansive power of heat that their broken and disjointed fragments are spread around in all directions, and in part may be found in masses lying all along the flank of the higher levels. At intervals of every few miles, and occasionally near the gaps, spurs and knobs stand off, as if monster sentinels to guard the approaches to the peaceful valleys below. These afford a wide view of the lowlands beyond, each having its own peculiar panorama, and no two presenting precisely similar features. At the southern extremity the Potomac basin and Sugar-Loaf Mountain bound the distance; viewed from nearer the middle of the range, the broad valley and its many villages and towns, besides the picturesque city of Frederick, form the central group, while the Linganore hills, the winding Monocacy, and Parr's Ridge fill out the picture; likewise towards the north an almost interminable collection of short ridges, hills, belts of forest, villages, and hamlets, half concealing the network of slender streams, creeps away into the red sandstone and gray slates on the horizon. The lovely valley of the Monocacy lies in full view from several of the high central prominences. In the spring and early summer it is a country full of beauty and bloom. Rich soils, more varied than can be found in any other equal area within the State, yielding abundant crops of all the cereals, fruits, and products of the farm, luxuriant meadows, and extensive dairies characterize the whole of this favored region.

In addition to these, a healthful climate, an exhilarating atmosphere, and a permanent supply of pure water in springs and streams renders the region best calculated to support a large, healthy, and thriving population. The valley is not a simple depression between two ranges of heights, but is a broad, waterworn basin, flat and rolling by turns, less elevated than its counterpart on the other side of the mountains. Swells of highlands and a few ridges push into it from the Catoctin, and high billows range along the eastern side of the Monocacy until they meet the higher uplift of the Sugar-Loaf It constitutes an area having a width of ten to fifteen miles, and a length of about thirty miles, the lowest level being in the bed of the river, at an altitude of about two hundred and eighty feet above tide. The general average of the surface may be computed to be about four hundred feet above the sea, with a gentle downward slope from the north towards the south, and with a more decided pitch from the sides towards the middle line. This causes the drainage of the whole country to descend into the river, which in its turn empties into the Potomac. The Monocacy is the principal stream in the region. It is a small but long river, not more than a creek in the upper part of the county, but which becomes more than one hundred feet wide in the part near its mouth. It is a moderately sluggish stream in its lower divisions, but rapid and full near its sources. In the great springs near Gettysburg, Pa., are its principal heads, and from thence it bends among the rocks and hills in perpetual windings, until it finally has cut a more decided channel out of the red sandstones of Frederick County. After entering fully into that system of rocks, it spreads out in frequent alluvial basins, into which it has poured the sediments appropriated throughout its upper course. After receiving the waters of Double Pipe Creek it becomes much wider, and passes through a wide channel, bordered by thick bushes, scattered trees, and thickets of greenbrier. It receives a greater number of tributaries than any of the smaller rivers of Maryland, and thus contributes an endless supply of moisture to the whole valley through which it runs. Some of these creeks are of large size and drain wide areas of country.

The principal ones on the east are Piney, Little and Big Pipe, Israel's, Linganore, and Rennet's; and on the west Tom's, Owen's, Hunting, Fishing, Big and Little Tuscarora, Carroll's, and Ballenger's Creeks. Those of the latter division are chiefly rapid mountain streams of great beauty and clearness. Most of the northeasterly tributaries pass through the new red sandstone soils, and carry down large quantities of red sediment, which discolors their waters and stains the country through which they flow. In the northern part of the valley the red sandstone stretches across its whole width, and on the east passes over into Carroll County. But after reaching the vicinity of Frederick City it lies to the westward, becomes narrowed to a width of about two miles, and finally thins out as the Point of Rocks is approached. One of the principal factors in producing the fertility and capabilities of this charming valley is the boundless store of limestone which rests beneath so much of its surface. On the west side of the Monocacy a strip of blue, with some white limestone begins near the Potomac River (having a general breadth of two miles), and runs north by a little east several miles, crossing the Monocacy at the mouth of Israel's Creek, and tapering to a point in the vicinity of Woodsboro'. Besides this, the beautiful breccia, or calico-marble, starts at Mechanicstown, in the midst of the red sandstone, runs south for more than three miles, disappears, then reappears in a new guise southwest of Frederick City, and spreads out in a broad area reaching to the banks of the Potomac River. In this southern end of the valley it has become more siliceous, includes larger fragments of coarser rocks, and is not so homogeneous in texture, and not always having the pebbles so firmly cemented together as in that from the upper end. East of the river Frederick County shares with Carroll in the beds of fine marble which pass southwest across Sam's Creek to the vicinity of Union Bridge. These form quarries of all possible dimensions, are abundantly supplied with marbles which take a fine polish, and which can be taken out in monoliths of large dimensions. Only a few of them have been opened deep and far enough to show their capabilities, but such as have had enough of the surface mass removed show bodies of generally solid, broad, and long blocks in even strata. These are often of marvelously beautiful colors and combinations of patterns. Bright reds occur almost plain, and often veined or variegated with black, brown, and white.

Salmon-colored or orange-yellow marbles also occur of similar patterns, likewise the varieties commonly known as Tennessee and Vermont marbles, and others, such as the clear black veined with white, lead color or mauve traced with black, and mottled, spotted, and , waved with brown, purple, liver-color, etc. Besides these, there is a pure white statuary marble of fine grain, massive and free from grit. Near Emmittsburg a green variety, resembling verd-antique, occurs in large quantities; while in and below Mechanicstown a bewildering range of varieties of breccia, composed of deep and clear-colored fragments of purple, yellow, drab, brown, white, etc., and of all sizes, are easily obtainable. These can be selected in pieces of almost any useful size, and the supply seems to be practically inexhaustible.

For many years these choice marbles have been broken to fragments for burning in the lime-kilns. Fashion has not yet called them into her celestial train amidst the favored beauties of the decorative arts. Builders send abroad for the blocks and slabs which are to adorn palatial mansions, while these elegant objects, so cheap and easily obtained, are made to do the service of coarse limestones in supplying nourishment to the soil.

Iron, Copper, and Other Metals. — Iron ore is found in large quantities in many parts of the valley. It is chiefly some form of brown haematite or limonite which overlies the limestone and is imbedded in the clay or in the ochreous soil. About three miles south of Mechanicstown, near the foot of the Catoctin Mountain, the fibrous and chambered variety occurs in beds and deposits of vast extent. This has been dug and smelted for a period of more than eighty years, and still sustains a good reputation for quality and for tractability in the furnace. The crude much resembles that found in the limestone regions of Washington County. It has the same flaky layers, twisted and rolled back in every direction, and a purplish tinge to the fracture of the more solid parts. A rusty powder rests between the layers or fills the cavities of the cellular portion. It is also accompanied in the beds by nodules of phosphate of iron associated with brown ochre. In this region particularly the ore is characterized by being mixed with an appreciable amount of the carbonate of zinc, which melts when the metal is being fused, and forms a coating on the inside of the furnace. This makes an available form of the oxide of zinc, but it becomes a serious obstacle in the manufacture of the iron unless removed from the walls of the stack. The close proximity of limestone for the flux, and of large bodies of wood for the charcoal, make this deposit of ore immediately available for smelting. A similar deposit of brown haematite is found under almost equally propitious circumstances near the base of the same ridge of mountains, not far from the Point of Rocks. The primitive forests no longer remain, but ample supplies of the ore might still be obtained from the same set of beds. Much of this latter is of the variety known as " pipe ore," the cavities of which are more or less occupied by the earthy phosphate of iron. A very compact and rich brown hematite is found in quantities near the Monocacy, about four miles northeast of Frederick City. It has a more metallic aspect than those previously mentioned, is very heavy and dense, and often encloses small crystals of opaque white quartz.

Specular oxide of iron also occurs east of the Monocacy River, in the metalliferous belt passing through the country from Middleburg, in Carroll County, to New Market. Very rich specimens of this beautiful ore have been extracted from pockets in the talcose slates in the neighborhood of Liberty and New London. These have not yet, however, been fully opened, nor sufficiently laid bare to determine the amount of ore possibly present. The absence of large tracts of woodland from this section seems to prevent iron manufacturers from erecting furnaces on the spot, and a lack of active local interest hinders the developing of the mines, and so no attempt is made to transport the ore to localities favorable for smelting. A similar specular oxide has likewise been found along the summit of the Catoctin ridge. These ores are rich in iron, and would form important additions to the resources of the county if they were shown to be present in large quantities. The magnetic oxides of iron have also been found in the copper-bearing belt which passes to the south of New Market. These also occur in pockets or masses in the talcose and slaty rocks, and in the joints of the limestone. Some of the varieties are very rich in metal, and might prove very profitable if discovered in large quantities. Copper is very widely distributed through the quartz and next the limestone beds in the talcose slates and new red sandstone formations east of the Monocacy and south of Little Pipe Creek. It sometimes accompanies the magnetic oxide of iron which enters with steatite into the masses of mica-slate. The silicates and carbonates of copper are found near Middleburg, New London, Liberty, etc., and between the two branches of Pipe Creek. But the most promising region for this metal is that drained by the Linganore Creek. The principal rock there is the talcose slate, embracing numerous detached beds and ledges of limestone set into the strata. The latter are always associated with the ore, and wherever they are found stains of copper appear on their surface or in the cracks. Good ore generally has a position between these two kinds of rocks, but is commonly most abundant near the outer limits of the limestone. Rich ores have been extracted from the Dolohyde mine, near Liberty, and at other points in this vicinity, also near New London, in the same formation. The oldest of these workings was begun as early as the time of the Revolution, and has been continued at intervals ever since. A lack of minute information with regard to the relations and form of the masses or pockets has proved an obstacle in the successful development of these mines. New and particular experiences with this class of deposits will alone determine how far these formations will prove profitable, and to what extent the metal can be worked. Copper exists also in the older rocks of the Catoctin summit. Pieces of the native ore have been picked up in Harbaugh's Valley, one of which weighed fourteen pounds. It is not to the native metal, however, that attention need be called, since it is quite improbable that deposits of it can be found in the class of rocks prevailing in this part of the country. More reliance may be placed upon the indications of sulphurets and carbonates of copper, which here may prove to be stored away in the central division of the mountain chain.

