494 SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.—D, E. 
various suggestions were made, among them the planting of the Maligne- 
Medicine drainage area with Speckled Trout, Salvelinus fontinalis. Most 
of the experiments were successful, and a report made for the Board this year 
states: ‘ The stocking of the Maligne-Medicine system with speckled ‘trout 
has given results second to none in the history of fish culture.’ 
SECTION E.—GEOGRAPHY. 
Thursday, September 7. 
Mr. M. Gimson.—The water supply of Leicestershire, with special reference 
to human settlement (10.0). 
The subsoil of Leicestershire consists mainly of impervious clays—the 
Lias Clay and the Keuper Marl—in which water, when obtainable at all, 
is found at considerable depths. 
Water near the surface is only found in: 
(a) The Valley Gravels. 
(b) The Glacial Gravels. 
The former are found on each side of the principal rivers, and provide 
good sites for villages, when in the form of River Terraces, with water 
easily accessible. 
The latter occur mainly on the higher ground, where the glacial covering 
still remains. 'This covering is principally Boulder Clay, but water-bearing 
sands and gravels are found associated with it in places. 
Such sands and gravels form the only source from which water could, 
in early days, be readily obtained away from the main watercourses, and 
their influence in deciding the position of settlements is clear. It is particu- 
larly well shown in East Leicestershire, where, almost without exception, 
villages on the uplands are situated on small isolated patches of sand or 
gravel, and where in the southern portion there are many such villages, 
while in the northern part large areas of the higher ground are scantily 
populated, owing to the glacial covering being devoid of sand or gravel. 
Miss G. M. Sarson.—The growth of population in Leicester (10.45). 
The city of Leicester is situated in the valley of the river Soar, from 
which the ground rises eastward and westward. To the east are the 
Spinney Hills and the Victoria Park, the former 264 ft., the latter 289 ft. 
high, while westward are the Dane Hills, over 200 ft. above sea level. The 
oldest part of the city was situated on a gravel terrace on a spur 190 ft. to 
210 ft. high, on the right bank of the Soar, which formed a boundary and 
a defence on the western side. To the north the ground sloped downwards 
to the marshy meadows of the Soar, 20 ft. lower than the gravel terrace. 
The Fosse Way entered from the north-east, to cross the river at the present 
West Bridge, and afterwards passed in a south-westward direction towards 
High Cross. In medieval times life centred round the abbey and monastic 
houses. ‘These declined in importance, but there was an increased trade 
in the markets, the chief of which—the Saturday market—was in the south- 
east corner of the town. Here the agricultural produce of the district was 
sold, for Leicester was the market centre of the county. 
The population until the end of the seventeenth century has been estimated 
