100 FOEESTS, WOODS, AND TEEES 



formation is millstone grit underlying glacial clay with 

 boulders', forming a soil wet in winter and very dry in 

 summer. The soil is generally a sandy loam, warm and 

 dry on the southern slopes, where much of the clay appears 

 to have been denuded, and cold and stiff with the clay pre- 

 dominating on the northern slopes, while there is some peat 

 at the high altitudes. The land may be roughly divided 

 into two classes, grassland and moorland, the former occupy- 

 ing the lower reaches immediately surrounding the reservoirs, 

 while moorland and poor pasture occupy the upper reaches. 

 There are about 120 farms in the valley, nearly all small 

 holdings of grass, with little arable land. In order to pre- 

 vent any pollution from these farms, the Corporation decided 

 in 1904 to reafforest part of the valley, with the primary 

 object of purifying the water, and secondly, with the view 

 of giving work to the unemployed in Leeds. For three 

 seasons men drawn from the Unemployed Bureau were 

 engaged in planting. Economic planting proved to be im- 

 possible with this class of labour ; and since 1909 the work 

 has been done with a permanent staff of ten men, with 

 extra help during busy times. 30 to 40 acres of new 

 land surrounding the reservoirs have been planted each year ; 

 and up to August 1914 about 835 acres had been planted 

 with 3,400,000 trees. In October 1918 the area of grow- 

 ing timber was "over 900 acres, and the results very good 

 indeed" (17). 



With regard to the use of the unemployed during three 

 seasons, Mr. C. G. Henzell, Waterworks Engineer of Leeds, 

 states (18) that the average cost of draining, fencing, plant- 

 ing, etc., was £12 per acre; but that the cost should not 

 ,have been more than £8 per acre, the excess being due to 

 the employment of inexperienced men. Much of the work 

 was badly done, and the failures were quite 30 per cent. 

 The men were not accustomed to spade work, and few were 

 able to stand the rough weather. Any scheme of afforesta- 

 tion will undoubtedly afford employment to a considerable 

 number of men, but planting trees is skilled work and 

 requires preliminary training The great advantage of 