Sulphuret of lead, or galena, has been detected in the limestone region near Unionville; but only small pieces have thus far been secured. It occurs, also, in the Dolohyde copper-mine in small quantities. Oxide of zinc is found associated with the brown haematites of the Catoctin region, and it is obtained in large quantities as a furnace product from the Catoctin Iron Works.

Gold and silver have been detected as minute particles in some of the older slates and metamorphic rocks, both of the metalliferous belt and mountain range. The structure of these regions, however, renders it very unlikely that either of these metals will be found there in profitable amounts.

Roofing slates of good quality are present in several localities within the talcose schist region on the eastern side of the county. Among the Linganore hills several quarries of chiefly local interest have been opened, but near Ijamsville, directly on the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, large beds of even texture and dark-blue color have been worked for many years. These produce excellent thin plates of good quality, which improve in size and firmness as the beds are worked to greater depths. Slates of an entirely different character occur both in the Catoctin and Blue Ridge Mountains, next the roads leading towards Hagerstown. These are tough and very strong, easily and naturally split into slabs of four inches or more in thickness, may be obtained in pieces of the largest size, and are of a nature particularly well fitted for pavements, caps of walls, sills, and for the outside of buildings generally.

A remarkable feature of the county, and one of its most curious monuments, appears in its southeastern corner, near the Monocacy River. At that point representative rocks of three great geological periods center, and a great fold of the surface has built an isolated group of mountains. These are merely the lateral outliers of the great upthrust produced by the contracting force which raised the Catoctin and Blue Ridge. But here it has assumed a mere local elevation, and constitutes a triple-crested mountain, with a short ridge flanking it on the west. The summit called distinctively Sugar-Loaf is the most southwesterly, the intermediate one is called Round Top, and that at the other end, or northeasterly, is Mount Airy. About three-quarters of a mile to the west stands the nearly straight hog-back called Green Ridge, while beyond its northern end may be seen three minor single knobs of much less altitude. This section forms the place of junction of the primordial series with the new red sandstone and rocks of the Azoic formation, the former being represented by the Potsdam sandstone, constituting the uppermost layers of rocks and overlapping the talcose slates, while the brown sandstone fills the intervening valley, and conceals the ends of the great layers of white sandstone. The grand Sugar-Loaf rises in magnificent prominence to a height of thirteen hundred and seventy feet above the level of the sea, and gives a commanding view of all the country lying east and south to nearly as far as Washington. It is most appropriately named Sugar-Loaf, since it is built from base to summit of the plain white sandstone, which glistens with crystalline brightness in the sunshine.

The white rock is set together in vast walls of immense thickness, forming a curved front bristling with crags and rugged buttresses, like the torn flank of a huge fortress. On top great piles of the rock stand detached from the main mass, and project in frightful crags over the abyss beneath. In spite of the solid masonry which forms the whole body of the peak, it is covered everywhere, even upon the summit, with a growth of trees, which in the distance lends a rich contrast to the white rocks and spots of brown soil. Green Ridge is likewise well named, for it is a verdant billow, standing with refreshing brightness in bold relief beside the dark soils and light stream of the Monocacy. On the southwest side of the group colored sandstones and siliceous conglomerates form large beds, and offer beautiful building-stones, which would make superb substitutes for the much-used Scotch granites.

Fauna and Flora. — Great diversity obtains in the natural productions of the Blue Ridge Belt. Everywhere it has at some time supported a varied population of great beasts, of the smaller animals and birds, and of the unnumbered host of creeping things, while a rich and abundant representation of the floral tribes has added grace and beauty to the picturesque landscape. The great American elephant at one time roamed over the fertile valleys, while the elk, caribou, and red deer grazed in the open areas of the forests. Besides those, the bear, panther, wild-cat, gray wolf, two kinds of foxes, raccoon, opossum, ground-hog, and most of the small animals now common to the eastern side of the United States found a home in one or the other parts of this varied region. The beaver especially was formerly abundant here, and built dams across the creeks and river. Unhappily, with the increase of population new demands for cleared lands drove away many of the interesting animals, such as the beaver and elk, and the cupidity of thoughtless men caused the extermination of all the animals most valued in the chase. Of the birds, a vast assemblage once tenanted the lands where now only a few scores can be met with in the longest trip. The wild pigeon still returns in diminished numbers to the vicinity of its former " roosts," but the great birds have chiefly been destroyed, together with the raven, the Carolina parrot, the large white heron, the fish-hawk, and a large company of the sweet warblers and bright-feathered songsters of smaller size, but of inestimable value and gratification. Butterflies and brilliant insects abound, the injurious as well as the useful. But the removal of the forests has opened the way for a thousand crawling enemies to agriculture, while the thoughtless impulses of the population have destroyed numerous species useful and ornamental.

Flora has been lavish in the beauty and variety of her gifts, but the loose rich humus resting in the shadows of the heavy old forest has been swept away, and with it the primitive fairies which charmed the senses on the mountain-side and in the open valley. In their stead, however, still remain a remnant of the azaleas, magnolias, kalmias, orchids, asters, and sunflowers, in company with the blossoming thorns, viburnums, spiraeas, dogwoods, and other showy bushes. Judicious planting of trees year by year will bring back some of these lost beauties, but will do even more in retaining and supporting the moisture so much needed to keep the little streams, and through them the creeks, in their former more active condition as sewers of the country.

Coal. — Indications of the presence of coal have been met with in various parts of the new red sandstone formation in the valley of the Monocacy. But the chief localities which have given promise of deposits of this important fuel have been in the ridge of hills at the foot of the Catoctin Mountain, sometimes described as the red hills. This is at the head-waters of the Tuscarora Creek, runs off in a southeast direction, and constitutes the Chapel Ridge. It is formed chiefly of the breccia, or calico-marble, associated with shale of the reddish-brown sandstone, penetrated more or less by broken blocks of the blackish horn-blende trap. The region extends to near the Point of Rocks, where it blends with the talcose slates and becomes lost. Specimens of anthracite coal have been exhibited which were reported to have been taken from some outcrops of blackish shale in these hills. Great doubt has, however, been thrown upon the authenticity of these deposits by the attempts of unscrupulous persons to pass off unquestionable specimens of foreign coal as the products of this section. Carbonaceous shales do undoubtedly occur at the Yellow Springs, six miles northwest of Frederick City, between the branches of Big and Little Tuscarora Creek, but these do not belong to the true coal-bearing series of rocks. The breccia and blue limestone, associated with micaceous sandstone, enclose a bituminous shale, which is charged with impressions and remains of carbonized plants, including thin seams of apparently real anthracite coal. This shale sometimes outcrops at the surface of the ground, and elsewhere seems to be enveloped by the limestone and micaceous sandstone. The ledges of breccia form extensive outcrops on the more elevated places, and enclose a band of blue bituminous limestone. The general direction of this formation concurs with that of the adjoining mountain, and the strata dip in a northerly direction at an inclination of about forty-five degrees. It has been traced throughout a length of three miles, and proved to have a width of about one mile. Excavations have been made in it to a depth of twenty feet, and the adjoining gray sandstone has been penetrated about forty feet. Horizontal drifts have been run through various distances to the belts of coal, but the thickest reached has not exceeded two inches. Fuel of such a nature being so very valuable in the vicinity of a large city might naturally attract the attention of capitalists, but a very thorough examination has shown that these beds do not belong to the carboniferous, or true coal formation, and that accordingly no large important deposits of this mineral need be expected in this region. The specimens examined from other parts of the new red sandstone belt have been fragments of calamites or other plants, having the black color and somewhat the appearance of coal, but possessing none of its most valuable properties.

Washington County, and the Great Valley. — This county is proportionally the longest and narrowest in the State. It extends from the summit line of the South Mountain chain to the western base of Sideling Hill; the creek of that name separating it from Allegany County. It stretches from east to west over a distance of forty-four miles, and its greatest length from north to south is about twenty-eight miles. Pennsylvania bounds it on the north, and the Potomac River separates it from Virginia on the south. Its general outline suggests the shape of a boot, the heel being at the bend of the South Mountain near its northern extremity, the toe at the Potomac River next to Elk Ridge, and the top of the leg at Sideling Hill. The entire area of the county is about four hundred and sixty-three square miles, of which more than three fourths are included in the Hagerstown Valley. At Hancock the county is contracted to a width of about one mile and a quarter by the great bend in the Potomac River.

The county may be properly divided into two natural sections, of which the smaller and most western belongs to the Appalachian Belt, while the eastern and larger, forming one of the grand divisions closely connected with the Blue Ridge Belt, is the Great Valley.

