10 



The Natuealist. 



most picturesque little valley from the west. The main valley now 

 becomes grander in its aspect, and, perhaps a mile or two above Blub- 

 berhouses, may be considered as prettier than in any other part, the 

 hills which immediately fringe the stream being loftier and well- 

 wooded, and in several places overhung with fine bold crags. 



About Blubberhouses itself the valley becomes wider, and the river 

 acquires more volume. Here it is utilized for the service of man, and 

 the waters of Washburn, gathered from a wide area of moorland 

 country, are collected into the three fine picturesque and Jake-like 

 reservoirs at Fewston, Swinsty, and Lindley Wood, which now afford 

 the sole water-supply of the 320,000 inhabitants of Leeds. The twa 

 upper reservoirs are geographically continuous, being separated only 

 by a steep embankment, but between them and the lower, or Lindley 

 Wood reservoir, intervenes about three miles of very pretty country, 

 diversified by mixed woodlands, of which Dob Park Wood is the 

 most extensive. The lowermost reservoir is most picturesquely 

 situated at the foot of Lindley Wood, from which it is named, and 

 which in summer presents a remarkable aspect from the immense 

 abundance of foxgloves it possesses, and which, viewed from 

 below, look not unlike regiments of soldiers. The low grounds about 

 the river side below Lindley Woods, are in spring enlivened with the 

 flowers of the daffodil, once so numerous that Dr. Lees remarks that 

 they form quite a feature in the botany of the valley. After leaving 

 the Lindley Wood reservoir, the Washburn flows first S.E. and then 

 due S., past Farnley Park and the pretty village of Leathley, and 

 finally — after a course of 17 miles — reaches the point about a couple 

 of miles east of Otley, where it effects its junction with the Wharfe, 

 or as Drayton, more than two centuries ago, in the quaint language 

 of his ' Polyolbion ' put it 



" Washbrook with her wealth her mistress doth supply." 



Geologically the whole district may be considered as entirely com- 

 posed of the sandstones and shales of the millstone grit series of 

 rocks, and this uniformity of geological structure produces a note- 

 worthy effect upon the vegetable productions, as evidenced by the 

 individual preponderance of certain gregarious species. To say 

 nothing of the vast stretches of heather and' coarse grass which clothe , 

 the elevated moorlands, Washburndale is remarkable for the great 

 profusion of daffodils in the low country about Lindley Wood, and 

 the immense abundance of foxgloves in the woods and lanes, to which 

 allusion has already been made. Then the river slopes are bright 

 green with bracken, while the roadsides are white with flowers of 



