CHAPTER III 



THE HERTFORDSHIRE STREAMS 



The Hertfordshire streams, though not by any 

 means so famous as those of Hampshire or so 

 numerous as those of Devon, demand a chapter to 

 themselves. Hertfordshire is watered by, first, the 

 Lea with its tributaries the Mimram or Maran ; the 

 Beane ; the Rib with its tributary the Quin ; and the 

 Ash : secondly, by the Colne with its tributaries the 

 Ver or Verlam ; the Gade with its tributary the 

 Bulbourne ; and for a few miles the Buckingham- 

 shire Chess : and, thirdly, in the extreme northern 

 corner of the county, by a mile or two of the Ivel 

 and the Ivel's tributary the Hiz. All these streams 

 are trout-bearing. The Stort, a tributary of the 

 Lea dividing the county from Essex, is essentially 

 a coarse fish water. The Rhee, also, which flows ^ 

 for a few miles through the northern corner of the 

 county to join the Cam in Cambridgeshire shortly 

 after passing the border, is a coarse fish stream. 

 In the extreme east of the county the Thame 

 has one of its head waters, but this is not a trout 

 stream. 



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