64

convenient; then it has the Delaware railroad running but a
short distance from its eastern border, entering Somerset-
county on the north, it meets tide-water at Salisbury on the
line between Somerset and Worcester, then by Princess Anne-
to an arm of the bay this railroad ends at the extreme south-
ern border of Somerset county. ,

In addition to this, the Delaware and Maryland railroad
enters the Eastern Shore in the upper part of Caroline coun-
ty, thence passes through Greensboro', the head of naviga-
tion on the Choptank, thence to Hillsboro', the head of naviga-
tion on one of its largest branches, thence through Talbot
county to Easton, its county town, thence to Oxford, near
the mouth of the Choptank. This road is nearly completed
to Hillsboro', and will so,on be finished to Oxford. There
are several other roads which will traverse the different coun-
ties and connect the Chesapeake bay with this' road, and '
which will be spoken of in their proper places.

There is another improvement not local only, but of na-
tional, even cosmical importance, which in a few years will
be made. The onward march of commercial progress inci-
dent to commercial necessity, will insure its completion. This
is a ship canal via the Chester river to the Delaware bay—
opening thus direct tide water navigation to New York and
all the marts of Europe. This being finished, the natural ad
vantages of Baltimore will make her a successful competitor
with any of the Northern cities and tend to a most rapid in-
crease in her population and trade. With each advance of
these, a corresponding one will be made in the value of lands
and the products of the soil of this region.

The money value of transportation, and its effects on the
value of land and its products, is well shown by the follow-
ing table: