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Connecticut and then have vanished so completely from this 

 region, leaving no evidence whatever of its passage — and this 

 in spite of the frequency here of swamps in which edaphic con- 

 ditions seem identical with those in swamps farther east where 

 cedar abounds. 



The possible relationship between cedar swamps and spruce 

 bogs is also of interest. Swamps of the latter type, characterized 

 in part by their relict northern flora, are widely scattered over 

 the northern three quarters of the state, but with the exception 

 of one small area where there are seven within the radius of a 

 mile, are nowhere common. In the western half of the state 

 there are upwards of twenty spruce bogs, while in eastern 

 Connecticut only five are recorded — two of these within a few 

 miles of the Connecticut River. The reason for their relative 

 rarity eastward is suggested by conditions observed by the writer 

 in two small swamps near Plainfield. Here the dominant trees 

 are cedars, but interspersed among these are numerous straggling 

 spruces. In a cedar bog at Bethany there are also said to be a 

 few spruces, although the writer has been unable to locate them. 

 It seems probable, therefore, that within comparatively recent 

 geological times the spruce occupied many of the sites in eastern 

 Connecticut which are now inhabited by the cedar; for, except 

 in the northwestern highland, the spruce in this region seldom 

 grows to a height of more than six meters and as a rule the trees 

 form a very open stand, so that it would be a comparatively 

 simple matter for invading cedars to secure a foothold and 

 ultimately, by reason of their larger size and the dense shade 

 produced by their close set crowns, to eliminate the former 

 tenants. 



Having outlined the role which certain historical factors have 

 probably played in the origin and evolution of the plant life of 

 Connecticut, there remains to be considered the manner in which 

 coexisting forces influence the character of the flora. In the 

 present paper only those phases need be treated which concern 

 plant distribution in the large. The ultimate or climax formation 

 attained in the region under surveillance, i. e., the most meso- 

 phylic permanent type of vegetation which is capable of develop- 



