THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
399
under grass. The farm is in a bend of the river, and stood, therefore, in the
direct advance of the menacing tide ; to-day Mr. Armour has but 24 acres
out of 174 that are unflooded. He took me out to see how the water had
overrun even his kitchen garden, and lapped around the foundations of his
barns, stopping little short of the residence itself. From one of his upper
windows he pointed out the breaches, and the partly obliterated land marks.
Water, from this point of view, was everywhere. One set of farm buildings
was an island in the midst of a great lake; there were small patches on the
surface little larger than the heads of cabbages, and lines of dots such as the
drift-net corks will make on the fishing grounds. 1 went again next morning
when the tide was out: the seeming cabbage heads had then resolved them-
selves into oak and willow trees, and the lines of dots were the post tops of
fences four bars high. It was most curious to note the change as the tide
flowed out through the breaches. Gradually the original objects of the
fields declared themselves—fences, knolls, ditches, trees, hedges, gates, and
remnants of huts, to be left dry till next tide. Every scrap of vegetation had
been killed."1
The article then discusses the question who is responsible
for putting things right and reclaiming these miles of submerged
farm-lands, if the owners be too poor to incur the expense, but
the writer admits that we here find ourselves in a maze of
difficulties. He concludes by asking, almost in despair of other
remedy, "Has the Minister of Agriculture no interest and no
voice in a crisis like this ?"
THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
INSPECTION OF THE WALTHAMSTOW RESERVOIRS
OF THE EAST LONDON WATERWORKS COMPANY
AND 180TH ORDINARY MEETING.
Saturday, July 2nd, 1898.
The object of the meeting was to complete the inspection of the Works,
in continuation of the visit made by the Club to the Lea Bridge Pumping
Station on June 29th, 1895 (see Essex Naturalist, vol. ix., pp. 96-97). By
the kindness of Col. Bryan, M.Inst. CE., the Engineer to the Company, this
was rendered possible.
The works are of the most extensive and interesting character. The
Walthamstow Reservoirs are ten in number, and their " shore line " is nearly
13 miles! They cover over 300 acres and will store more than 1.200,000,000
gallons of water. About 45 million gallons a day are pumped, and the meter
house will measure and record up to 60 million gallons per day.
During the excavations of the Reservoirs discoveries of great geological
interest were made. The sections exposed during the work in 1868-69 were
described by Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S., in the " Transactions of the
1 cf. Notes on the conditions at Fambridge in last part ot E.N ante. p. 375.