80 In Pursuit of the Trout 



with more or less punctuality. Take, on 

 the other hand, the dipper — he has scarcely 

 a spare moment while there is light, but 

 is continuously seeking for food, earning 

 his bread by the constant sweat of his 

 brow. 



Snipe, curlews, and partridges are fairly 

 common on the moors ; and the blackcock 

 is plentiful in the neighbourhood of the 

 Doone Valley. I saw on Exmoor, too, the 

 ring-ousel, a very local species. Rabbits are 

 plentiful, and, as a consequence, stoats and 

 weasels. Herds of Exmoor ponies run wild ; 

 and in the Bagworthy Valley and neigh- 

 bourhood you may sometimes see that grand 

 animal, the wild red-deer. 



There are three streams all rising hard by 

 Simonsbath — the Barle, the Exe, and Bag- 

 worthy Water : the last-named, which flows 

 through the Bagworthy Valley, is perhaps the 

 most beautiful ; but then, after passing Doone 

 Valley and the idyllic Waterslide — rendered 

 classic ground by Mr. Blackmore in his 'Lorna 

 Doone ' — the scenery changes entirely : 



