PRESENT FOREST CONDITIONS IN CONNECTICUT. 11 



in wasteful use, and deprives State and owner of the just returns on 

 their woodland investments. 



Connecticut, like most of the other Northeastern States, imports 

 much the greater part of its lumber. The sources from which this is 

 obtained are themselves rapidly becoming depleted, and with the 

 advancing lumber prices which mark this decline the home production 

 of lumber will increase in attractiveness to timberland owners. 



TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATE, AND SOIL. 



The productive capacity and consequently the value of Connecti- 

 cut forests are to a great extent dependent upon the topography, soil, 

 and climate of the State. A general idea of these is necessary before 

 the producing value of the woodlands, which varies with the character 

 of the situation, can be clearly discussed. 



Connecticut may be briefly described as a broad, central lowland, 

 extending in a general north-and-south direction, and limited on the 

 west and east by high and often steep ridges and ranges of hills, south- 

 ward extensions of the great highland region of northern New Eng- 

 land. At places throughout the plain there are precipitous dikes of 

 trap rock, which rise conspicuously above the general level. In alti- 

 tude the central valley lies mostly below 100 and 200 feet, except for 

 the trap dikes, which in some cases rise to 700 feet. The eastern 

 highland rarely exceeds 500 feet in altitude. Along the western ridge, 

 however, elevations range in the south from sea level to 500 feet and 

 farther north from 1,000 to over 2,000 feet at the tops of ridges and 

 peaks. The greater part of the State is drained by three large river 

 systems — the Housatonic, with its tributary, the Naugatuck, in the 

 western highland, the Connecticut in the central valley, and the 

 Thames in the east. 



The soils are mostly of glacial origin, and present a great variety of 

 conditions. In the highlands every degree of fertility, from shallow, 

 stony, untillable land to sandy or clayey loam of high productive 

 value, may often be found within a small area. Except in the central 

 valley the soils are almost universally rocky, a condition which greatly 

 lowers the agricultural value of otherwise fertile land. In the high- 

 lands the best soils are on the tops of ridges, where there are often wide 

 stretches of exceedingly productive farm land. In the central valley 

 also the soil is for the most part fertile and produces excellent crops 

 of tobacco, grains, and fruits. Over one-third of the State, however, 

 is unsuitable for agriculture, either through poor soil or broken and 

 steep topography. 



The climate of Connecticut is moderate. Late spring frosts often 

 damage the fruit crops, but winter temperatures are not, as a rule, 

 excessive. The annual rainfall amounts to about 47 inches. 



