SEVKNTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK-PART X. 



565 



stiff anrl impervious; the former absorbs water readily; the till does not. 

 So the water flows underground over the surface of the till until it comes 

 to a place on the side of the hill where it seeps out. This is the reason for 

 the existence of the "spouty" places which are quite generally to be 

 found on the hillsides of southern Iowa, and create a situation which only 

 tiling can remedy. One hears a great deal in southern Iowa about "hard- 

 pan," but it is nothing else than the till, which forms the impervious ma- 

 terial under the loess. 



