husk, or crust, near the time of their maturity, are very easily known and distinguished, and are of all other the most remarkable, both for their size, as being of all other the biggest, the shortest of them being a full inch long or more, and for the execution they do, the Trout and Grayling being much more greedy of them than of any others; and indeed the Trout never feeds fat, nor comes into his perfect season, till these flies come in.

Of these the GREEN-DRAKE never discloses from his husk, till he be first there grown to full maturity, body, wings, and all; and then he creeps out of his cell, but with his wings so crimpt and ruffled, by being prest together in that narrow room, that they are for some hours totally useless to him; by which means he is compelled either to creep upon the flags, sedges, and blades of grass, if his first rising from the bottom of the water be near the banks of the river, till the air and sun stiffen and smooth them or if his first appearance above water happen to be in the middle, he then lies upon the surface of the water, like a ship at hull, for his feet are totally useless to him there, and he cannot creep upon the water as the stone-fly can, until his wings have got stiffness to fly with, if by some Trout or Grayling he be not taken in the interim, which ten to one he is, and then his wings stand high, and closed exact upon his back, like the butterfly, and his motion in flying is the same. His body is in some of a paler, in others of a darker yellow, for they are not all exactly of a colour, ribbed with rows of green, long, slender, and growing sharp towards the tail, at the end of which he has three long small whisks of a very dark colour, almost black, and his tail turns up towards his back like a mallard, from whence, questionless, he has his name of the Green-drake. These, as I think I told you before, we commonly dape or dibble with; and having gathered great store of them into a long draw box, with holes in the cover to give them air, where also they will continue fresh and vigorous a night or more, we take them out thence by the wings, and bait them thus upon the hook. We first take one, for we commonly fish with two of them at a time, and putting the point of the hook into the thickest part of his body, under one of his wings, run it directly through, and out at the other side, leaving him spitted cross upon the hook; and then taking the other, put him on after the same manner, but with his head the contrary way; in which posture they will live upon the hook and play with their wings for a quarter of an hour or more; but you must have a care to keep their wings dry, both from the water, and also that your fingers be not wet when you take them out to bait them, for then your bait is spoiled.

Having now told you how to angle with this fly alive, I am now to tell you next how to make an artificial fly, that will so perfectly resemble him, as to be taken on a rough windy day, when no flies can lie upon the water, nor are to be found about the banks and sides of the river, to a wonder; and with which you shall certainly kill the best Trout and Grayling in the river.

The artificial Green-drake then is made upon a large hook, the dubbing camel's hair, bright bear's hair, the soft down that is combed from a hog's bristles, and yellow camlet, well mixt together; the body long, and ribbed about with green silk, or rather yellow, waxed with green wax, the whisks of the tail of the long hairs of sables, or fitchet, and the wings of the white-grey feather of a mallard, dyed yellow, which also is to be dyed thus:

Take the root of a barbary-tree, and shave it, and put to it woody viss,

with as much alum as a walnut, and boil your feathers in it with rainwater; and they will be a very fine yellow.

I have now done with the Green-drake, excepting to tell you, that he is taken at all hours, during his season, whilst there is any day upon the sky; and with a made fly I once took, ten days after he was absolutely gone, in a cloudy day, after a shower, and in a whistling wind, five-and-thirty very great Trouts and Graylings, betwixt five and eight of the clock in the evening, and had no less than five or six flies, with three good hairs apiece, taken from me in despite of my heart, besides.

12. I should now come next to the Stone-fly, but there is another gentleman in my way that must of necessity come in between, and that is the GREY-DRAKE, which in all shapes and dimensions is perfectly the same with the other, but quite almost of another colour, being of a paler, and more livid yellow, and green, and ribbed with black quite down his body, with black shining wings, and so diaphanous and tender, cobweb-like, that they are of no manner of use for daping, but come in, and are taken after the green-drake, and in an artificial fly kill very well; which fly is thus made: the dubbing of the down of a hog's bristles and black spaniel's fur mixt, and ribbed down the body with black silk, the whisks of the hairs of the beard of a black cat, and the wings of the black-grey feather of a mallard.

And now I come to the STONE-FLY; but am afraid I have already wearied your patience; which if I have I beseech you, freely tell me so, and I will defer the remaining instructions for fly-angling till some other time.

VIATOR. No, truly, Sir, I can never be weary of hearing you. But if you think fit, because I am afraid I am too troublesome, to refresh yourself with a glass and a pipe, you may afterwards proceed, and I shall be exceedingly pleased to hear you.