The Great Valley. — This great feature of the central mountain system forms the most important part of the territory of Washington County. It is a broad depression lying between the South Mountain range on the east and the North Mountain on the west. Its breadth between these two ridges is from twenty to twenty-three miles, while its length from north to south is about twenty-eight miles. That part of it within these limits is known as the Hagerstown, or Antietam Valley. No natural boundary separates this from its northern extension, called the Cumberland Valley, in Pennsylvania, but on the south it is detached from the Shenandoah Valley by the basin of the Potomac River. No depression of the surface of equal magnitude, beauty, and fertility exists on the eastern side of the United States. It forms also the principal valley within the State of Maryland, and yields to none in productiveness of the soil and in the grandeur and variety of its scenery. It is not a simple trough circumscribed by two great elevations of surface, but minor waves of uplift traverse it in various parts, running mainly from north to south. Nor is it a single hydrographic basin, for the Antietam River runs through its principal depression on the east, and the Conococheague River drains the section on the west. On the northern end the eastern division is set with high swells of surface, some of which rise into spurs running parallel to the main body of the South Mountain. The general level of the valley is probably somewhat more than five hundred feet above the level of the sea, and in the more northern parts rises to about seven hundred feet, while its southern extremity, near the Potomac River, slopes down to about two hundred and seventy-five feet.

On the west the Conococheague River winds in great loops through a somewhat less elevated basin, but where the country rises into an abrupt ridge along the belts of slate rocks. Almost the whole valley is spread with large farms of unsurpassed fertility. Being so generally underlaid by limestone, the soil is particularly well adapted to raising cereals and grasses, and accordingly it produces the largest crops of wheat and other grain to be met with in the State.

The limestone is chiefly of the strong, compact, dark-blue variety, invaded by seams and veins of white; but in certain sections,. as between Sharpsburg and Boonsborough, drab, yellowish-red, pale blue, and white occur in large beds. Many of the varieties from this section are very fine and massive, they take a fine polish, and can be taken out in monoliths of almost any required dimension. Between Keedysville and Boonsboro' a very hard, dense, bluish, wavy limestone forms a belt about five hundred feet wide, running from northwest towards the southeast, which may be removed in large slabs, and is highly esteemed for pavements and for buildings. It is called knuttle, is easily wrought, and proves to be an attractive and most enduring building-rock. In the neighborhood of Keedysville many varieties of stone suitable for industrial purposes are quarried. About one-half mile south of this place a species of fine-grained calcareous rock, white or yellowish in color, marked with wavy lines and zigzag streaks of brown or black, is extensively quarried, sawed into blocks, and dressed. It is a most novel variety, is easily worked, takes a good surface, and may be taken out in thick slabs of immense size. The ledges, angular hills, and masses of limestone rock, particularly in this part of the valley, are so striking as to arrest the attention, and give a highly picturesque effect to the landscape. A white, coarse-grained, distinctly crystalline limestone also occurs in this vicinity. It is really a hard marble, and is said to take a good polish. South of Boonsboro' a fine variety of this white marble abounds, which is remarkably free from impurities and foreign elements. It equals the Tuscan statuary marble in purity of color and evenness of texture, while it takes a fine polish, and readily admits the chisel of the sculptor. As these latter rocks have not yet been sufficiently developed, it will be necessary to penetrate deeper into their mass to reach the large blocks best adapted for fine monuments and sculpture. The auroral blue limestone, which forms the underlying bed of nearly the whole valley, the chief exceptions being the slates of the Conococheague belt and of the base of the Elk Ridge and South Mountain, belongs to the most extensive formation of this rock in North America.

Caves and Caverns. — A great variety of curious cavities occurs in this limestone, which lines the basin of the Great Valley. This is of the same kind of rock as that in which the Mammoth Cave, the Luray caverns, and all the celebrated caves of the Eastern United States occur. No correct idea can yet be formed of the number and extent of the cavernous spaces which lie concealed in the almost fathomless rock which underlies this valley. Sink-holes and openings in the surface of many farms, and particularly in the neighborhood of Williamsport and Hagerstown, attest the presence of a former deep underground drainage; and even now small streams of water are said to disappear beneath the surface and become lost to further observation. In the vicinity of Keedysville the yellowish calcareous rocks are cavernous, and cavities of a few feet in diameter are frequently discovered. These have usually been excavated by currents of spring and rain-water, carrying a certain amount of carbonic or other acids in solution, and softening and transporting the materials of the rock into which they find an entrance.

The most considerable and well-known caves at present accessible in this valley are those at Cavetown, on the Western Maryland Railroad, about seven miles east of Hagerstown. They are situated in a ridge, along the flank of which the railroad runs, the summit of which rises more than eighty feet above the track. The limestone composing the hill is of two kinds. The upper, or sandy strata, called " rocklime" by the quarrymen, mixed with siliceous and other impurities, is from five to fifteen feet in thickness; the lower and bed-rock of the country is the well-known blackish-blue compact limestone, so rich in lime, which is the most highly-prized fertilizer to be found in Washington County.

The entrance to the larger, or Bishop's, cave is a hole formed by the falling in of the wall of rock, leaving an aperture ninety-two feet wide and eight feet high. It is entered at a point about twenty-five feet above the level of the railroad, and is nearly one hundred feet west of Cavetown Station. A great deal of debris has fallen into the mouth of the cave, occupying an area of at least one hundred feet wide by thirty feet long and thirty deep. The first cavern entered forms a large hall, fairly well illuminated by daylight, sloping inward about twenty feet to a nearly level floor. It is almost circular, has a diameter from north to south of two hundred feet, a length of two hundred feet from east to west, and a height varying from thirty-five to forty-five feet. Formerly the walls, ceiling, and floor were studded with an endless variety of stalactites and stalagmites of almost every pattern and peculiarity. Unfortunately, the easy access to this cave made it ever open to the vandalism of curiosity-seekers, and accordingly it has been rifled of all the smaller-sized specimens which once belonged to it. Possibly by the planting of trees upon the hill, and by the consequent return of dripping moisture, it may be once more restored to its pristine beauty and splendor. Fortunately, two objects of interest still remain. The principal one of these is in the southwest corner of this first hall. It consists of a series of Venus' baths, arranged in terraces, rising to a height of about twenty-five feet next the wall, and covering an area of more than nine hundred square feet. The larger basins composing the group are placed above and behind , they are in the form of oval rosettes, with a raised rim about one foot high forming the borders, and the cavities in them about six to nine inches deep, filled with limpid water. The smaller ones gradually extend forward from these at lower levels, and become shallower as they advance stage by stage.

They are also scalloped, and taken together form a piece of fountain-work only excelled by the great basins of similar shape which adorn the valley of the Yellowstone, in the United States National Park. In this cave, however, these baths have been made by the deposit of layers and rims of calcareous matter, while in the latter the material deposited is partly siliceous. This group of basins is now badly disfigured by dirt and mud-stains, which hide its chief beauties, but it is capable of being made as clear and pure as it was originally. The other object is a large stalagmite, cylindrical, somewhat tapering, standing erect, and being about six feet in diameter and ten feet in height. It stands on the right, beyond the middle of the hall, a solitary column, the sad and silent witness of the ravages of the past. Going to the end of this first chamber, a hole is reached, about four by seven feet in diameter, leading into an uneven cavern, varying in width from ten to forty feet, with a rising floor, the summit of which contracts the cavity at a point two hundred feet from its entrance, and forms a narrow passage with a downward slope into the next room beyond." The floor of this third cavern is somewhat scooped out, but has a general downward slope towards the rear or western end. The roof at this point descends, slopes nearly concurrently with the floor, and thus produces a narrower passage, which leads down to a cavern with a low ceiling. This latter is situated about three hundred and twenty-one feet from the mouth of the cave, and is mostly occupied by a pond of clear and motionless water.

Apparently this water occupies the whole basin of this inner chamber; it has no visible outlet, and the rocks of the ceiling descend to within a very few feet of its surface. Its bed slopes downward very rapidly at an angle of scarcely less than 45°, so that it appears to be very deep at only a few feet from its first accessible margin. The temperature of the water was 55°, while that of the air in the first hall was 59°, and that outside of the cave 84°. In the second chamber, and on its north side, is a hole leading to a cavern a few feet distant, which runs parallel to the large cave. This is a long, narrow chamber, which descends and terminates at each end, like the bag of a purse. It is one hundred and fifty feet long, about thirty feet high, and from ten to fifteen feet wide. Here, as in the larger one, the walls and floor have been denuded of all their objects of interest, and now only the stumps and vestiges of stalactites and stalagmites remain to indicate their former presence.

Close by this scene of wreck and ruin one almost unmolested cavern still remains to attest the beauties of these wonders of nature. It is entered from above at a point above three hundred and fifty feet south of Bishop's Cave, and is entirely disconnected from the latter. The opening into it has been artificially enlarged, and a series of steps broken into the limestone to render the descent into it less difficult. Upon entering, it is seen to be an enlarged horizontal crack in the rock, about two hundred and forty feet in length, but contracting so rapidly at intervals that a person can hardly squeeze through into the open spaces beyond.

Although small, it is a perfect gallery of splendid objects. In every direction the eye rests on beautiful and bright forms of crystalline groups, which only require adequate illumination to bring them out in indescribable brilliance. This gem-studded chamber might well be styled the Crystal Grotto, for it is literally a cabinet of crystals of almost endless variety and great expressiveness.

