SOILS OF MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. 25 
or even precipitous. The valley of the Deerfield is not very wide 
after it enters the western highland, but in many places narrow 
bands of alluvial or high-terrace soils are well farmed. 
On both sides of the Deerfield Valley, extending back for many 
miles, are hill towns with considerable areas of smooth land. Some 
of these already have good agricultural records for their output of 
farm stock and orchard products, and others seem worthy of further 
development. Even the best developed of these towns have made 
little more than a beginning, however, on the upbuilding of their 
opportunities. Of this broad section of good agricultural soils no 
general boundaries may be drawn, though the following-named towns 
are representative of the belt : Shelburne, Coleraine, Leyden, Heath, 
Charlemont, Buckland, Conway, Ashfield, Cummington, Worthing- 
ton, and part of Plainfield. 
It seems probable that the small amount of lime entering into the 
composition of some of the rocks from which the Gloucester soils 
of this section have been derived is partly responsible for their pro- 
ductiveness, which is apparently a little greater than that of the 
Gloucester soils of the Eastern Highlands, where lime does not seem 
to be present in the rocks. This comparison applies just as well to 
Vermont (the State where the mountains are green) and to New 
Hampshire (the State where the mountains are white), the latter 
corresponding to the Eastern Highlands and the former to the 
Western Highlands. 
Three general soil types cover the principal areas of the best farm 
lands of this district. Of these, the Gloucester loam, a brown, mel- 
low, medium loam, with subsoil of yellow or light-brown loam or 
light clay loam, is especially noticeable. This soil is naturally well 
adapted to the production of corn and clover, and when well handled 
gives excellent returns with these crops. A companion type, the 
Bernardston loam, consists of a very heavy loam, which is somewhat 
moist, and of grayish-brown or grayish-black color. The subsoil is 
gray or grayish. This is the best timothy soil of the region, and on 
it pasture grasses hold for a long time. As much of the type would 
be improved by artificial drainage, however, it will be recognized 
that this soil is not as well adapted to the clovers as the preceding 
type. In its present condition a good deal of this kind of soil needs 
lime, The third type, which is representative of the lighter soil 
areas, consists of a fine sandy loam, with a subsoil of loam, fine sandy 
loam, or sandy loam. Its area is much less than that of the two 
preceding types. All of these soils contain stony areas, some being 
so stony as to interfere with tillage, or at least to increase its expense. 
Interspersed with the prevailing soil conditions described are many 
local areas of rougher topography. These include slopes to stream 
