440  CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,  1905. 
Near  West  Barnstable  the  only  clay  deposit  which  has  so  far  been  worked  on  a  consider 
able  scale  is  located.  The  pit  is  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  east  of  the  railroad  station 
at  a  point  where  the  railroad  cuts  through  a  low  hill.  The  clay  is  quite  soft  and  plastic 
and  near  the  surface  is  of  a  yellowish  color,  with  a  slightly  greenish  tinge.  It  is  interbeddec 
with  lenses  of  sand  and  layers  of  cobbles,  and  contains  throughout  the  12  feet  exposed  in 
the  pit  a  considerable  number  of  small  erratic  bowlders,  indicating  that  it  probably  belongs 
to  the  Montauk  drift.  Toward  the  bottom  of  the  pit  the  clay  is  more  bluish,  and  it  is  said 
that  a  test  hole  was  sunk  for  a  distance  of  20  feet  through  similar  material.  The  clays 
have  been  somewhat  folded  by  the  ice  which  has  passed  over  them  since  their  deposition. 
Stratification  is  not  indicated  other  than  by  the  sand  and  bowlder  layers  mentioned. 
North  of  the  railroad  the  clay  is  said  to  be  of  deeper-blue  color  and  to  give  bricks  of  a  much 
darker  shade.  All  of  the  clay  is  somewhat  sandy,  but  additional  sand  has  to  be  added 
in  brickmaking. 
The  clay  is  reported  in  the  wells  in  the  vicinity  of  West  Barnstable  at  various  depths, 
apparently  having  a  very  irregular  surface. 
Sandwich  region. — An  old  clay  pit  is  located  near  the  end  of  Town  Neck,  northeast  of 
Sandwich,  but  it  is  now  grassed  over  and  no  clay  is  to  be  seen.  Near  by  is  a  house  built 
of  the  brick  from  this  pit.  According  to  well  drivers,  the  clay  occurs  all  along  the  shore 
for  a  mile  or  so,  both  northwest  and  southeast  of  Sandwich.  It  is  said  to  have  an  irregular 
surface,  varying  from  a  few  feet  above  tide  to  several  feet  below.  The  upper  few  feet  of 
the  clay  contain  pockets  of  sand,  which  often  yields  water  under  some  artesian  pressure. 
Below  these  sandy  layers  t  he  solid  blue  clay  is  encountered.  It  is  known  to  be  over  20  feet 
thick,  but  the  bottom  lias  never  been  reached,  so  the  maximum  thickness  is  unknown. 
Clay  is  also  said  to  have  been  formerly  worked  at  East  Sandwich,  where  plenty  of  blue  clay 
was  found.  In  general,  however,  tin1  clay  in  the  Sandwich  district  is  so  near  tide  level 
that  difficulties  in  draining  would  be  experienced  if  extensive  pits  were  to  be  opened.  The 
clay,  however,  is  of  good  quality  and  considerable  amounts  might  be  obtained  with  moder- 
ate stripping  without  going  much  below  sea  level. 
Falmouth  region. — The  Gardiner  clay  has  not  been  seen  on  the  mainland  in  this  region. 
Near  Woods  Hole,  however,  clay  is  encountered  in  some  of  the  wells,  and  can  sometimes 
be  found  under  the  beach  within  a  few  feet  of  the  surface.  So  far  as  could  be  learned,  it  is 
usually  of  a  yellowish  or  light-gray  color,  and  carries  pebbles  or  bowlders,  which  indicates 
that  it  probably  belongs  to  the  Montauk  drift.  Local  beds  of  more  or  less  clayey  sands 
arc  also  encountered  in  the  sand  pits  at  the  cranberry  bogs.  None  of  the  so-called  clays, 
so  far  as  seen,  contain  a  very  high  percentage  of  true  clay,  and  none  are  likely  to  prove 
of  any  economic  value.  The  Elizabeth  Islands  were  not  visited,  but  the  Gardiner  clay  is 
known  to  occur  on  Nonamessel  and  others  of  the  islands.  It  is  usually  of  no  great  thick- 
ness, and  is  commonly  buried  to  a  considerable  depth  by  sand  and  gravel.  Because  of  the 
small  amounts  of  the  clays  and  the  extensive  stripping  necessary,  it  will  probably  not 
warrant  economic  development. 
Clays  in  adjacent  regions. — Clay  is  reported  at  or  near  water  level  in  the  valley  of  Monu- 
ment River,  but  appears  never  to  have  been  worked.  A  yellowish  clay  was  once  worked 
for  local  purposes  on  Burgess  Point,  on  the  east  side  of  Buzzards  Bay,  near  its  head,  and 
some  very  sandy  clays,  or,  more  properly,  clayey  sands,  are  found  in  thin  layers  in  some 
of  the  sand  pits  near  the  cranberry  bogs. 
The  nearest  clay  outcrop  of  consequence  is  at  Indian  Hill,  between  Sandwich  and  Ply- 
mouth. The  clays  at  this  point  are  exposed  in  the  bluffs  for  a  considerable  distance,  and 
have  a  thickness  of  20  feet  or  more.  In  general  character  the  clays  most  nearly  resemble 
those  on  Pleasant  Bay,  at  Chatham.  The  lower  and  unaltered  portion  is  of  the  dark-gray 
to  nearly  black  type,  characteristic  of  the  unaltered  Gardiner  formation,  while  the  upper 
portions  are  of  the  greenish,  brownish,  and  yellowish  types,  which  everywhere  characterize 
the  weathered  parts  of  the  same  formation.  A  few  pebbles  occur  in  the  upper  portion  of 
the  clay,  possibly  indicating  a  reworking  by  the  Montauk  ice.  The  clays  at  this  point 
are  overlain  by  20  to  30  feet  or  more  of  sands  and  gravels,  which  would  have  to  be  stripped 