The fauna and flora of the caves are very limited. In the first chamber of Bishop's Cave the common striped squirrel, Tamias striatus, runs about in the area reached by the light, and here, too, may be found a few of the insects which belong to the limestone region outside. But in the dark chambers the hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereas, is the only animal occupant; while in the damp humus a few insects of the Thysanuran, or springtail group are found in the vicinity of a meagre growth of minute lichens. No living objects have yet been found in the waters of these caverns, and they appear to be destitute of the wingless crickets and various blind insects which occur in the Mammoth and other caves.

Water-courses. — -The valley is well supplied with brooks and rivulets running from springs or bursting from fountains in the rocky hillsides. The latter are remarkable for the large and strong volume of water formed so near their sources. To this circumstance the inhabitants are indebted for the superior water-powers which drive their mills so near the heads of the streams. As the porous nature of parts of the limestone rocks forming the hills allows the formation of large cavities, the underground drainage is caught and stored in places above the general level of the region, and these pour a perpetual outflow through the avenues worn along the old cracks, until an outlet is reached in some ravine or depression at the point of least resistance.

The Antietam River, which rises in Pennsylvania, near Gettysburg, has its source in one of these vigorous outbursts from the side of a hill. At all seasons of the year, and in times of drought as well as during the periods of rain, this class of streams supplies the same abundance of limpid water, while similar sources which simply swell up from the ground are sensitive to prolonged changes of weather, and either fail or flush, in conformity with prevailing physical conditions. The former are evidently supplied in large measure from the nearer mountains, and form a portion of the surplus of the permanent underground water-system. This supply is not derived chiefly from the rainfall, although it may be increased beyond the average measure by additions from such sources. But, as the water comes from distant localities, and from considerable heights, it is found to rise high above its external source, and to be steady in its supply. "The Cold Spring, in the immediate vicinity of Hagerstown, possesses in these respects sufficient interest to deserve the attention of tourists. It pours forth a large steady volume of cold, clear water, sufficient to supply the needs of a large bathing resort, and it is noted for its purity and mineral strength. When exposed to the influence of the sun, the excess of carbonic acid which it contains, and which renders it a solvent of the limestone rocks, escapes, and an efflorescence of neutral carbonate of lime is precipitated along its course. It is probable that formerly these streams were still more abundant than at present, for on both sides of their actual course there are broad and deep deposits of this calcareous sediment. Moreover, in consequence of the copiousness and temperature of the streams of this kind, they never freeze; and the Antietam, which is supplied in this way at every stage of its progress through the country, furnishes a very large amount of never-failing water-power." (J. Ducatel, Geol. Report, 1840) The tributaries of this river which belong to Washington County rise chiefly between the outlying spurs of South Mountain, the few branches that rise on the west side being only two or three of quite small size, and of little importance. On the northeast, however, a large tributary, proceeding from the mountain chain by several branches, passes through the Fourteenth and Ninth Districts, and makes a fork with the main branch of the river below Leitersburg. Next, and most important of them all, the rapid, romantic Beaver Creek rushes from the mountains through more than a dozen channels, drains a tract of country thirteen miles long, and carries a large stream of water into the river at a point three miles north of Keedysville. The only other tributary of much importance is the interesting, but short Little Antietam. It rises in several sources from the limestone hills northeast of Rohrersville, bends around to the northwest, and passing Keedysville through a wide, stony channel, glides into the greater Antietam. Probably the most romantic stream in the valley is Israel's Creek. It rises in the ridges adjacent to Rohrersville, pursues its way south between high ledges of broken rocks, over rapids and miniature cascades, and finally rushes down the embankment beneath the canal to enter the Potomac River. The nest large water-system has its outlet through the Conococheague River. It is not so broad and extensive as the Antietam; much of its course lies in Franklin County, Pa., and it rises in that region. That part of it in Washington County is broad, rapid, intensely winding, and full of sediment in its lower course. It follows in part the division between the limestone and the slate; but in its upper division it is not confined to either, and is deflected out of a direct course by the hard layers in the limestones with which it comes in contact on its way towards the south. Abundantly supplied by short branches from both sides, at intervals of every two or three miles it is reinforced by new volumes of water, and after passing through the town of Williamsport it empties into the Potomac River. The Little Conococheague is a small, long creek, which rises in a gap of the North Mountain, receives another branch from the region of Clear Spring, flows south, and also empties into the Potomac. It runs through a picturesque region, in a basin of its own construction, at an average distance of about three miles from the base of the mountain ridge, and receives several small tributaries at its headwaters near the Pennsylvania line.

Williamsport is situated in the vicinity of a rich agricultural region, where the limestone soils spread out widely, where also the fertile bottom-lands of the old bed of the Potomac stretch along the canal; but also next the slate ridge, where the surface soils are thin and of less agricultural value. Timber of large size and superior quality formerly covered the greater part of the ridges and bottoms in this section; but it has been greatly thinned out within a quite recent period, and is now replaced in part only by second-growth trees of less value than their predecessors. An important production of this region is the massive black slate, which abounds at a distance of about five miles below the town. It is compact, strong, of fine texture, breaks into even slabs, and takes a high polish. The choice limestone rocks of this vicinity share the characteristics of some of those found on the eastern side of the valley. They are white, or of some tone of drab or yellow, appear fine-grained, take a good polish, and are accessible in fairly large slabs. The principal rock, however, is the blue limestone, which rests in immense beds of unmeasured depth, and shows evidences of being extensively cavernous. No large " caves have yet been actually discovered there, but the numerous sink-holes which exist in the farms extend to unknown depths, and indicate a connection with an extensive system of underground cavities, at present apparently too dangerous for exploration. One of these larger sink-holes, at the base of South Mountain, near Cavetown, is remarkable for not being connected with any visible outlet beneath, and accordingly for being always nearly full of water. It consists of a circular, funnel-shaped cavity in the limestone, about one hundred feet in diameter, of unknown depth, filled with clear water, which keeps an almost uniform level regardless of the variations in the seasons.

The central parts of the valley are rolling, and the folds of surface rise higher on both sides until the mountain regions are reached. At the southeastern extremity Elk Ridge rises in majesty, and forms the western boundary of the narrow but charming little basin known as Pleasant Valley. It is an old crack between the two mountain uplifts, which has been eroded and scooped out until it slopes down into a depression somewhat lower than the Great Valley, of which it is but a minor outlet. On the east the South Mountain builds its boundary wall of the flinty sandstone, chert, and slate, while on the west Elk Ridge piles its huge walls of white sandstone in a ridge seven miles long, and then bends in a few rods to contract the upper end of this romantic little enclosure. Along these high walls of jointed rock beetling cliffs stand out in threatening attitudes, while the mountain base is buttressed by masses of heavy masonry. In the valley great bodies of dark slates and cherty limestones raise their heads in startling attitudes; the surface is strewn with fragments of rock which once fitted into the cliffs beyond; the stream threads its way with audible murmur among the sharp-cornered slates and sandstones, and the bowlders are overhung by the branches of graceful shrubs and trailing creepers. It is a fruitful corner, set in the peaceful solitude of the mountain embrace. Daily the mist curtain of early morn rests over it; the dark shadows of growing daylight deepen as the mountain walls are brought into sharp relief; and later every rock, spur, and cliff is lighted into glorious splendor by the glowing flashes of the midday sun. Lovely vistas delight the eye, both in the valley and on the mountain-top. Towards the north the frowning brows of the precipitous ridge project in severe contrast to the open expanse of the widening valley, which stretches off in endless variety of reliefs until lost in the dim blue of the distant horizon. While away off southwards the opening gap guides the eye out to the basin of the broad Potomac, then up the winding gorge of the opposite mountains, until the scene glides into the swelling waves of the hills beyond and is lost in the dark borders of the far-reaching forests. On the west the imposing summit is crowned by Maryland Heights; here in the midst of crags and rugged sandstone masses the eye takes in long miles of charming perspective on the channel of the shining river, and over roll after roll of mountain and hill, resting in peaceful sublimity and beauty, until distance levels all into one universal tender gray.

The minerals of the valley are of but few kinds. No copper, gold, or silver need be expected in profitable amounts, but iron ore of the brown haematite variety abounds near the Potomac River, about two miles west of Sandy Hook. It is of the species called pipe ore, or sometimes limestone ore, and yields metal of excellent quality, well adapted to the manufacture of bar-iron.

The animals of the county are essentially those of the Blue Ridge Belt. The elephant, elk, caribou, and beaver were formerly residents of the valleys and uplands, but they have long since disappeared. Among the vegetable productions, the cucumber magnolia and rhododendron are conspicuous, while the golden lilies, asters, sunflowers, and the generally known flowers and flowering shrubs of the eastern slope of the continent are well represented. The usual trees of the same region belong here, while on the higher and more exposed mountain summits the spruces and pines of a more northern climate begin to appear.

