331) OBSERVATIONS ON THE TLANKTON OF LOOE POOL. 



which, besides forming a refuge for ships in distress, would also 

 make an admirable port of call, and facilitate the transit of tin 

 and copper from the numerous mines in the immediate neigh- 

 bourhood. This was of course long before the railway had 

 crossed the Tamar. 



In the Appendix to his Report, note C, Mr. Eendel estimates 

 the amount of water percolating through the bar of sand from 

 the pool to the sea to be 7,000,000 cubic feet of water every 

 twenty-four hours. 



His next note, D, gives the results of the borings made in the 

 bar of sand. Without burdening this paper with long extracts 

 from this report it will answer my purpose to state that at a 

 depth of 51 feet, or 18^ feet under low- water level, the deepest 

 bore made, no rock was touched. 



The sides of the main portion of the lake are steep and 

 densely wooded, the trees in many instances extending to the 

 water's edge. As most of these trees have deciduous leaves, the 

 amount of leaf-mould added to the lake during each autumn must 

 be very great. Besides this, a vast quantity of rubbish has 

 been washed into the valley, and thence into the pool since the 

 commencement of the last century from the numerous mines 

 in the Wendron district ; but these are now all closed. Should 

 the mining industry ever revive, there seems to be no doubt 

 that at least the upper portion of the pool would soon become 

 silted up. 



The foreshores, with the excej)tion of the southern end, are 

 strewn with stones of various sizes, detached rocks being present 

 along the eastern and western sides ; but in no instance do they 

 extend beyond a few yards from land. If they do, they are 

 covered with a layer of the finest soft mud, of a light chocolate 

 colour. I have on many occasions made a microscopic examina- 

 tion of this deposit taken at various depths, and have been 

 astonished to find it almost destitute of animal and vegetable 

 life. 



Aquatic vegetation is not abundant in the Pool, The 

 following is a list of plants taken from the Rev. C. A. Johns' 

 work, the only book I have been able to find which gives a 

 complete list of plants found in and adjacent to this lake: — 



