ONCE SILVER STREAMS. 99 
ever, merely from Nature’s standpoint may be 
too narrow; there is the far more important 
question of Sanitation. And this applies to our 
larger fresh-water lakes as well as to rivers. A 
short time ago it was said that Windermere was 
neither more nor less than a gigantic cesspool. 
This was an exaggerated statement; but there 
was probably much truth in it. Others of the 
lakes are almost in worse plight. Ulleswater is 
the receptacle of much foreign matter, which is 
as injurious to health as to fish life, and certain 
species have almost been driven from those parts 
nearest the lead-mines. In short, there is no 
northern lake which is absolutely pure. The sacri- 
fice to pollution, then, is so great and so widespread 
as to be almost beyond belief, and in a few years 
it will have caused such devastation as can never 
be remedied. Fish life may be returned to its 
natural haunts if once legislation would stop pollu- 
tion. But there seems very little inclination to 
do this, nor will there be until the country is 
thoroughly awakened to what is going on, and 
to an appreciation of that of which it is being 
deprived. 
