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. Erom 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 otlier 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 



