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which directed the rush of water well over the top ; 

 and it has successfully resisted even the exceptional 

 floods of the winter and early spring, and not merely 

 serves its purpose as a dam, but also makes a pretty 

 little fall washing out a big hole, aerating the water, 

 and keeping the gravel clear and bright in one of the 

 best spawning-beds in the whole length of water. A 

 green path between a sort of subsidiary kitchen- 

 garden and the willow-fringed stream, which here 

 widens, brings us down to a foot-bridge, the centre 

 plank of which can be drawn up by a rope to allow 

 the canoe to pass. This leads to a wooded island, 

 an acre and a half in extent a great nesting-place 

 for all sorts of birds in the spring. In spite of its 

 proximity to Newbury and the Oxford road, the 

 island nearly always holds a fox, and occasionally an 

 otter, and one year a vixen reared a litter of three 

 cubs under the haystack in the meadow skirting its 

 farther side. Our path next follows a narrow penin- 

 sula between the river and a backwater ; the upper 

 part near the foot-bridge is not very easy to fish, as 

 an old quince-orchard and numerous graceful willows 

 are more decorative than useful to the angler. I see 

 plenty of fish both in the main stream on my right 

 hand here broad and somewhat shallow and in the 

 backwater on my left, but they are low down in the 

 water, and take no notice of the very occasional blue- 

 winged olives, which are the only flies showing yet. 

 That was the plop of a water-vole into the stream, 

 but he does not show himself for a shot. I must 

 admit that I do not look very hard, as I hate to shoot 

 the pretty creatures, although it is absolutely necessary 

 to keep their numbers in some check : the repairs and 



