SOILS OF MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. 11 
due to this. They are derived from the same rocks and by the 
same processes as the Gloucester soils, but differ from them in drain- 
age and aeration. These soils are more prevalent in eastern Massa- 
chusetts than elsewhere. If drained, they would be of value for 
grass, corn, and some of the late truck crops, but they are not suit- 
able for the tree fruits. 
A group of soils, seemingly with restricted distribution and which 
has not yet been officially named, but which will be described here 
as the Essex series, includes soils that are dark brown to nearly black 
in the soil, with yellow to light-brown subsoils. They seem to lie 
intermediate between the Gloucester and Whitman. They are better 
drained and at present more productive than the Whitman. 
The Merrimac soils are brown to yellowish brown, with yellowish- 
brown subsoils. They occur on flat surfaces and are due to the depo- 
sition of material from running water. They consist, therefore, of 
assorted material, often have porous gravelly or sandy subsoils, and 
are on that account deficient in moisture-holding capacity. Where 
the gravel bed is several feet below the surface they are not 
droughty. They occur most frequently and in larger areas east of 
the Connecticut River. They are the prevailing soils in the flat 
sandy and gravelly lowland belts and in the flat areas in the eastern 
and southeastern part of Massachusetts. They are not so preva- 
lent in Connecticut as in Massachusetts, though they are found along 
most of the streams. They are not subject to overflow. The heavier 
members are productive soils, except those with very gravelly sub- 
soils near the surface. They are usually free from stones, but are 
nearly always gravelly. 
The Wethersfield soils are the predominant soils of the Connecticut 
Valley basin and the Pomperaug Valley, aside from the soils of the 
river and creek bottom lands. The soils of the sandy members are 
gray or yellowish gray, often with a slight salmon tinge. The sur- 
face soils of the heavier members of the series range from pale to 
deep salmon color. The subsoils are salmon, red, or yellowish red in 
color. They are all, except the sands, good soils, naturally produc- 
tive. The region of their occurrence is well developed agriculturally. 
The Middlefield series includes the glaciated Triassic sandstone 
and shale soils which are characteristically yellow or gray at the 
surface. The subsoils are usually yellow. The series is derived from 
the same geological formation as the Wethersfield formation with 
which it is closely associated, though the color contrast is strong. 
In places the soils are complexly intermixed. 
There is another group of soils occurring on the trap ridges which 
have been derived from ironstone (diabase). They occur typically 
on Talcott Mountain and associated trap ridges. They are impor- ». 
tant fruit soils and for convenience in this report are referred to 
