In the other stream coarse fish abound and have multiplied
much, but a certain number suffer from fungoid growths that need more special investigation than they have received. They are said to be less sensitive to pollution than the fresh-water crayfish, an interesting and succulent creature, which is curiously partial in its distribution. It abounds, indeed, perhaps nowhere else is it quite so flourishing, in the upper reaches of the Lea, from which every trout has vanished. Some local wise men say that where the crayfish do well there trout too may have their being. Incidentally, crayfish are set out by the gourmets as one of the native products wholly neglected in England ; and doubtless the reason is that few know how to cook them and not very many where to find them. Yet they abound and might easily be artificially multiplied. They would certainly be appreciated if we looked after them as the French do. On the subject of artificial preservation it is remarkable that the Roman snail is still not uncommon, especially in the neighbour- hood of famous Roman encampments. But this is a less obvious delicacy !
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