PISCATOR. I thank you, Sir, for that motion; for, believe me, I am dry with talking: here, boy! give us here a bottle and a glass; and, Sir, my service to you, and to all our friends in the South.

VIATOR. Your servant, Sir; and I'll pledge you as heartily; for the good powdered beef I ate at dinner, or something else, has made me thirsty.

CHAP. VIII.

VIATOR. SO, Sir, I am now ready for another lesson, so soon as you please to give it me.

PISCATOR. And I, Sir, as ready to give you the best I can. Having told you the time of the Stone-fly's coming in, and that he is bred of a cadis in the very river where he is taken, I am next to tell you, that—

13. This same STONE-FLY has not the patience to continue in his crust or husk, till his wings be full grown; but so soon as ever they begin to put out, that he feels himself strong, at which time we call him a Jack,

squeezes himself out of prison, and crawls to the top of some stone, where if he can find a chink that will receive him, or can creep betwixt two stones, the one lying hollow upon the other, which, by the way, we also lay so purposely to find them, he there lurks till his wings be full grown; and there is your only place to find him; and from thence doubtless he derives his name; though, for want of such convenience, he will make shift with the hollow of a bank, or any other place where the wind cannot come to fetch him off. His body is long, and pretty thick, and as broad at the tail, almost, as in the middle: his colour a very fine brown, ribbed with yellow, and much yellower on the belly than the back: he has two or three whisks also at the tag of his tail, and two little horns upon his head: his wings, when full grown, are double, and flat down his back, of the same colour, but rather darker than his body, and longer than it, though he makes but little use of them; for you shall rarely see him flying, though often swimming and paddling with several feet he has under his belly, upon the water, without stirring a wing. But the Drake will mount steeple-height into the air; though he is to be found upon flags and grass too, and indeed everywhere, high and low, near the river; there being so many of them in their season as, were they not a very inoffensive insect, would look like a plague; and these drakes, since I forgot to tell you before, I will tell you here, are taken by the fish to that incredible degree, that upon a calm day you shall see the still deeps, continually, all over circles by the fishes rising, who will gorge themselves with those flies till they purge again out of their gills: and the Trouts are at that time so lusty and strong, that one of eight or ten inches long will then more struggle and tug, and more endanger your tackle, than one twice as big in winter. pardon this digression.

But

This Stone-fly then we dape or dibble with as with the Drake, but with this difference, that whereas the Green-Drake is common both to stream and still, and to all hours of the day, we seldom dape with this but in the streams, for in a whistling wind, a made fly, in the deep, is better, and rarely, but early and late, it not being so proper for the mid-time of the day; though a great Grayling will then take it very well in a sharp stream, and here and there, a Trout too, but much better toward eight, nine, ten, or eleven of the clock at night, at which time also the best fish rise, and the later the better, provided you can see your fly; and when you cannot, a made fly will murder, which is to be made thus: the dubbing, of bear's dun with a little brown and yellow camlet very well mixt, but so placed that your fly may be more yellow on the belly and towards the tail, underneath, than in any other part; and you are to place two or three hairs of a black cat's beard on the top of the hook, in your arming, so as to be turned up when you warp on your dubbing, and to stand almost upright, and staring one from another; and note, that your fly is to be ribbed with yellow silk; and the wings long, and very large, of the dark grey feather of a mallard.

14. The next May-fly is the BLACK-FLY; made with a black body, of the whirl of an ostrich feather, ribbed with silver twist, and the black hackle of a cock over all; and is a killing fly, but not to be named with either of the other.

15. The last May-fly, that is, of the four pretenders, is the LIttle YELLOW MAY-FLY; in shape exactly the same with the Green-drake, but a very little one, and of as bright a yellow as can be seen: which is made

of a bright yellow camlet, and the wings of a white-grey feather dyed yellow.

16. The last fly for this month, and which continues all June, though it comes in the middle of May, is the fly called the CAMLET-FLY, in shape like a moth, with fine diapered or water wings, and with which, as I told you before, I sometimes used to dibble; and Grayling will rise mightily at it. But the artificial fly, which is only in use amongst our anglers, is made of a dark brown shining camlet ribbed over with a very small light green silk; the wings of the double-grey feather of a mallard; and 'tis a killing fly for small fish. And so much for May.

JUNE.