Appalachian Region. — This great belt of country extends from the summit of the North Mountain chain to the western extremity of the State. It includes the western end of Washington County and the whole of Allegany and Garrett Counties. It stretches from east to west in a direct line over a distance of eighty-five miles, and its greatest breadth from north to south is on its western boundary, and is about thirty-six miles; while on the east it is about eight miles in Allegany, and narrows to one and a quarter miles in the western part of Washington County. No less than fifteen mountain ranges cross this long strip of country, and those in the western division form the highest lands in Maryland. The lowest levels appear next the basin of the Potomac River at Cumberland, where they grade down to a point scarcely five hundred feet above the sea. The highest altitude attained is on the summit of the Great Savage Mountain at Altamont, which rises to an elevation of more than two thousand seven hundred feet above high tide. West of Sideling Hill until the city of Cumberland is passed the mountain ridges are all broken into spurs or backbones of variable length. They have been generally compressed with great force, and are consequently high, narrow, and abruptly elevated. The surface between them forms elevated valleys of moderate simplicity, broken only by slight swells, and traversed by water-courses which have cut their way through winding ravines in deep channels, often encumbered by broken masses of slate and sandstone. Every valley is supplied with its stream of water, usually rapid and pure, running from the north over a rocky bed, increased by several small tributaries near its source, and emptying into the Potomac River. Some of these have cut their way through gorges in the spurs, in the midst of great rocky ledges, overhung by heavy cliffs, overgrown with bushes, ferns, and trailing vines. Near their sources they tumble in wild confusion over the remnants of shattered rocks, in torrents and cascades, and run through wild spots of indescribable attractiveness.

The beginning of the Appalachian region forms the small western division of Washington County.

After crossing the Hagerstown Valley and proceeding towards the west, up the side of the North Mountain, a point is reached on the summit near Fair View, at an altitude of sixteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. Here the eye may roam almost unobstructed from the region of sunrise to where the sun sinks below the western horizon. Viewed during the early morn, the mist is seen hovering over valleys and hiding in the water-courses; a few purple and orange clouds streak the sky beyond the mountains, and the green foliage of the nearer forests seems moistened by a bath of dew; but as the sun lifts his golden face above the edge of the higher uplands, the smoky fleece rises from the streaks of water, the mountains unveil, and the foliage glistens as if studded with countless gems. On the west, in the nearer valley, the narrow chasm of Licking Creek lies beneath the eye; across the broad, high valley, raised into swells and low ridges, the town of Hancock now crops out on the rounded hillsides and then settles down into the adjacent ravine; as the view is lifted a stage higher the heavy back of Tonoloway Mountain, flanked by Round Top beside the canal, arises; and then still higher, behind them all, the great lofty backbone of Sideling Hill ridge sets up a forest-fringed barrier, beyond which the vision cannot penetrate. A few miles to the left the placid bosom of the Potomac River gleams like molten silver in the clear light, while along its margins the tall, spreading sycamores and branching maples join with the dark oaks and glossy-leaved gum-trees in tracing their images down into the limpid water. In the neighborhood of Hancock broken rocks, and occasionally bowlders of white sandstone, lie scattered over the flanks of the hills or rest in piles along the beds of the ravines. Ridges of brown, gray, and olive sandstones and slates project with massive front from places where the torrents of by-gone periods have torn their channels, while on the precipitous sides of the ridges, and from the walls of the frequent gaps, pale cliffs stand out with forbidding sharpness, or threaten to foil from the overhanging heights.

On the Virginia side of the Potomac the country is very rugged, and broken by frequent low ridges of the shattered sandstones and slates; but it is wonderfully picturesque, and the hills are covered by forests and verdure as far as the eye can reach. Frequent shallows in the river open good fords, which form the principal avenues of travel across the country. The absence of bridges, which appears a serious obstacle to the progress of the stranger, is apparently but little felt by the inhabitants of the region. At most times the stream seems to be only moderately rapid, and not at all too swift to be crossed by horses and cattle; but when heavy rains fall on the mountains beyond, it becomes a roaring flood which carries everything before it. Three miles west of Hancock the remarkable knob called Round Top stands at the southeastern angle of Tonoloway Ridge. It rises on that side somewhat in the form of a rounded cone, but from heights in the rear it is seen to be a short backbone extending back in a gradual slope for more than a mile. This detached dome is notable for the singular manner in which its rocky mass has been folded, and for the superior cement limestone that it contains. Here the heavy limestone and sandstone layers forming the rocky skeleton of this huge dome have been bent back and up three times in the lower half of the mass. The result has been to force the cement layers into closely compressed loops, doubling and increasing its thickness accordingly. At the same time the eastern side of the beds has received a diagonal twist, which has thrust them off in a projecting keel at nearly right angles to the rest, and opened a seam along that line.

These cement limestones are mainly of a bluish or drab color, interstratified with other limestones, and with drab and olive sandstones and slates. The cement rock is now excavated from nearly horizontal drifts or tunnels, ranging from eight to twelve feet in height, and fully as much in width, one of which has been pursued quite through the end of the mountain. A part of the great thickness of these layers is owing to a double fold of the thickest portion of the rock being brought in close contact with a second and shorter one. The rock is closely bent together, and fully exposed in at least six outcrops within a distance of scarcely more than six hundred feet along the canal. It appears to be present in practically inexhaustible quantities. The hydraulic cement is calcined, ground, and prepared in a large mill, situated on the spot, and is sent from thence by canal and railroad to all parts of the country. It has a high reputation with United States engineers and master-builders in various part of the country, who have used it extensively in the construction of large buildings for the government, and for various public works, besides those of the aqueducts, locks, and walls of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Nearly half-way up the steep front of this mountain there is a thick layer of calcareous spar of great purity. It is chiefly ribbed with parallel series of narrow, columnar crystals, remarkable for their length. Above this stratum of spar, a nearly square hole leads into a cavern hollowed out of the upfolded limestone by the tremendous forces which have crushed the mountain and split wide open the beds of stone. This cave has never been adequately explored. It is reported to have been the abode of a family of black bears, which were traced into it and finally destroyed. It is supposed to be of enormous length, and to be formed in part of vast fissures extending to fearful depths.

This region varies greatly as to its capacities for agriculture. On the sides of the slate hills the soil is thin, and not supplied with the moisture necessary for the production of large crops. This is also the case in a less marked degree of the blunt ridges capped by the white conglomerate. But on the limestone bottoms and throughout the alluvial basins a deep fertile soil prevails, which yields abundant crops of clover, cereals, and Indian corn. The streams here are of small size, although springs are numerous, and send forth little brooks in many directions. Three creeks wind in tortuous channels across this narrow belt of country, and contribute their quota of fertilizing elements to the narrow valleys through which they run. They are the Big and Little Tonoloway and Deep Creek. Like all the other streams of this region, they run in deep channels through the winding gullies and ravines between the hills, are moderately rapid, and flow for the most part over broken rooks and scattered bowlders.

The majestic Sideling Hill ridge, which forms the most westward summit .of Washington County, is a grand, high backbone of red and brown sandstone, capped and flanked by the Oneida white sandstone, and is picturesque, precipitous, and in places almost inaccessible. Its summit near the turnpike rises above an altitude of sixteen hundred feet, and affords some of the finest views of scenery to be had in this country. Looking east the eye takes in the whole range of the Potomac Valley as far as North Mountain, and rests successively upon three or more prominent and beautiful mountain groups set in the intervening landscape. The minerals of this section are' of few species, and have not yet been discovered in large quantities. Most important of them all is the specular oxide of iron, which occurs near Sideling Hill, in the calcareous shales. It has not yet been properly developed, but future investigations may determine its presence in profitable amounts. The general color of this ore is red, while bright scales of the dark metal project from the surface of the lumps.

Coal has always been an object of special interest to the people of this part of Washington County. It has been frequently reported as occurring in various places where the black shale crops out at the surface of the ground. Notwithstanding the adverse reports of several competent geologists, extensive drifts were pierced into the precipitous flank of Sideling Hill, next to where the grand, picturesque gorge of the creek opens into the basin of the Potomac River. Several of these have been excavated at a great height above the bed of the creek, and at a heavy expenditure of money and time. The result has been an accumulation of large piles of black, bituminous, decomposed slate and shale, which has proved but a poor substitute for the much-coveted anthracite coal. No true coal-measures exist in this county; the position of the geological scries would place them above all the formations found within its limits, and hence they would occur upon the surface and not below.

Sulphuret of iron is met with in small pieces, or in crystals bedded in the slate and limestone rocks, but it has not been found in masses or quantities large enough for commercial purposes.

Gold, silver, zinc, copper, and lead have not thus far been discovered in useful amounts, and the formations peculiar to the country are not in favor of their being so found.

Limestones suitable for agricultural purposes, besides the cement rock, appear in immeasurable deposits, but no true marbles belong to this region. Purple, brown, olive, and white sandstones of compact texture and fine grain abound, and can be obtained of any workable size. Glass-sand of pure white color is found, both in the rock and disintegrated, in vast beds along the western flanks of Tonoloway and of Sideling Hill.

Allegany County has an area of about five hundred square miles, and extends from Sideling Hill Creek on the east to the ridge of the Great Savage Mountain on the west. Its general outline is somewhat that of a bent gourd, with the bowl on the east and the handle running diagonally on the west. It is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania, and separated on the south from West Virginia by the Potomac River. Its length from east to west is about thirty-two miles, and its greatest width from north to south is twenty miles. The surface of the country on the east is frequently broken by abrupt, moderately elevated mountain ridges, with intervening narrow valleys; but on the west it rises to nearly the highest elevation reached in the State.

