THE SALMON'S JOURNEY 395 



winter and early spring in the soft mud. Here they lie so 

 close that a stone or more may be taken in a square yard or 

 two of ooze. Most east coast waters are still rich fishing- 

 grounds ; but the salmon has vanished. East Anglia was 

 never a great salmon haunt. Sir Thomas Browne could 

 say that though ' no common fish in our rivers, many are 

 taken in the Ouse,' and there are records in some of the old 

 registers of stranded salmon up the Midland brooks, but for 

 the salmon, fishermen always went north and west. 



2 D 



