A SURREY RIVER. 147 



As I said before, with new owners, new regulations 

 have been made, and many parts of our beautiful 

 woodland Mole are closed. It cannot be helped ; 

 but as a field naturalist I can say, with perfect 

 reason, that with all their wise regulations there is 

 not one half of the fish in this river that there used 

 to be when it was open to any to fish there ; nor 

 yet one quarter of the animal life that there formerly 

 was along the river-banks. 



Some folks, and a great many wild creatures, are 

 best left alone. When man makes his arrangements 

 with a view to alter the course of nature, as the 

 darkey once observed, "something goes wrong with 

 the works." 