The first stream reached after crossing Sideling Hill is the romantic Sideling Hill Creek. It rises in Somerset County, Pa., runs along the base of the mountain, and has pierced through numberless obstructions of rock, bluff, and bowlder until it has conquered a deep wide channel all the way to the Potomac. At intervals along its path masses of the heavy-jointed brown sandstone stand in solid masonry as majestic bluffs, while next beyond a broad bayed-out basin rests as it has been worn from the strata by the power of the rushing floods. Occasionally the great mountain swells push into its channels, throwing out huge buttresses of rock, and forming tremendous precipices of the jointed white Oneida sandstone, where the struggling creek labors to force its way through the labyrinths of stone. For wild, undisturbed solitude the basin of this stream has scarcely a counterpart in the State of Maryland. In the midst of half-concealed hollows, from which there seems no outlet, Nature has lavished unnumbered gifts. On the one side a glen appears, overgrown with the lithe forms of varied shrubs, penetrated by alleys bordered with richly-colored flowers. Beyond this, the green banks, which bend over the ledges of rocks, overflow with the fringy ends of trailing vines, while water, trickling down through the tangled moss, feeds the roots of broad tufts of graceful ferns. In the open avenues whole beds of the rich rhododendron grow, next to where the groves of maple and birch luxuriate in the moisture-laden breezes. There, too, on the slopes of rich humus, along the ravines, the kalmias and azaleas grow in company, and interlace their branches in endless confusion.

A broad, gradually rising valley stretches from this creek to Town Hill, a distance of about five miles. The bed of the whole section is brown sandstone, yielding a soil productive of ample crops of Indian corn and oats. The ridge is a repetition of Sideling Hill, but rather less elevated. Beds of black decomposing shale, similar to those previously mentioned, are also met with in this ridge, and have likewise tempted adventurers to dig for coal. But these do not belong to the coal-bearing series, and will not be found to yield that mineral.

Beyond this several ranges of lower mountains, of similar character, enter the county from Pennsylvania, and cross this entire width of region. Of these. Green Ridge, Polish Mountain, and Warrior Mountain stand in close proximity to each other beyond Town Hill, and between these narrow, high, uneven valleys rest, through which small creeks run and transport the drainage of the country into the Potomac. The ridges are composed of closely-pressed strata of the same blue and drab limestones, red sandstones, and variously colored slates as those previously noticed, and on their summits occurs the white sandstone or gray conglomerate. Most of the valleys are two miles or less in width, while that between Warrior and Martin's Mountains is expanded to a breadth of about four miles.

In the latter the red slaty sandstones prevail, and they are also found in the succeeding valleys until the city of Cumberland is reached.

Warrior Mountain is largely built of the massive cavernous limestone, and contains numerous species of fossils peculiar to this formation.

The caverns are known to form subterranean reservoirs of large size, storing the water which finds an outlet at the base of some ridge or hill. In such cases vigorous and permanent springs burst forth, and produce streams which afford the only reliable waterpower of the region. Usually the temperature of these springs during the cold season is higher than that of the surrounding atmosphere, and accordingly they are rarely found to freeze, even in the severest weather. This important condition permits the running of the mills throughout the whole winter, at times when it is found impossible to do so in many other localities. Murley's Branch is one of the streams which rises under similar conditions at the western base of Warrior Mountain. After supplying power for several mills, and flowing through a flourishing region, it bends around to the east to pass through the gap in that mountain, then winds south and unites with Town Creek in the pleasant valley below Gilpintown. The upper parts of this and the next two adjoining valleys are distinguished by the presence of mineral springs, both sulfur and chalybeate. Adjoining Flintstone, at the base of the gap in Warrior Mountain, a white sulfur spring of ample volume and of great clearness and mineral strength appears. Several others of the same type are also present between Green Ridge and Polish Mountain, particularly on the Carroll estate. Four of these issue from a fossiliferous slate rock which forms the bed of the valley, and although appearing limpid and free from sediment, nevertheless precipitate all along their margins the deposit known as " white sulfur." The temperature of these springs is 47° or 48° F., and a chemical analysis by experts establishes the presence of carbonic acid gas in large proportion, of sulphuretted hydrogen, and of useful proportions of magnesia, muriate of soda, sulphate of lime, carbonate of lime, and of chlorides in small quantities.

Situated as these springs are in the fertile and beautiful valley of Fifteen-Mile Creek, at a distance of about sixteen miles east of Cumberland, in the midst of a region of invigorating and pure air, together with the facilities offered by the proprietor of the establishment there, should make the locality one of the chief resorts for invalids and tourists who seek for health and pleasure in more distant and far less accessible places. Most of the valleys are seated at an elevation of seven hundred to seven hundred and fifty feet above the sea. These and the cleared parts of the ridges are covered with farms, on which good crops of wheat, rye, Indian corn, oats, and potatoes are commonly raised. Apples, pears, and the common kinds of small fruits succeed well, and the alluvial bottoms are adapted for the grazing and raising of cattle and farm-stock. Springs are numerous along the flanks of the ridges, where they usually give rise to active little brooks which transport their waters to the larger creeks. The mountains are still overgrown with ample forests on their summits and sides, and these are composed of the yellow and spruce pines, with some groves of white pine and large areas of chestnut. On the deeper and moister soils the white, chestnut, and other oaks, together with the magnolia or cucumber-tree, the sycamore, sour-gum, tulip-tree, linden, walnut, hickory, maples, and especially the false locust, grow luxuriantly.

The sugar-maple still grows abundantly in some localities, from which the farmers obtain their 'annual supply of the maple-sugar. Various flowering trees and small shrubs abound in the sheltered parts of the mountain gaps and in the ravines, among which the dogwood, fringe-tree, hawthorn, haw, Judas-tree, and calico-bush are very conspicuous. But the most magnificent of all, the great rhododendron, forms extensive thickets in the avenues among the trees, and adds its massive bloom to the sweet scent of the delightful azaleas. Along the alluvial levels of the Potomac the region is made gay by groups of bright heads of the native yellow lily, and by numerous varieties of pink, purple, and golden crowns of the ever-present asters and sunflowers. The Virginia creeper, clematis, greenbrier, and other climbing and trailing vines overspread the rocky nooks with waves of refreshing verdure.

Beyond Evitt's Mountain the city of Cumberland rests in an open amphitheater, set around with high hills and prominent blunt mountain-domes. The Potomac River in making its long bend to pass around Knobby Mountain touches this city and receives the waters of Will's Creek. The latter occupies the bed of the great and startling gap in Will's Mountain, on the western side of Cumberland. This tremendous chasm has a width of five hundred feet at its base, and the abrupt mountain flank on its east side rises to a height of eight hundred feet above the creek. On this side the red sandstone lies at the base and stands up like a great wall, while on the opposite shore the white sandstone is seen in long, heavy walls of immense thickness, which are continuous with the side of the mountain and curve over its summit. The blue limestone forms the end of this ridge next the city, and crops out at various points on the hill beyond the creek. At this point, also, a large bed of the black magnesian limestone stands out prominently, and is quarried for the purpose of making hydraulic cement. This is calcined in kilns near the spot, and is then packed in barrels for exportation. Some of the limestones are slightly bituminous, and are often crossed by wide seams of quartz, which more strongly resist the atmosphere and elements, and are thus left standing in prominent belts, while the adjoining rock is worn away. Such features often constitute great buttresses of fantastic shapes, extending down from great elevations, and always form attractions to the observant and curious. One of these, of more than usual interest, is situated on the northwest slope of Wills Mountain, only a few miles beyond Cumberland. It has been a standing object of awe to the ignorant and superstitious, who dread to be near it during the evening or night, and who have given it the significant name of Devil's Sliding-place.

Crossing Will's Mountain through the valley of Braddock's Run, the higher ridge of Davis Mountain is reached, and then a descent is made into the great Potomac and Allegany coal-basin. It is an oval valley, sloping from the north towards the south, with the rocky sides curving upwards to form the crests of the mountains. On the western boundary the great Savage Mountain forms the highest ridge, while on the eastern side Dan's Mountain rises to a somewhat less elevation. Between these the present general surface of the valley drops down to a depth of five hundred feet below the summits of the ridges. In this county, between the Pennsylvania line and the Potomac River, it has a length of about twenty miles and a width of five to six miles. This is the center of Allegany's greatest activity, and along its slopes and swells the miners' houses crop out at frequent intervals, where the rugged surface has been denuded of the forests which once gave shade and moisture to the earth. In the midst of the rocks, on the hard, thin soil, the miner's family lives and manages to raise a few potatoes and some vegetables to eke out the scanty fare which the region supplies. All summer long, and until the icy cold of winter has stopped the canal, he works beneath the ground, cutting out the black mineral for transportation to other and distant places. Square holes in the sides of the mountains and in the ravines, kept open by supports of timber, lead to the beds from which the coal is taken. About twenty-seven square miles of area were originally occupied by the seams of this fuel, of which the main stratum, or great bed, fourteen feet in thickness, is the eighth in the descending order, and rests at a distance of about two hundred and seventy-seven feet below the surface.

Enormous quantities of this important mineral are being removed every year, and the rate of excavation is so rapid as to make it appear likely that this principal bed will be exhausted within the next half-century. The coal is of the semi-bituminous kind, containing from seventy-two to eighty-three per cent, of carbon, is jet-black and glossy, and is taken out in blocks often as large as a man can handle.

