CHAPTER VII 



THE DORSETSHIRE STREAMS 



" Passing through the plains and valleys," wrote 

 Coker of the Dorsetshire streams, " they do at the 

 last, in the most loving manner, unite themselves, 

 and of their many branches make two big-bodied 

 streams, Frome and Stour, both passing full of 

 fish." The Frome and the Stour, with their tribu- 

 taries, are certainly the chief waters of Dorsetshire, 

 though there are a few other short streams flowing 

 south into the English Channel, such as the Char, 

 the Brit, and the Asker. The Stour is not a trout 

 stream, though it contains an odd trout here and 

 there, often of a good size. It has some trout, 

 however, up towards its source, which consists of 

 several springs in Wiltshire, and two or three of its 

 tributaries are more or less trout-bearing. The 

 Lidden of the Upper Stour has trout, as has the 

 Allen or Wim of the lower ; but the Develish, 

 Tarrant, and other streams which swell the Stour 

 are scarcely worth considering. The Frome is the 

 largest river of Dorsetshire, but its tributaries are, 

 with the exception of the Cerne, of little import- 

 ance. It runs into Poole Harbour, as does the 



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