244
THE ESSEX NATURALIST
Fishes, too, are without mention in place-names, but a number
of fisheries, both on the coast and inland, are recorded in the
Survey. Reference has already been made to the lack of the
mention of insects in place-names, but there are a number of
references in Domesday, mostly in the north, to the number of
beehives. They were useful not only for the honey, but also for
mead and for wax for candles. Saffron Walden, for instance, is
recorded as having as many as thirty.
The mention of birds in place-names are almost as numerous
as those of mammals :
Birdbrook Brook of the young birds DB
Coxtie (Green) (South Weald) Place where cocks were
kept 1268-84
Cranbrook (Farm) (Ilford) Crane or heron brook 1233
Crawley (Bury, End) (Chrishall) Crow-clearing DB
Faulkbourne Falcon stream DB
Foulness Wild birds'ness circa 1190-1219
Purleigh Bittern (or snipe) land 998
Ramsey Probably raven's island DB
Ravenstock (Field name in Cressing) Raven stump 1185
Rawreth Heron stream 1177
Roffey Hall (Harlow) Rook enclosure 1215
Roxwell Rook stream (could be) 1291
Ruckholt (Farm) (Ilford) Rook wood 1200
The plotting on a map of the place-names connected with the
flora and fauna shows no significant geographical groupings but
there is one concentration of such names—just to the south-east
of Braintree and centred on the Notleys. It can be nothing more
than a coincidence that Black Notley was the birthplace of John
Ray—the father of English natural history.
References
Edwards, A. C. (1958). A History of Essex. London.
Reany, P. H. (1935). The Place-names of Essex. Cambridge.
A Method of Qualitative Biological River Survey
By Antony W. Davies, B.Sc.
INTRODUCTION
The method to be discussed in this paper was adopted as being
the most suitable for obtaining a sample of the larger organisms
in a short stretch of a river.
A biological survey method is required for estimating pollution
in a river. Although river pollution may be caused by chemical,
physical or even biological agencies it is essentially a biological
phenomenon. It is the effect that these agencies have on the