The valley is traversed by a number of streams, the principal of which is a fine large one, the George's Creek, that winds and bends in a deep channel from north to south, and empties into the Potomac River. The other streams are chiefly its tributaries, and generally rise on the mountain flanks, both east and west, wearing their way though deep channels in the hard sandstones and shales, until they finally become merged with the creek. Towards the northern end of the valley Jennings' Creek and Braddock's Run have cut their way in deep channels through gaps in Dan's and Will's Mountains, and dashing over broken rocks in the midst of startling scenery, they unite with Will's Creek in the great chasm a few miles from Cumberland. The mountains of this region are all quite massive, have been folded into chains of high, broad domes by the enormous pressure which raised them into the air chiefly after the coal period; but before that time marshes bordering the ancient ocean permitted the growth of a dense and rank vegetation, which supplied the material for the beds of carbonaceous mineral, since proved to be such useful fuel. This part of the country is of little interest as to its agricultural capacities, but it is full of remarkable scenery, and contains an ample store of carbonate of iron in connection with its coal-measures.

Garrett County. — Upon crossing the summit of the great Backbone Mountain, Garrett County is reached. It is the most elevated and compact mountain region in the State; the surface is all greatly elevated, and its outline is that of a broad triangle, whose hypothenuse is on the southeast, and is bounded there by the Potomac River. Its western boundary is a straight line, about forty miles long next to West Virginia; on the north it is equally straight, stands next to Pennsylvania, and is about thirty-two miles long. It has an area of about six hundred and seventy square miles, and is traversed from northeast to southwest by six long chains of mountains and two or three spurs running off from their sides. The country is supplied with great numbers of small brooks, most of which are torrents; and its principal river is the Youghiogheny, a rapid stream that rises at the fork of the Little Savage Mountain, and winding northwest . through Pennsylvania, empties into the Monongahela River. At least two important coal-basins occur in this region, both of which are now being developed. The most easterly lies between Meadow Mountain and Negro Mountain, forming a long triangular trough, whose widest part is on the north, next Pennsylvania, and the narrow end is on the south, intersected by the valley of Deep Creek. It is about seventeen miles long by from two to five wide; and, like the coal-bearing valley of Allegany, is a downward curve of broad and narrow strata of shale, sandstone, coal, limestone, conglomerate, and iron, resting one above the other in a regular series. The same is the case with the deeper and wider coal-basin which occupies the northwestern section of the country between Keyser's Ridge and Briery Mountain. It is an extremely uneven basin, broken into many small divisions by Winding Ridge and various spurs and knobs, and is traversed from south to north by the Youghiogheny River. This valley extends across the boundary lines of both Pennsylvania and West Virginia; but within the limits of Garrett County it varies in width from five to eight miles, while its length is co-extensive with the width of the western boundary of the State.

The former of these valleys is known as the Meadow Mountain coal-field, and the latter derives its name from the Youghiogheny River, which runs through its lowest level. Neither of these basins contains strata of coal at all comparable to the great fourteen-feet bed of the Allegany Valley, and in some parts of each of the former the eroding waters have carried away vast sections of the coal-rocks; but at least four strata of coal have been detected in both, three of which beds average four or more feet in thickness. Besides the coal strata so important to this section, argillaceous iron ore occurs in large quantities. On Bear Creek a good quality of the oxide of manganese is present, apparently in large quantities, and on the western flank of Winding Ridge an extensive deposit of clay contains nodules of the carbonate of iron in connection with a layer of calcareous earth. At the same place may also be found a mineral composed of lime, clay, and the oxide of iron, well adapted for the production of a strong hydraulic cement.

The country is one of great attractiveness, from the fine resorts for health and pleasure which abound everywhere in the midst of fine scenery and pure air and water. Beautiful meadows of fresh green called glades are present almost everywhere along the mountain-tops, and the speckled trout still lives in the limpid streams which course through these uplands. During the warm seasons these glades are decked with a numerous collection of showy and bright flowering plants, which delight the eye and continually attract the attention. Among these the yellow lily, cardinal flower, phlox, asters, and smaller sunflowers may be cited, together with the fine flowering shrubs and trees, such as the cucumber magnolia, collinsonia, senothera, monarda, and rudbeckia. The sugar-maple also flourishes upon the mountain-sides, and yields its annual supply of syrup to the farmers who collect it. Wild beasts were formerly numerous in the rugged, rocky ravines and forests of the mountain-sides, but these have been mostly exterminated; and now in their stead may be occasionally found the red deer, raccoon, opossum, rabbits, and several varieties of squirrels. The wild turkey and pheasant are still tenants of the more secluded woods, and small game is yet to be found in the wilder spots. The glades produce rich grasses in great abundance, upon which the sheep and cattle are fed, and consequently the country is noted for the superiority of its mutton, as it is, also, for the fine quality of its well-named " Glades butter." Rattlesnakes are still to be found in the wild rocky parts of the ravines, and a general list of the reptiles of the region would include most of those common to the Allegany belt at large. But the tops of the highest ridges are tenanted by creatures, although becoming more uncommon, such as the Canada porcupine, the white rabbit, and some mice, which belong properly to the Canadian fauna. The flora also, as represented by its trees, has much the same character, and may be distinguished by the northern spruces, hemlocks, and pines which grow in the exposed woods. Fish formerly abounded, among which the native trout was the most beautiful and desired, but over-fishing and neglect of the rivulets have depleted the streams, so that only small numbers can now be found where formerly the waters were almost overstocked with them. Rye, buckwheat, and oats are leading productions of the farms, and tobacco is raised to some extent on newly-cleared lands. Cattle are raised in large numbers for export, and may be seen grazing in herds on the wide-spreading meadows, while long trains of cars are continually being sent off loaded with well-fattened stock from this county. Thus, with all its peculiarities of surface and soil, built upon and out of the massive rocks which lie but a few feet beneath; with bracing breezes, pure air, good water, and extensive ranges of grandly picturesque scenery along the valleys and across the mountains, joined to its immense mineral resources, Garrett County possesses first-class advantages for attracting and sustaining a large and healthy population, while capable of receiving and providing for the ever-increasing number of summer residents and tourists who crowd thither for health and pleasure.

Potomac River. — Connecting all the counties which form the principal body of this great western tract, the historic and celebrated Potomac is at once the grandest and most remarkable surface feature of Maryland. It is in most respects both a river and a bay. Two great divisions, marked by peculiar individualities, distinguish it into the Upper and Lower Potomac. The former lies outside of the territory included within the foregoing description; but it may be briefly noticed as the estuary or bay-portion of the river, or that subject to the rise and flow of the tides of the ocean. It extends from the city of Georgetown to Chesapeake Bay, a distance of one hundred and twenty-five miles.

Below Alexandria it expands to a width of nearly two miles, and all along its winding course receives the waters of wide creeks, which increase its breadth, and spread out into broad, picturesque estuaries upon the lower levels. Some of these bodies of water are from three to five miles wide in conjunction with the river, while the outlet of the Potomac at its mouth forms a bay nearly eight miles wide, which stretches from Point Lookout to the opposite shore in Virginia. In the first part of its course below Washington the banks are composed of clay and sand bluffs, which rise to a height of fifty or sixty feet; but as it proceeds the high border lands gradually slope and wave lower, and finally fade out in points and bars. Before entering this bay-like division the river has left the region of primitive rocks, and from that point to its mouth passes only through alluvial and earthy beds of the upper secondary and tertiary periods.

But that part of it which belongs to the region included in the western counties is the river proper, usually called the " Upper Potomac." It remains at present all beyond the reach of the tides, and probably it has never been affected by them.

