240 TOBACCO PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



pebbles, from the size of a goose egg to fine sand, are sometimes 100 feet or more in thickness, and show signs 

 of stratification. In some places segregated beds of drifted sand appear, and in others beds of clay. These 

 stratified and unstratified deposits have been modified by erosion. 



The lands along the river rise ou both sides quite frequently into terraces, and these level-topped elevations are 

 the flood plains of the river, indicating distinct periods in the history of the erosion of the valley. The highest 

 of these terraces extends over a wide area, and is cut here and there by the tributaries of the Connecticut river or 

 disturbed by projecting hills. The lower terraces seldom extend over more than a mile or two, and on the opposite 

 sides of the river these heights, unlike those of the highest terraces, are of different levels. The present flood plain 

 is commonly known as meadows. The material which composes the highest plains is of a coarser character than 

 that which contributes to the bottom lauds or meadows; but before reaching Hartford these varying rocks have 

 become ground into a fine material, and have commingled so thoroughly that all the elements find a lodgment in 

 the soil; in fact, the areas covered by coarse material due to immediate glacial action are more extensive in the 

 northern part of the valley than in the middle and southern portions. The superior physical condition of the soil 

 upon the present flood plain of the Connecticut river is the principal cause of the high agricultural value of the 

 lands along the river. 



The more recent alluviums occur more or less in the valleys of all the streams, and form in the low- 

 depressions swamps and marshes. Sometimes the alluvium is composed of coarse material, very gravelly, and 

 unsuited in a great degree for agricultural purposes ; again it consists of very fine clayey or sandy loams ; arc 

 when the sand and clay commingle in proper proportions the soil is generous in its fertility. 



The tobacco area of the Housatouic valley is confined to Litchfield and Fairfield counties, spreading out 

 westwardly so as to take in a small portion of the counties of Duchess and Putnam, in eastern New York. Only the 

 northern part of Fairfield county, however, is embraced within this area, the southern part, as is the case with Ihe 

 southern part of Middlesex county, in the Connecticut valley, being, as is conjectured, too near salt water to produce 

 tobacco of good burning qualities. 



The nousatonic valley is narrow, and in many places can scarcely be said to have any bottomlands, resembling 

 a deep gap cut through a high rolling region. Here and there small, semi-elliptical low fields or pockets are to be senn, 

 covering a few acres, and these are succeeded by the plateaus of high terraces. These, in turn, are carved into so 

 many fantastic shapes by ravines and small brooks as scarcely to be recognized as terraces. Beyond these, to the 

 east and to the west, are long, sloping hills, irregular in outline, the sides of which are generally clothed with 

 different species of the oak and the chestnut. 



The soil of the country through which the Housatouic river flows is variable. What are called loamy soils in this 

 valley are, for the most part, derived from the breaking down of the feldspathic and trappean rocks. These soils are 

 very rich in potash, and are generally selected for growing tobacco. The alluvial soils vary much in quality, 

 being at times white and argillaceous and very cold and tenacious, and at other times but little more than beds 

 of gravel. When there is a proper commingling of these two the soil is very light, productive, and durable. 



The soils of the tobacco- growing portion of New England may be divided generally into two classes: 



1. Those formed from the crumbling of the rocks in situ. 



2. Those which have been derived from transported material. 



The soil derived from pcrphyritic rocks is a dark argillaceous loam, of excellent fertility, and is suitable for grain 

 and for tobacco. The micaceous-ferruginous rocks supply a soil well adapted to the growth of grasses, and the 

 rounded green hills attest the value of these lands for pasturage. It is a fine, light gray loam, works easily, and 

 constitutes a considerable part of the soils of several counties. 



The soils of the granitic rocks are inclined to be coarse in structure and arid, and where disintegration has been 

 carried to a sufficient degree of fineness the soil is of moderate fertility. Slaty soils, from chloritic slates and 

 mica-schist, are inclined to be cold and wet ; yet, when sufficiently drained, they are strong, and will retain fertilizers 

 well. They make a red clay or loamy soil. The red sandstones furnish a thin, poor soil, unless the sandstones 

 are argillaceous, when a very good soil results. The trap rocks, by reason of the calcareous spar which is associated 

 with them, often crumble into a very generous soil, and one that is durable in its constitution. 



When there is a considerable amount of pebbles composed of carbonate of litne, commingled in suitable 

 proportions with feldspathic and ferruginous-micaceous rocks, the drift soil is supplied with every inorganic element 

 necessary to its fertility. On the other hand, when the drift is coarse, and is composed mainly of quartzose gravel, 

 the soil has an original poverty of constitution and such porosity that heavy fertilization will have only a temporary 

 effect upon its power of production. 



The soils of the first terrace above the rivers are probably, for all purposes, the best, and on these, for the 

 most part, the tobacco crop is grown, though some is planted on the meadow lands. These latter usually require 

 draining, and must be protected from overflows. In some places in the Connecticut valley the soil is underlaid by a 

 grayish clay, called " hard-pan ", and when this is exposed to the atmosphere it crumbles very readily. In places 

 it makes a spongy soil, in others a heavy clayey soil, but ill-suited for the growth of any crop except the coarse 

 grasses. 



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