26 FIFTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT

Talbot County Land Records
Liber M. T. W. No. 1, 1698-1699..................	260 pages
Liber J. T. No. 19, 1759-1769 ....................	558 pages
R. S. No. 21, 1777-1784..........................	460 pages
Talbot County Wills
Liber E. M., 1665-1716 .........................	308 pages
Liber H. B. No. 2, 1726-1746.......................	472 pages
J. B. No. 3, 1777-1785 ...........................	220 pages
1785-1794 ....................................	364 pages
Testamentary Proceedings
Liber J. B. No. 4 ................................
Liber 22, 1711-1715 .............................	548 pages
Wills
Liber 1, 1637-1674 .................. ..........	640 pages
Worcester County Land Records
Liber K, 1746-1784 ..............................	752 pages
TOTAL....................................	27,718 pages

PHOTOCOPYING

The close of the fiscal year brought us within sight of the end of
our county records photostating project. We completed about half of the
work in Cecil County along with what remained of Montgomery and
Talbot Counties. Only two full counties remain, Harford and Caroline.
Since both were erected in 1773 photostating their land records through
1788 will be a minor task. It is hardly possible that the whole program
will not have been completed by the end of the current fiscal year.

When this program began, in 1941, it was thought that after its com-
pletion it might then be worthwhile to extend the terminal date to 1800 or
perhaps later. This no longer seems to be worthwhile. Since 1941 the cost
of photostating equipment and supplies has increased so much as to become
prohibitive for work of this kind. Moreover, experience has indicated that
intensive research work in the county land records is pretty much confined
to the period which we have almost completed and finally the microfilm
copies for all the land records of the State, which we now have through
the year 1850, should take care of every need. After 1850 the abstracts
of land records in the office of the Land Commissioner are relatively com-
plete—there were none of course before 1784. Beginning with 1949 the
abstract system is being abandoned in favor of microfilm of the bound
records. Therefore, there seems little need to do any more photocopying of
the county land records.

Use of the film of county land records has increased greatly as the
section devoted to Circulation will indicate. It is only necessary to point