“ Maryland has a variety of soils corresponding with the geological formations. The more recent formations of the Atlantic Plain have light, sandy and loamy soils, unsuited to grass, but especially adapted to vegetables, truck-farming, small fruits, and peaches. The region of metamorphic rocks and the limestone and shale valleys of the west are of heavier, often clay, soils, usually very fertile and adapted to wheat, maize, grass, and clover. ”

“ In Baltimore city there are nine judges, who assign themselves to the several courts, usually sitting separately. All the above judges are elected by the people for a term of fifteen years. The orphans' courts with probate jurisdiction are composed of three men in each county, elected for a term of four years. The Governor and Senate appoint justices of the peace, and the county commissioners appoint constables for a term of two years. Each county elects a clerk for the Circuit Court, and a Register of Wills, and the State elects a clerk for the Court of Appeals. ”

“ No minister or preacher of the Gospel or of any religious creed or denomination is eligible to the Legislature. Regular sessions are limited to ninety days, special sessions to thirty days. A majority vote of all the members elected to each House is required to pass any bill. The power of impeachment rests with the House, the trial of impeachment with the Senate. ”

“ Near the mouth of the Monocacy, the Sugar Loaf Mountain (1250 feet) rises abruptly from the plain. From the Catoctin Mountain to the western boundary of the State, the Appalachian region spreads a succession of valleys, separated by nearly parallel northeast and southwest mountain ranges, and all draining into the Potomac. The Blue Ridge, 2400 feet high at Quirauk, near the Pennsylvania line, crosses the State to Weverton on the Potomac, and is the eastern limit of the Great or Hagerstown Valley. ”

“ General elections are held biennially, on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The legal rate of interest is per cent. A married woman may acquire, hold, and manage property independently of her husband, and dispose of the same as if single. Her husband must join her, however, in the execution of any deed. Debtors are protected in the possession of property to the value of $500.
History. In 1632 Cecilius Calvert, second Lord Baltimore, received from Charles I. a charter conferring on him the possession of the territory now forming the States of Maryland and Delaware. ”

“ The lighter soils throughout the eastern part of the State are largely devoted to the raising of vegetables and fruits. In 1900 the value of the vegetable products, including potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions, amounted to 15.2 per cent. of the gross farm income. Maryland canned a larger amount of tomatoes and sweet corn than any other State. There were 43,612 acres devoted to tomatoes, and 16,575 to sweet corn. The region south and east of Baltimore is noted for its peach orchards. In 1900 the peach trees numbered over 4,000,000 and constituted 60 per cent. ”

“ The Governor is elected for four years, has a salary of $4500 per annum, and appoints all State officers with the consent of the Senate. In case of the vacancy of the Governorship the Legislature elects a man to that position, or if the Legislature be not in session the president of the Senate and Speaker of the House are respectively in the line of succession to that position. ”

“ Natural cement is an important article of manufacture. The clay output is small, but the value of clay products is high, owing to the pottery and other clay manufactures of Baltimore, and the firebricks of the coal region, which are reported to be the best in the country. ”

“ The snowfall averages 25.4 inches for the State, 16.6 for the southern and 43.4 for the western districts. The number of days of precipitation on the coast is 130, in the mountains 140. The relative humidity varies from 80 in the sea islands to 65 at the extreme west. The climate is everywhere suitable to tree growth; hard woods, especially oak and hickory, predominate. The warm moist climate and light soil of the eastern shore cause that district to be the home of many southern plants not found elsewhere in the same latitude. ”

“ The absence of large cities has limited the quarry industry to the region near the head of Chesapeake Bay. Of building stone for commercial use the State's output was $1,174,181 in 1901. Fine granite quarried near Port Deposit and Baltimore and marble from the vicinity of Baltimore have been used for the Government buildings at Washington and for important structures in New York and Philadelphia. Valuable clays are widely distributed, Baltimore County alone possessing clays suitable for building-brick, firebrick, pottery, stoneware, terra-cotta, sewer pipe, and paint. ”

“ The average yearly salary in the counties is less than $300, but in Baltimore city it is nearly double that sum. A law of 1902 introduced the pension system for such teachers as have reached the age of sixty, and have devoted twenty-five years to the service of the State schools. Professional training is given to teachers at the State Normal Schools at Baltimore and Frostburg, and at Washington College. ”

“ Prosperity was widely diffused, and the standard of living, owing to the abundance of game and fish, high. All sects were tolerated, except the Catholics, who were denied the suffrage and forbidden to worship in public. ”

“ The proportion of rented farms is increasing, particularly the farms rented on the share method, which amounted to 24.8 per cent. of all farms in 1900. Only 12.7 per cent. of the farms are operated by colored farmers, while the proportion of renters among these is much larger than among the whites, and the average size of the farms is much smaller among the former than among the latter. ”

“ Prisoners confined in jails do not, as a rule, have employment. About half the prison population are negroes.
Government. The present Constitution was adopted in September, 1867. Amendments must be proposed by three-fifths of each House of the Legislature and ratified by a majority vote of the people. Once in every twenty years the people must vote on the question of holding a convention to revise the Constitution. Voters must have resided in the State one year, and in the legislative districts of Baltimore city or in the county six months. The capital is Annapolis (q.v.) ”

“ Of these the slaughtering and meat-packing industry made the largest gains during the last census decade. The flour and grist milling industry and the manufacture of textiles are long established industries. Baltimore is the largest producer of cotton duck in the United States. ”