THE FERN BULLETIN 



Vol. XIV. JANUARY, 1906. No. i 



THE FERN FLORA OF CONNECTICUT. 



By Charles H. Bissell. 



The little state of Connecticut forms the southwest- 

 ern corner of the group of six states generally known 

 as New England. It has an average width of about 

 sixty miles, from north to south, and from east to west 

 a length of over ninety miles. Its southern boundary is 

 formed by the waters of Long- Island Sound. The gen- 

 eral contour is a series of hill ridges extending north 

 and south, reaching their greatest elevation along the 

 northern border and decreasing gradually in height as 

 they approach the seashore. The highest point in the 

 state is in the extreme northwestern corner where Bear 

 Mountain reaches an elevation of 2355 feet. The state 

 is cut across from north to south by three rivers, the 

 Housatonic to the west, the Connecticut in the central 

 part, and the Thames to the east ; except for small 

 streams emptying- directly into Long Island Sound 

 practically the entire surface of the state is drained by 

 these rivers. Small lakes and ponds abound, but Ban- 

 tam Lake, in the town of Litchfield, noted as the home 

 of Marsilia, is the largest body of fresh water in the 

 state, being about three miles long with an average 

 width of at least three-fourths of a mile. 



The greater part of the rock formation is granitic 

 in character, but other forms occur. A belt of Con- 

 necticut River sandstone stretches across the state from 

 north to south in the central part, and this in places is 

 mingled with ridges or dykes of trap rock. In the 

 northwestern part of the state are districts where the 



