SOILS OP MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. 55 



While soils so deficient in humus as to be leachy in the case of 

 sands, and stiff, intractable, and cloddy in the case of clays, clay 

 loams, and loams, should have their humus content increased until 

 these unfavorable conditions for crop growth of any kind be over- 

 come as far as practicable, it is impossible to ignore the effects of the 

 inherent physical character of the soil itself as related to adaptation 

 to crops, and, in some cases at least, varieties of the same crop. It 

 is easily possible, furthermore, on soils of medium texture, especially, 

 so to accentuate the vegetative habit of the Baldwin that the color 

 of the fruit becomes impaired. In current orchard practice this is 

 a common occurrence which growers seek to overcome by withholding 

 ammonia-carrying fertilizers, by checking tillage, and by avoiding 

 humus-forming cover crops. It lowers cost of production to let 

 nature help as much as possible. 



In both States nearness to salt water is sometimes suggested as a 

 cause for deficient color of red apples, especially the Baldwin; and 

 while sufficient evidence is not at hand to refute the statement com- 

 pletely, it is apparent in many cases that the difficulty is chiefly one 

 of impervious subsoil. Low elevation is also a factor in some in- 

 stances. In the Connecticut Valley, for example, 35 miles from the 

 Sound shore, Baldwins do not color satisfactorily, even though the 

 soil is favorable. At the highest altitudes in northern Berkshire and 

 Franklin Counties, Mass., and farther north in Vermont, Baldwin 

 shows a tendency to become slightly constricted and ridgy at the 

 calyx end. It was not as plump in the season of 1912, at least, as 

 at altitudes of 1,000 feet. The minimum elevation where this effect 

 was noticeable in 1912 was around 1,200 feet, while at 1,600 feet, 

 along the Vermont line, the tendency was more pronounced. It may 

 be added, too, that the variety becomes more susceptible to winter 

 injury at about this same point, thus suggesting proximity to those 

 climatic conditions where Baldwin should be replaced by the 

 Fameuse and Mcintosh or others of the Fameuse group. As one 

 drives in this locality from characteristic Baldwin territory through 

 the transition zone to higher altitudes, where this variety no longer 

 develops to its best, it is most interesting to note corresponding 

 changes in the natural forest growth, and in the varieties of farm 

 crops. With increasing elevation these changes are first noticed on 

 exposed and wind-swept areas, where apple trees lean away from the 

 direction of the prevailing winds. A given variety of flint corn be- 

 comes more dwarfed than at lower elevations. The hemlock, which 

 prevails at 1,000 feet, gives way to spruce in protected situations, 

 while the high ground, which is more exposed, is occupied with a 

 much larger percentage of the hardwoods — beech, maple, black, and 

 yellow birch. 



