286 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



and more adjusted to the rock structure beneath. The Farm- 

 ington River, from Farmington to Tariffville, is in soft strata ; 

 so is the Housatonic for some distance south of Canaan. At 

 Tariffville and New Milford these same streams cut through 

 hard rock. 



Not only the river system but the shape of a river valley 

 itself depends upon the character of the rock forming its bed. 

 The form of the valley also depends upon the length of time 

 a stream has occupied its present channel, i. e., the age of the 

 valley. In accordance with rock character and age, rivers have 

 canons and gorges or wide, open valleys. Rivers differ from 

 each other and parts of the same river valley show marked 

 difference in shape. The Scantic is very unlike the Nauga- 

 tuck. The Quinnipiac Valley at Milldale is almost a plain, 

 but at South Meriden there is barely room along its banks for 

 a wagon road. The valley at Milldale is some millions of 

 vears old ; that at South Meriden but a few thousand. The 

 Connecticut has occupied its present channel for a few million 

 years and has cut a rock-walled valley below Middletown. 

 During the same time it has widened its valley at Hartford un- 

 til it stretches from Bloomfield to Rockville. Below Middle- 

 town the Connecticut found hard rock, while above that point 

 it encountered soft material. Rivers are found in Connecticut 

 in all stages of development. 



Lakes. Hills, valleys, rivers, and lakes are not permanent 

 topographic forms, but are features of an ever-changing land- 

 scape, and it is only by poetic license that we may speak of 

 eternal vales and hills " rock ribbed and ancient as the sun." 

 Lakes have a shorter life history than most scenic forms. 

 They are full-grown when the valleys are still young, and they 

 die long before the hills have reached maturity, and before the 

 rivers have developed their greatest power. It is only when 

 lands are in their infancy that lakes abound, before the enemies 

 which destroy them have attained full strength. Lakes are 

 hindrances to the rain, frost, wind, and river in their work of 

 land sculpture. So, while they may be ornaments of topo- 

 graphic youth, they must be sacrificed to the demands of active 

 life struggle. 



Lakes are not distributed haphazard over the world, but in 

 accordance with definite geological principles. In the United 

 States the lakes are most numerous on the plains from New 



