136 SOUTH COUNTRY TROUT STREAMS 



county is the highway between Crevvkerne and 

 Chard, which is the division of the watershed of 

 the counties of Somerset and Devonshire. The 

 v>'ater on the south side feeds the Devonshire Axe, 

 and on the north the Parret, thus flowing respec- 

 tively into the Enghsh and the Bristol Channels. 

 At St. Reine's Hill hard by is the furthest point 

 west at which chalk is found. 



The (Somersetshire) Axe, which takes its rise at 

 Wookey Hole, rushing with great force from the 

 cavern and soon driving several mills at the 

 Mendips, is not a trout stream, though one or two 

 proprietors have stocked the river with trout as it 

 runs through their grounds in the upper stretches. 

 Further north there are a few streams containing 

 trout in small numbers, such as the small Kenn. 

 The Frome, I believe, also has some fish here and 

 there, though, on the whole, they are scarce. The 

 Chew, which, like the Somersetshire Frome, is a 

 tributary of the (Bristol) Avon, is a much better 

 trout stream, and deserves separate notice. The 

 western highlands of Somerset contain a good 

 number of small trout streams, amongst them being 

 the Barle of Exmoor, and the upper parts of the 

 lovely Lyn. In the Ouantock Hills there are some 

 small streams containing plenty of troutlets, such 

 as the Williton Brook and the Washford and the 

 Dunster. It is a beautiful county, and has been 

 described in one of Richard Jefferies's most exqui- 

 site sketches. Summer in Somerset : " From the 

 Devon border I drifted like a leaf detached from a 

 tree across to a deep coombe in the Quantock 

 Hills. The vast hollow is made for repose and 

 lotus-eating ; its very shape, like a hammock, 

 indicates idleness .... everywhere wild straw- 



