740 THE ILLINOIS GLACIAL LOBE. 



clear by the records of these borings. There appears, however, to be a 

 deposit of sand extending from the base of the Wisconsin till sheet down 

 to the bed of muck. 



At the village of Findlay, in the north part of this county, several gas 

 wells have been obtained at shallow depths, ranging from 45 feet to about 

 150 feet. One well only 45 feet in depth has furnished gas for a period of 

 five years in sufficient amount to supply three stoves. Some of the wells 

 j^ass through a thin bed of rock before obtaining gas, while others obtain it 

 in the drift. The pressure is estimated to be about 12 pounds per square 

 inch in the wells now in use, though in some cases a stronger pressure may 

 be found since some have not been tested with a gauge. 



MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 

 GENERAL STATEMENT. 



Montgomery County is situated in the south-central part of the State, 

 with Hillsboro as the county seat, and has an area of 702 square miles. 

 The drainage is mainly southward through the several headwater forks of 

 Shoal Creek, a tributary of the Kaskaskia River. The extreme north 

 border of the county is tributary to the Sangamon River. There are 

 narrow strips with flat, rather imperfectly drained surface on the divide 

 between Shoal Creek and streams flowing north or west; but the greater 

 part of the county has good drainage. The belts of knolls and ridges noted 

 in southwestern Shelby County cross the eastern and central" portions of 

 Montgomery County, and also occur at a few places in the southern part of 

 the county. The best defined belt is in the northeastern part, immediately 

 east of Witt, Nokomis, and Ohlman. A ridge there rises to a height of 

 nearly 100 feet aboA-e the bordering plains, and is maintained continuously 

 for several miles. 



On the plane portions of the county a hard blue till is usually entered 

 at 15 or 20 feet, after penetrating beds of loess and yellow till. Many of 

 the wells are obtained aboA-e this blue till. On the knolls and ridges the 

 distance to the blue till is apparently greater than on the plains. A few 

 wells haA-e entered it at about 40 feet, after penetrating a series of clay, 

 sand, and graA^el beds of brown or yellow color. In a few places on the 

 plain the drift has been found to haA*e a thickness of more than 100 feet. 

 On the prominent knolls and ridges it probably exceeds that amount. 



