506 MR. W. G. CLARKE ON THE MERES OF WRETHAM HEATH. 
wrote in 1869 : “ Charming as is the aspect of this wide expanse of 
water with its green islets and thick belt of rushes at the further 
end, there is an absence of that utter wildness of character which 
marks the other two.” The mere showed evidence of having 
extended far beyond its area in 1869, and a crop of grain was 
fenced in and grown on the reclaimed soil. The water was 
extremely deep in places, and contained good Perch. Mr. Eobert 
Stevenson says that Fowlmere gradually increased in size from 
November 1862, until March 1883, when it was eighteen feet deep 
in parts and covered thirty acres. According to the Ordnance 
Survey map, in 1882, the mere was 528 yards long and 330 wide; 
a fine sheet of water for that part of the county. On June 5th 
of that year, Mr. Southwell saw a large number of Ducks on this 
mere, five, with their broods, being under the field of his glasses at 
one time. In January, 1884, the mere covered a considerable area 
and there were two smaller meres on the eastern side. Later in 
the year several fields were flooded in spite of the drought, and a 
noteworthy item in nidification was that a number of waterhens’ nests 
appeared to be built in old blackbirds’ nests in the hedges. The 
following year the mere Was reduced to half its extent in 1884. 
Mr. C. J. Staniland visited Fowlmere in July 1887, and in the 
‘Graphic’ of October 15th, had a sketch of the mere, reproduced 
in the ‘Daily Graphic’ of August 30th, 1890, and the following 
brief description : — “ Fowlmere repaid us for all our exertions. 
Imagine a solitary pool surrounded by firs at one end and open 
country at the other, swarming with Peewit, Teal, Duck and Sea- 
gulls, set in the midst of a lonely heath.” In 1889 and the follow- 
ing year this mere was well filled with water. It was higher than 
usual on May 26th, 1894, and the wind raised moderate-sized 
wavelets that beat on the marge. The mere had overflowed part 
of the western shore and the green tops of the bushes just peeped 
above the surface for some yards from the edge of the water. 
Fowlmere was still as high as it had been in the previous May on 
January 12th, 1895, when every part was frozen over and provided 
a splendid area for skating. The difference in the rhythm suffi- 
ciently attested the difference in depth in the various parts of 
the mere. The northern end was much the deeper, further proved 
by the fact that this remained open much longer than other 
