SOILS OF MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. 55 
While soils so deficient in humus as to be leachy in the case of 
sands, and stiff, intractable, and cloddy in the case of clays, clay 
loams, and loams, should have their humus content increased until 
these unfavorable conditions for crop growth of any kind be over- 
come as far as practicable, it is impossible to ignore the effects of the 
inherent physical character of the soil itself as related to adaptation 
to crops, and, in some cases at least, varieties of the same crop. It 
is easily possible, furthermore, on soils of medium texture, especially, 
so to accentuate the vegetative habit of the Baldwin that the color 
of the fruit becomes impaired. In current orchard practice this is 
a common occurrence which growers seek to overcome by withholding 
ammonia-carrying fertilizers, by checking tillage, and by avoiding 
humus-forming cover crops. It lowers cost of production to let 
nature help as much as possible. 
In both States nearness to salt water is sometimes suggested as a 
cause for deficient color of red apples, especially the Baldwin; and 
while sufficient evidence is not at hand to refute the statement com- 
pletely, it is apparent in many cases that the difficulty is chiefly one 
of impervious subsoil. Low elevation is also a factor in some in- 
stances. In the Connecticut Valley, for example, 35 miles from the 
Sound shore, Baldwins do not color satisfactorily, even though the 
soil is favorable. At the highest altitudes in northern Berkshire and 
Franklin Counties, Mass., and farther north in Vermont, Baldwin 
shows a tendency to become slightly constricted and ridgy at the 
calyx end. It was not as plump in the season of 1912, at least, as 
at altitudes of 1,000 feet. The minimum elevation where this effect 
was noticeable in 1912 was around 1,200 feet, while at 1,600 feet, 
along the Vermont line, the tendency was more pronounced. It may 
be added, too, that the variety becomes more susceptible to winter 
injury at about this same point, thus suggesting proximity to those 
climatic conditions where Baldwin should be replaced by the 
Fameuse and Mcintosh or others of the Fameuse group. As one 
drives in this locality from characteristic Baldwin territory through 
the transition zone to higher altitudes, where this variety no longer 
develops to its best, it is most interesting to note corresponding 
changes in the natural forest growth, and in the varieties of farm 
crops. With increasing elevation these changes are first noticed on 
exposed and wind-swept areas, where apple trees lean away from the 
direction of the prevailing winds. A given variety of flint corn be- 
comes more dwarfed than at lower elevations. The hemlock, which 
prevails at 1,000 feet, gives way to spruce in protected situations, 
while the high ground, which is more exposed, is occupied with a 
much larger percentage of the hardwoods — beech, maple, black, and 
yellow birch. 