From the first to the four-and-twentieth, the Green-drake and Stone-fly are taken, as I told you before.

1. From the twelfth to the four-and-twentieth, late at night, is taken a fly called the OWL-FLY: the dubbing of a white weasel's tail; and a white-grey wing.

2. We have then another dun, called the BARM-FLY, from its yeasty colour. The dubbing of the fur of a yellow-dun cat, and a grey wing of a mallard's feather.

3. We have also a HACKLE with a purple body, whipt about with a red capon's feather.

4. As also a GOLD-TWIST HACKLE with a purple body, whipt about with a red capon's feather.

5. To these we have, this month, a FLESH-FLY. The dubbing of a black spaniel's fur and blue wool mixt, and a grey wing.

6. Also another little FLESH-FLY, the body made of the whirl of a pea cock's feather, and the wings of the grey feather of a drake.

7. We have, then, the PEACOCK-FLY, the body and wing, both made of the feather of that bird.

8. There is. also the flying-ant, or ANT-FLY, the dubbing of brown and red camlet mixt, with a light grey wing.

9. We have likewise a BROWN GNAT, with a very slender body of brown and violet camlet well mixt, and a light grey wing.

10. And another little BLACK GNAT, the dubbing of black mohair, and a white-grey wing.

II. As also a GREEN GRASSHOPPER, the dubbing of green and yellow wool mixt, ribbed over with green silk, and a red capon's feather over all.

12. And, lastly, a little DUN GRASSHOPPER, the body slender, made of a dun camlet and a dun hackle at the top.

JULY.

First, all the small flies that were taken in June are also taken in this month.

I. We have then the ORANGE FLY, the dubbing of orange wool, and the wing of a black feather.

2. Also a little WHITE DUN, the body made of white mohair, and the wings, blue, of a heron's feather.

3. We have likewise this month a WASP-FLY, made either of a dark brown dubbing, or else the fur of a black cat's tail, ribbed about with yellow silk, and the wing of the grey feather of a mallard.

4. Another fly taken this month is a BLACK HACKLE, the body made of the whirl of a peacock's feather, and a black hackle feather on the top. 5. We have also another, made of a peacock's whirl without wings. 6. Another fly also is taken this month, called the SHELL-FLY, the dubbing of yellow-green Jersey wool, and a little white hog's hair mixt, which I call the palm-fly, and do believe it is taken for a palm, that drops off the willows into the water; for this fly I have seen Trouts take little pieces of moss, as they have swam down the river; by which I conclude that the best way to hit the right colour is to compare your dubbing with the moss, and mix the colours as near as you can.

7. There is also taken, this month, a BLACK-BLUE DUN, the dubbing of the fur of a black rabbit mixt with a little yellow, the wings of the feather of a blue pigeon's wing.

The same flies with July.

AUGUST.

I. Then another ANT-FLY, the dubbing of the black-brown hair of a cow, some red warpt in for the tag of his tail, and a dark wing. A killing fly.

2. Next, a fly called the FERN-FLY, the dubbing of the fur of a hare's neck, that is, of the colour of fern or bracken, with a darkish grey wing of a mallard's feather. A killer too.

3. Besides these we have a WHITE HACKLE, the body of white mohair, and warpt about with a white hackle feather; and this is, assuredly, taken for thistle-down.

4. We have also, this month, a HARRY LONG-LEGS; the body made of bear's dun and blue wool mixt, and a brown hackle feather over all.

Lastly, in this month, all the same browns and duns are taken that were taken in May.

SEPTEMBER.

This month the same flies are taken that are taken in April.

I. To which I shall only add a CAMEL-BROWN fly, the dubbing pulled out of the lime of a wall, whipt about with red silk; and a darkish grey mallard's feather for the wing.

2. And one other for which we have no name; but it is made of the black hair of a badger's skin, mixt with the yellow softest down of a sanded hog.

OCTOBER.

The same flies are taken this month that were taken in March.

NOVEMBER.

The same flies that were taken in February are taken this month also.

DECEMBER.

Few men angle with the fly this month, no more than they do in January; but yet, if the weather be warm, as I have known it sometimes in my life to be, even in this cold country, where it is least expected, then a brown, that looks red in the hand, and yellowish betwixt your eye and the sun, will both raise and kill in a clear water and free from snow-broth: but, at the best, it is hardly worth a man's labour.

And now, Sir, I have done with Fly-fishing, or Angling at the