296 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



composed in place by the action of the atmosphere. Tlie top 

 of a Connecticut peak is seen to be rounded ofif and cut down 

 to solid rock. No bowlders formed by decomposition occur 

 on it. Formerly this peak resembled the one from V^irginia. 

 Another noticeable feature of the soil covering in Connecticut 

 is the fact that loose materials lie directly upon solid polished 

 rock beneath. There is no gradual change from loose soil to 

 firm rock, but an abrupt transition. Furthermore, the soil is 

 often composed of rock entirely different from that on which 

 it rests. It has plainly been carried to its present position. 

 South of the limit of glaciation there is a gradual transition 

 from soil to unchanged rock. 



This material deposited by the glacier is of two main 

 classes, — the till or bowlder clay and the stratified drift. 



Till is the material left by the glacier and came in part from 

 that which was underneath the ice, and in part from the frag- 

 ments at the side and on top of the ice. It is a jumbled mass, 

 unstratified, and composed of materials of all sorts and of all 

 sizes. It contains clay and small pebbles and large bowlders. 

 The bowlders may be like the bed rock underneath and may 

 have no relation to it. From the nature of the till it is evi- 

 dent that nothing like definite water-bearing beds can occur in 

 it and that different parts of this mass can contain different 

 amounts of water. Where the clays and sands are arranged 

 in roughly parallel position the conditions are favorable for 

 heavy water supply. Where the amount of clay is very large 

 the conditions are not favorable. In general the till is of suffi- 

 cient coarseness to contain a large amount of water, but it is 

 difficult to predict the character of the water supply or its 

 amount. 



Where till layers rest directly on the rock, particularly on 

 hill slopes, conditions are favorable for springs, and many 

 springs and wet water seeps of this type are found throughout 

 the State. Till occupies most of the highlands of Connecticut 

 and is spread generally over the bed rock to a thickness varying 

 from a few feet to over 100 feet. The till in valleys is gen- 

 erally underneath the stratified sands and gravels. 



Stratified Drift is made up of materials deposited by gla- 

 ciers, but the materials have been carried by water from the 

 melting of the great ice sheet and distributed over the valleys 



