THE WEATHERED ZONE 239 



Quincy, Illinois. The presence of this soil horizon was first 

 brought to the writer's notice by a well section at Yarmouth in 

 Des Moines county, Iowa. For this reason, and because the 

 name of this village is less likely to be confusing than names 

 which are more common, it seems appropriate to apply the name 

 Yarmouth to this weathered zone. There is also at Yarmouth 

 not only a soil horizon, but apparently a pronounced erosion 

 between the Illinoian and Kansan sheets. 



THE YARMOUTH SECTIONS. 



About ten years ago, Mr. William Stelter, of Yarmouth, 

 Iowa, sunk a well near that village which passed through a bed 

 of peat at the base of the Illinoian till sheet. The peat con- 

 tained small bones which have been identified by Dr. F. W. 

 True, of the United States National Museum, as (1) a portion 

 of the pelvis and upper part of the femur, of the wood rabbit 

 i^Lepus sylvaticus) , and (2) the scapula of the common skunk 

 {Mephiticiis mephitica). The following section is based upon a 

 statement made by Mr. Stelter soon after the well was dug and 

 upon specimens of the several classes of material penetrated, 

 which were also furnished me for examination : 



Feet. 



Soil and loess loam, ------- 4 



Yellow till (Illinoian), ------ 20 



Gray till (Illinoian), ----- - 10 



Peat bed with twigs and bones, - - 15 



Gray or ashy clay containing fragments of wood, - - 12 



Fine sand, -------- 16 



Yellow sandy clay with few pebbles (Kansan), - - 33 



Total depth, - - - - - - no 



One mile south of Yarmouth, on the farm of Mr. F. Smith, 

 a well was in process of excavation during a visit made by the 

 writer to that region some years later, and the following section 

 was determined by examination of the material in the dump, and 

 with explanations by the well-borer. The well is located on a 

 high point on the ridge marking the border of the Illinoian 



