SOILS OF MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. 21 



and Enfield. Near the southern boundary of the town of Enfield 

 the relief becomes much lower, and thence to the Connecticut line 

 and far into Tolland County, Conn., the country spreads out into a 

 succession of lower hills which are comparable to and connect with 

 the eastern Hampden district. Much of this section is from 500 to 

 700 feet above sea level, though elevations up to 1,000 feet occur. 

 The relief is characteristically much more gentle than that of the 

 higher section to the north. The soils of the whole district are com- 

 plex, often varying widely in short distances. They do not differ in 

 kind from the rest of the Eastern Highland soils, but the percentage 

 of sandy and porous areas is somewhat greater. 



A description of the soils of a cross section from near the center of 

 this north and south belt in Massachusetts follows : From East Lev- 

 erett to within 1| miles of Shutesbury the soils are extremely poor, 

 being thin and sandy with some gravelly and leachy areas. Some of 

 this material would have to be mapped as stony sand, the grades of 

 sand being rather coarse. Formerly attempts were made to farm 

 this section more or less, but the lack of adaptation of these soils to 

 the production of the general farm crops which were tried necessi- 

 tated their abandonment for that purpose. East of this belt, be- 

 ginning about \% miles west of Shutesbury and including all of 

 Shutesbury Hill from \\ miles north of the center to \\ miles south- 

 west of the town much of the land should be farmed. Some of the 

 soils of this district are heavy loams, with subsoils usually a little 

 lighter than the surface soil. These can be classed as rather moist 

 soils and are well adapted to hay as a money crop. On soils not quite 

 so heavy, such as light loams and heavy fine sandy loams, a good 

 corn crop was grown in the season of 1911 ; in fact, it compared well 

 with the crop secured in the Connecticut Valley the same season. 

 The lighter soils give good yields of potatoes, and this is grown as a 

 money crop. The sandy loam types of the region are good for 

 peaches, and with the light loams are hardly to be surpassed for the 

 production of such varieties of red apples as are grown successfully 

 in this part of the State. Such lands can be bought, without build- 

 ings, for $3 to $10 an acre. 



The type of present commercial development in the section of the 

 Eastern Highlands around Fitchburg is shown by the illustration, 

 Plate I. 



To the east of this belt there is a steep scarp to the west branch 

 of Swift Elver along which there is another narrow belt of poor 

 sandy soils. These, in turn, are succeeded by the more productive 

 loams of Prescott Hill, already described. 



THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY OF MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. 



Walled in by the abrupt or broken slopes of the Eastern Highland 



