, 1859-08-11
The Frozen Well In Vermont.
rHnp 31TcHsn~E'S REpnrr


Professor Hitchcock. Of Amherst, read q pa
per before the Scientific Association, on the 4th
instant, upcu tue frozen well at brandon, YER
mont. lie said it was part Of his report upon
the geology eftle state, but IL lad received per
mission from the Governor 10 present it at this
meeting The well had been examined by hint
selfaud his assistants, 4. D. Hagar anil c. L.
Hitchcock. We cory the following extracts
from Professor 1itchcocl's paper:
's.The well is situated about ono mile SOUTH
west of Brandon village, from an eighth to
lace is not raised very much above the river,
and is composed Of sand and gravel, with one
ofthe varitsrs Of the loucr siluriap' limestone.
showing itself occasionally in yosses and low
ridges breaking through The ground. and doubt
less undrrly ms tue whole superficial aerosltcs
sand md gravel as may be seen in many places
oluug 1bs Western side Of tho Green Mountains,
and Indeed all oyer New England. II is what is
called modified drift. aud lies Ahore genuine
drift, having been the result Of aqueous ugcncS,
subsequently 10 tle drift period.
aThe well was du. in Sosember, 1865. For
about ten feet it passed through soil md grave].
ilIeu about four feet Of clay. Bvlow this lay
depositc froni twelve 10 fifteen feet thick of fro
zen gravel. with quite leFgs houlderk inteFtnt1-
cd. Continuing the excavation two feet fartber-
in the same material, watcr was reached. The
wluIe- depth is not far from thiry-Gve feet.
Thu frozen part passed through appeared pre-
csc1y like the same material frozen 1t the sur
face in winter.
t'r,nu.ediateiy west Of the we'll rises hill Of
gravel and saul which may be thirty feet above
tue we'll, and is at its south end some- fifty to
serenity feet high This ridge ID an eighth Of u
| mile long and runs northeast and southwest
| Near its northern end II il crossed by road
| WHICH has been excaratcd to depth Of sixty
! two feet, Al tho top OF the ridge bed OF clay
! nui thc4 layers OF sand aud gravel arc nearly
horizontal. hut lower down they dip caster'y
hill thev take a horizontal position. The .pel-
bies in the s1rata were abouI three inches il ti.
ame.er, aud remarkably free from sand and
| gravel.
.sThu dip Of those beds Of gravel, sand and
clay, makes it almost certain that this ridge Of
! DRIFT WIS formed by current from the north
| east.
1.-The we'll was stoned up late il the autumn,
and during the winter ice formed upon ths va.
Ter III one night tuo inches thick 1t continued
to freeze till April. since which lime no ice has
toru,ed on the surface but when visited June
18Th, the stone. Of the well. for, some fotr oI
i've feet abovc the water, were mostly loaded
with ice, and the temperature Of the wafer wa:
| only one deeree abovr freezing. July Alb there
l.wss ice in tho we'll: The water at that tiut
was twenty-five inches deep. About one hui
| dred rods distant is another yell the tenpera
turc Of which, on the 18th Of June, was 6fly-on'
another well, twelve feet deep, sixty rods dis
tant, had . temperature Of fo.tT-hve
In stutIug the various theories in regard L
this interesting matter, Professor utcheocI
said:. - :.
"Unon the 'whote, ,thungh it is possible tha
the Brandon deposifc is "a remnants Elacis
ner;od. lie tsyked with more farur >up0n tn
| thnr$t Z $f1o 1n4rtf ri