CHAPTER XVI 



THE SPROUT HARDWOODS REGION. 



General Considerations. 



The sprout hardwoods region occupies the extreme southern 

 part of New England, including the greater portion of Con- 

 necticut and Rhode Island and a small area in the southwestern 

 corner of Massachusetts. The region is not co-terminous with 

 its New England boundaries, but extends southward through a 

 corner of New York State into New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 

 The present study is confined, however, to the New England 

 portion. 



On account of its southern situation and proximity to the 

 coast the climate is more moderate than in the other forest 

 regions of New England. It has the same rainfall of forty to 

 fifty inches, but in temperature and duration of the winter 

 season conditions are more favorable for the growth of certain 

 species. 



The region Hes mainly below the six-hundred foot contour, and 

 a great deal of the land is below two hundred feet in elevation. 

 In Connecticut a broad central lowland runs from New Haven 

 northward across the region, and on either side are highlands. 

 These rise gradually from near sea level to over two thousand 

 feet in a few peaks of southwestern Massachusetts. On the 

 eastern side of this central area the hills do not average over 

 five hundred feet. These highlands represent geologically a 

 plateau which has been eroded by water and carved into a more 

 or less hilly country. The eastern highland extends into the 

 Rhode Island portion of the region, but in the eastern part of 

 the state drops to somewhat lower levels in what is known as 

 the Narragansett Basin. 



In the neighborhood of the coast, throughout Rhode Island, 

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