16 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Sept., 



CONNECTICUT. 

 SURFACE, CLIMATE AND SOIL. 



The approximate land area of Connecticut is 3,08-1,800 

 acres, nearly three-fourths of which is in farm lands. Con- 

 necticut ranks thirty-first in population among states, only 

 three states more densely populated. 



Connecticut is mainly a roiling- plain, intersected by river 

 valleys, and broken in the west by peaks of the (jreen and 

 Housatonic ^lountain ranges, which extend southward from 

 Massachusetts. The greatest altitude in the state is Bear 

 Alountain in the town of Salisl^ury, which is 2,355 feet above 

 sea level. The state is naturally divided into three areas, 

 \ iz. : the Eastern Highland, the Western Highland and the 

 Central Lowland, more generally known as the Connecticut 

 River Valley from the river which divides the state. Its 

 course as far as ]^Iiddletown lies through the verdant Central 

 Lowland, and thence on to Long Island Sound at Saybrook 

 through a narrow^ go^fe^ <-'^^t in the corner of the Eastern 

 Highland. 



The scenery of the state is varied : the striking beauty of 

 the rugged, mountainous highlands in the west; the quiet, 

 productive lands in the river valleys ; the numerous fresh 

 Avater lakes, many of Avhich are more than one thousand feet 

 above sea level, and an irregular coast, dotted with many ir- 

 resistible summer resorts, combine to make Connecticut fas- 

 cinating for the vacationist as w'ell as for those who daily till 

 the soil. 



The climate, like that of the North Atlantic States, is tem- 

 perate, with four seasons well defined. There is generally an 

 abundant rainfall for all crops, well distributed throughout 

 the year. Prevailing winds are westerly. 



Connecticut has some twelve different types of soil formed 

 through the glaciation of the many types of underlying rock, 

 which may be roughly classed as rough stony land, meadow 

 land and muck land. 



The mountain sections of the state have lost much of the 

 soil on the hill tops and steeper sides, so are of little value 

 except for timber and grazing lands for sheep as well as both 

 dairy and beef cattle. 



