96 FORESTS, WOODS, AND TREES 
the surface. There is scarcely any peat, the water even in 
times of flood being very clear. The mountains surrounding 
the lake are very precipitous, and are used as sheep pastures, 
At present there are only two farmsteads, used for sheep 
farms, within the catchment area, and very little ploughing 
is done; but the fells are still let as sheep grazing. The 
annual rainfall is heavy, varying in wet years between 100 
inches in the valley and 137 inches in the hills on the west 
side, and in dry years between about 60 and 80 inches in the 
same places. From the almost entire absence of peat and the 
precipitous and rocky elevation of the Thirlmere area, the yield 
of water is largely in excess of that obtained from other water- 
sheds in this country. The lake in its natural state covered 
328 acres, and had a normal level of 533 feet above the 
sea, but a masonry dam constructed across the outlet has 
raised the level, and increased the area to 500 acres (14). 
When the Corporation acquired Thirlmere (Fig. 14) 
there were about 283 acres of old woods, consisting of 
sessile oak, ash, beech, and alder, with scattered larch 
plantations. The latter were splendid in growth, some of 
the trees attaining 100 feet in height and 8 to 10 feet in 
girth, and there was little disease. These woods were 
maintained by the Waterworks Committee, who started 
nurseries and made new plantations, which amounted by 
the end of 1907 to 389 acres. At that time the entire 
area consisted of lake, 500 acres; farms, 1500 acres; fell 
(high mountain grazing), 5000 acres; intake (land enclosed 
from the fell, but for which additional rent is not paid by 
the occupiers), 3000 acres; old woods and new plantations, 
672 acres; proposed plantations, 328 acres. Of the fell 
about half, that on the east side, is common land dependent 
on the farms. The other half, on the west of the lake, is 
the absolute property of the Corporation. Prof. W. R. Fisher 
(15) drew up a working plan and report on the woodlands 
around Thirlmere in the beginning of 1908. A trained 
forester was appointed, and regular planting was taken in 
hand, which has continued up to the present time, the area 
of the plantations made from 1908 till February 1917 
