48 LOCAL JOTTINGS. 



Mignionctte, {Reseda lutea,) was in flower — it is very similar to the cultivated 

 plant^ but wants its delicious odour. And lastly^ I found the little Wild 

 Thyme, {Thynrns serpyllum,) round which the bees were hovering; covering 

 the ground with its pale purple flowers. 



TotneSy July Q,th., 1851. 



LOCAL JOTTINGS.— No. 2. 

 DORCHESTER— DORSETSHIRE. 



BY J. GARLAND, ESQ. 

 "Our Eiver, and its finny inhabitants." 



The River Froome is a very pleasant clear stream, which rises near Evershot, 

 and, passing through this town, empties itself at length into the sea at Poole. 

 From Maiden Newton, a distance of eight miles north-west from Dorchester, 

 to Stafford, etc., a distance of three miles below, I know not anywhere, 

 Stockbridge perhaps not even excepted, of a better stream for artificial fly 

 fishing. It consists of very good shallows, over gravelly bottoms, alternated 

 with a few deep holes here and there. In many respects it reminds one of 

 those delightful localities so graphically described by that dear old lover of 

 the art of angling, Izaak Walton. Often have I mused over his tomb in 

 the fine old Cathedral Church of Winchester. 



The Trout, (Salmo fario,) which abound in that space of the river above 

 described, do not run to a large size, rarely exceeding one pound and a half, 

 but they are early in season, and are marked with brighter red spots than 

 those of many other rivers, feeding, as these do, chiefly on insects. In a 

 culinary point of view, they are excellent indeed. Very good artificial fly- 

 fishing is to be had nearly throughout the year, the best about the month 

 of June. 



The Dace, (Leuciscus vulgaris,) is another well-known inhabitant of this 

 stream. It is of rather a small size, and of course, being more gregarious 

 than the Trout, is more local, and not so abundant. It may be easily 

 taken by the artificial fly in April and May; and its bright, silvery, and 

 glittering appearance not a little adds, I assui'e you, to the pleasures of 

 a river lounger. 



The 3finnow, (Leuciscus phoxinus,) is in great abundance, and affords 

 excellent feeding for that comparative monster the Trout. They are to be 

 met with in all the gullies and cuttings in the water meadows, and at about 

 the middle of summer are of the brightest orange and red colours that can 

 possibly be imagined. They look very pretty in a glass globe, with or without 

 gold or silver fish, but they cannot be kept very long alive. 



The Eel, (Anguilla,) is very common also in this portion of the stream, 

 but rarely attains a large size, from the comparative absence of mud. At 



