brought to light. But since 1875 the study of botany has undergone 

 many changes, and its present day problems differ greatly from those 

 of former times. The systematist's conception of a species has also 

 changed, a finer discrimination in determining species being required 

 at the present time. The nomenclature question, the constant split- 

 ting up of species and the revision of families and genera are render- 

 ing the subject more perplexing and less fascinating to at least the 

 true nature loving botanist. 



In the present instance it has been our intention to bring the flora 

 up to date and modify its scope to include the three counties com- 

 prising the Connecticut valley. These counties, whose boundaries are 

 fairly uniform, represent a section extending from Connecticut to the 

 New Hampshire and Vermont lines. The Connecticut valley forms 

 a distinct area differing quite widely in its soil and climatic conditions 

 from other sections of the state, the elevation ranging from less than 

 100 feet to only a few hundred feet. Here the elm reaches its great- 

 est perfection, and on the higher slopes the rock maple finds its most 

 congenial environment. The eastern part of the territory resembles 

 that of Worcester county, and the general elevation ranges from 400 

 to about 1,200 feet ; while the western section, which has an elevation 

 of 800 to 2,200 or more feet, and which is farther from the coast, re- 

 sembles in many ways southern Vermont. On the higher elevations 

 of our western range the golden hawkweed becomes a pest in fields, 

 as in Vermont, although in the Connecticut valley this plant is not 

 common enough to be a nuisance. Here, too, the soil conditions are 

 more primitive, therefore humus plants are found more abundantly 

 than elsewhere in the state. In this region grow forests of beech and 

 red spruce, and the balsam fir and hackmatack are common. 



The diversified forms of plants which characterize a region and 

 which we term its flora, represent adaptations to a more or less con- 

 genial environment, and even during the relatively brief period of 

 the settlement of New England many of our introduced plants 

 undoubtedly became modified to a certain extent. Even species 

 which are adapted to a much warmer cUmate than our own frequently 

 prove themselves as hardy as our native species, whereas on the other 

 hand, quite a few of our native trees, like the sycamore and others, 

 are often affected by winter killing. 



There are many factors which play an important part in the distri- 

 bution of plants of which we know little, and the problems involved 

 are difficult of solution. Variations in the humus content, in the soil 

 moisture or light intensity, may completely exterminate a species in a 

 given locality. Continued deforestation has greatly modified our 

 flora, many species having become rarer. Humus has played a very 

 important role not only in affecting the predominence of certain 