Swift and powerful, it rushes in imperturbable grandeur through a channel of its own construction, cut out of the largest mountains in the State. In forming almost the entire western boundary of Maryland, it constitutes also the water border of the western counties. Away up among the high mountain summits where West Virginia touches the great Backbone range, marked by the Fairfax stone, this youngest of our great rivers bursts forth from the sandstones and shales of the carboniferous strata. The region is one of marked interest from the variety of striking objects which it presents. Hilltops of mountain height, and loftier than the Blue Ridge, shaped by the tremendous floods of past periods, stand between the crests of the summit ridges. Broad belts of hemlock, spruce, and the northern pines bound the highest horizon, and form a dark background for the oak, chestnut, maples, birches, and poplars of the less elevated positions. A most picturesque scene stretches out before the eve as it takes in the winding valley with its silvery thread of water, here and there arrested by a ledge of dark rocks, then flashing the sunlight from the torrent or rapid, or leaping in foam-stirring cascade to the basin scooped in the rocks below. In the deep solitude of the wilderness, where broken masses of rock lie spread around in endless confusion, where the forests are choked with the trunks and branches of the fallen trees, and the moistened slopes are covered with the matted foliage of the vines and creepers; there, too, where the flowering shrubs and sweet-scented ferns weave chaplets and plumes of the tenderest green over the crowns of the weather-worn bowlders, this bright streak of water pursues its onward course, ever forward and downward, with a ceaseless impulse towards the sea. It is the great outlet for the waters which reach the surface in a territory nearly two hundred miles in length, while its tributaries on the north side cross nearly or quite the entire width of the State, its great South Branch in Virginia, with the Shenandoah and a dozen smaller rivers and creeks, draining an area fully twice as great. Indeed, the South Branch is the principal member of the upper river, and to it is largely due the wide expanse of water which it discloses before passing beyond the high mountains. Soon after leaving the head-waters it has worn a deep trough into the firm rocks, torn away huge pieces from the hard ledges, and resistlessly rasped and dug its way downward along the flank of the huge Backbone Mountain until the foot of the great coal-basin has been reached. Its course has hitherto been northeast, it has spread out into a broad creek with shallow but limpid water, running over a strong and pebbly bed, now it makes a broad curve around to the west, then resuming the former course and bending north it receives the waters of a fine branch, the Savage River; another bond is made and the George's Creek adds its narrow stream to the quickened flood which rushes on with new energy. It is now a vigorous and strong creek, able to contend with the obstructions that press in its way. Two miles above the former it had taken a new direction, going in a general southeast course; this is pursued for a distance of about eight miles, during which tearing its way across the end of Dan's Mountain, and then flows on to New Creek. The slope of the country now favors another change of direction, and accordingly the river rushes away northeast through its shallower trough, interrupted by frequent rapids between the ridges of Dan's and Knobby Mountains, a distance of twenty miles, when it bends abruptly around the spur of the latter mountain and touches the city of Cumberland. Will's Creek now adds its quota of water, and the river passes down on the east side of Knobby Mountain. Here it is charged with islands near the Virginia shore, and soon bends into the form of the letter S, to pass through the gorge in Evitt's Mountain. It is now in the very heart of high, abrupt ridges, where barriers must be crossed at right angles. Running in a straighter line towards the southeast, it rushes through the gorges of Martin's, Warrior, and Town Hill Mountains, surrounded by most romantic scenery, decorated in all directions by a boundless stretch of verdure-clad hill and dale. In the interval it has been joined by the great South Branch, and the two have united their waters to dash on with renewed energy in rending the hills and distributing nourishment into the valleys farther away. Having passed Town Hill, it flows in long uneven loops towards the northeast, cutting its way through the dense body of Sideling Hill, and gliding in perfect silence over the wreck of mighty ledges of rock, now lying as scattered bowlders over its bed, it bends once more and runs down the valley of the Tonoloway to where the little town of Hancock stands out upon the hills.

The beautiful dam which feeds the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal has been passed, the arched rocks and the cement-beds of the Round Top have been left behind, and the beautiful, clear river, as smooth and placid as a lake, glistens in the sunshine, and reflects the images of the grand old sycamore-trees that line its banks. Still broad and shallow, pursuing its course over the planed edges of the sandstones, slates, and limestones that lie across its path, it makes a long sweep towards the east, by a little south, until the spurs of the North Mountain are reached. At this point it has broken through a deep gorge, in the midst of a wild, rugged, and most romantic country, to become involved in difficulties which it could only surmount by passing suddenly around the unyielding rocks and forming a long narrow loop. After bending twice more, it strikes the heavy slates at Williamsport, admits the copious current of the Conococheague River, is unable to penetrate farther in the same direction, and is obliged to turn west and retrace nearly three miles of the distance previously gained. A great struggle for mastery now goes on between the river and the limestone-beds, with their layers of chert and strata of dense slate. Thus the river is compelled to run diagonally in a general southeast direction, and to bend back upon itself six times before its conflict with these hard rocks is over. Through an expanse of country more than twenty-five miles in length it has gained and lost, and at best has been obliged to follow the course of the Great Valley, and to submit to its conditions. But now, after Harper's Ferry is reached, the great rapid stream is favored by the tremendous down-slide which split the South Mountain from summit to base, and an avenue is open into the region on the east. Objects of fresh interest now appear on every hand. On the north side the majestic pile of castellated rocks, chimney peaks, the profile of the giant face, and the great arching strata of Maryland Heights rise in overpowering grandeur overhead. On the opposite shore the town of Harper's Ferry is seen straggling up, as if to reach the summit of the mountain bluffs, on the side of which the celebrated Jefferson's Rock is perched. Across the Shenandoah, more than a quarter of a mile distant, the spur called Short Ridge slants precipitously to the brink of the rapids, covered to the very top with close-set trees, between which huge piles of the mountain sandstone lie in indescribable disorder. As far as the eye can reach in this direction spurs, ridges, and peaks stand thrust together in close proximity, hiding all but the two lovely valleys through which the waters of the two great rivers find their outlet. An enormous but unimproved waterpower now appears in view, the Potomac becomes fully one-third of a mile wide, and a heavy flood passes over a sloping but nearly flat channel.

The prospect down the river is now indescribably beautiful. The South Mountain, rock and tree clad, stands in silent majesty in the foreground; the Point of Rocks rises as a rocky bluff upon which to rest the eyes; the opposite shore waves away in vast, rounded swells of upland; the mighty river rolls in silvery brightness, losing itself in the mist-softened verdure of the far-off landscape, while all the features of hill, valley, woodland, and plain blend into the tender blue of the scarce bounded distance. Still gradually widening as it runs, and preserving a southeast direction, the river receives the Monocacy at the outlet of the delightful Frederick Valley. A wide, open tract enlarges the view of a luxuriant and picturesque region. The splendid viaduct for the canal over the Monocacy, the highly-cultivated hills on the borders of Montgomery County, and the triple crown of white sandstone of the Sugar-Loaf Mountain stand out as if sculptured monumental objects in the midst of the soft-toned landscape. The river now makes a wide bend in passing the hard-slate rocks, and then enters the brown hills of the new red sandstone formation. From this point the slopes gradually increase in steepness, and for a distance of eighteen miles rise and fall in long serpentine waves. About four miles from the beginning of this sandstone its extreme altitude is reached in rocks which rise abruptly to an altitude of more than one hundred feet above the river. A new surprise now bursts upon the senses. The summits of the ridge are made of uplifted crags and chimney-rocks, reaching far above the tops of the tallest trees, resting upon long lines of natural brownstone masonry, and decorated at every turn by tufts, plumes, and festoons of lovely plants, ferns, and creepers. Long wall-like ridges of this picturesque rook, set in a background of far-reaching foliage, appear at frequent intervals along both shores of the river, and here its waters are interrupted at three or four stages by islands which have settled in its path. After passing the new red sandstone a region in strong contrast with the former is reached. The uniform wall-like structure of the hills gives place to the bent, twisted, and upturned ridges of silvery gray or blackish rock. Tremendous forces have been at work here on a grand scale. For a distance of two miles the whole bed and surface of the country has been pressed together with such violent force that the former body of a huge mountain has been shattered into jointed fragments, in part carried away, and only its broken base left in the trough of the river. Throughout this distance rapids succeed each other in such quick succession that the bed of the stream is gradually lowered to a depth of eighty feet.

The Great Falls of the Potomac now appear at the lower end of this scene of ruin. A fall, thirty-five feet in height, now precipitates an enormous volume of water; this is divided into three principal cascades of uncommon grandeur, which, after boiling and chafing amidst the terrible rocks of the deep basin beneath, dash with uncontrollable violence through canons of their own digging, and sweep out in a broad torrent through the channel below.

On either shore of this great scene of desolation piles of shining rock thrown on end project high into the sky, and send off craggy ledges from the base of every towering peak. The jointed rock fills the whole region as far as the eye can reach, and the prospect is rendered still more wild and impressive by the thinly spread-out forests which straggle over the broken ledges. Nowhere else in the State, if indeed anywhere on the eastern side of the continent, can a more sublime and awe-inspiring spectacle be seen. It is of such an unusual type in this part of the United States, and so remarkable, that the mind is directed first to the region of the Rocky Mountains to find its counterpart in structure and sublimity. The remainder of this division of the river keeps on for fourteen miles, which take it to Georgetown. In this part of its course it has steadily forced its way through the granitic rocks, spread out into a deep channel nearly three-quarters of a mile wide, until, after gathering into a series of cascades at its lower falls, and gliding along over bowlders and broken stones, it finally becomes lost in the waters of the alluvial basin at the head of tide-water.

The most characteristic expressions of this river are in the freshness, vigor, and variety which it everywhere displays. It crosses the Appalachian region in a direction which brings it in direct contact with every geological formation that belongs to the eastern slope of the continent. It winds its way through them all, or only yields where harmony is indispensable, in conformity with unalterable physical conditions. As a continental force its career seems but of yesterday. The ages had been steadily preparing for its advent. Cool morn of a long geological day, succeeded by the glowing heat of an equally protracted noontide, had been followed by the long evening twilight of the carboniferous era. Heavy mists and long periods of rainfall had saturated the low hills and set rivulets to running in the ravines and bottoms. But now the mighty mountains are upfolded, an axis separating the basins of the east from those of the west is built high into the air, and cracks have opened in its flanks to let loose the imprisoned waters of the subterranean cavities. From the end of one of these the young giant arose and burst forth with all the energy of a new life. Pushing aside the deep soil which rested around, and forcing apart the bits of rock that stood in the way, it soon worked a deep path out and along the dark mountain-side. Plunging, butting, and leaping against the ridges standing in its path, a narrow trough was cut away up in the midst of the highest uplands, and then gradually working, forced its way down to the lower levels, until the sea was reached beyond the lower hills. As the ages have rolled on it has pursued its onward course in nearly the same direction, ever deepening its channel and spreading so wide that it has been at one time a roaring flood of more than two miles in breadth.

From the time of Washington to the present it has been recognized as the great avenue leading to the West, and its great usefulness in the future will depend upon the skill and judgment with which it is employed to facilitate commercial relations between the two sides of a continent.