fly. The young angler would gain much more information on the subject by attending a fly fisher while he is casting or making an artificial fly; if he cannot avail himself of such knowledge, he must persevere and strictly follow the directions offered to his notice. There are many excellent fly fishers who never trouble themselves to make a fly, yet kill trout in every trout stream they fish, with flies bought at the London tackle shops, where the angler may get a fly made to any colour, pattern, or shape he may want; indeed, flies are now made so well at those shops, that it is scarcely worth the angler's trouble to make them. I should recommend the young fly fisher, in the first instance, to purchase his artificial flies; but, after some experience in the art, to make his own. In purchasing artificial flies the following will be proper to select: red and black palmers, red and black hackles, grouse, red and black ant-flies, the yellow May fly or green drake, stone fly, small black gnat flies, the red spinner, and the white moth. Having purchased the above assortment of flies, the angler should make himself well acquainted with their several forms, the number of wings, and every other particular, that he may be able to know every difference between the several kinds, thereby guarding against having flies imposed on him of a species different to what he may think proper to order.The flies above enumerated are all of established credit; their respective merits, the way and materials of which they are made, will be found under their different names. In many places certain flies are preferred; the bean or thistle fly has been considered a secret in some parts of Wales and much valued. There is a fly used very much at Watford, in Herts, called Harding's fly, or the Coachman's; of the merits of such flies experience will teach how to appreciate. Note, make it an invariable rule to try a red or black palmer, first in the morning and last in the evening, when whipping for trout; the other part of the day winged flies.

Concise Directions how to make an Artificial Fly. Take some fine silk, of the proper colour, and wax it well with bees' wax, then hold the bend of the hook between the fore-finger and thumb of the left hand, and with the right give the silk two or three turns round the shank, and fasten it; then take a small feather, of the colour you intend the fly should be, strip off some of the fibres towards the quill, and leave a sufficient quantity for

the wings, holding the point of the feather between your finger and thumb, turn back most of the remaining fibres, and laying the point end of the feather upon the hook, give a few more laps round it with your silk, and fasten; then twirl the feather round the hook till all the fibres are wrapped upon it, which done, fasten and cut off the two ends of the feather; then, with dubbing of the proper colour twisted round the remaining silk, warp from the wings towards the bend of the hook, till the fly is the size required. Before the young artist tries his skill at dressing or making a fly, he should take an artificial one to pieces, and observe well how it is formed.

The knowledge how to make the May flies is first requisite to be understood; for these flies are of so much value to the angler, that every one who wishes to excel in fly-fishing, should learn how to make them as soon as possible.

The Artificial Green Drake or Yellow May Fly and others.-Make the body of seal's fur, or yellow mohair, a little cub fox down, or hog's wool, or camel's, and bear's hair mixed; warp with pale yellow and green silk, waxed to imitate the joints of the fly's body under the wings; the wings to be made of a mallard's or wild drake's feather, dyed yellow, (put a handful of horse radish leaves into a pint of water, to which add a piece of alum the size of a small walnut; simmer the whole for some time, and it will then dye feathers, silk, &c. a yellow of any shade and fast colour;) three whisks for the tail from a sable muff, or the whiskers of a black cat, or hairs from a dog's tail. When this green drake is made small, it is then generally denominated the yellow May fly.

Grey Drake.-Make the body from a white ostrich's feather; the end of the body next the tail, peacock's herl; warping of ash-colour, with silver twist, and black hackle; wings of a dark grey feather of a mallard,

Stone Fly. To form the body of this fly, take bear's dun, and a little brown and yellow camlet well mixed, but so placed that the fly may be more yellow on the belly, towards the tail underneath, than in any other part; place two or three hairs of a black cat or dog, beard or whiskers, or the fibres of a dark hackle, or the bristles that grow under the chin of horses, on the top of your hook, in the arming, so as to be turned up when you warp on your dubbing, and to stand almost upright,

branching one from the other; rib with yellow silk, make the wings large and long, of the dark grey feather of a mallard.

The formation of these artificial Mayflies will be rendered easier, by an intimate acquaintance with the natural ones. Natural May Flies, Ephemera, Vulgate May Fly, or Green Drake.-This Mayfly is bred from the cad-worm, and is found in numbers beside most small gravelly rivers, near the banks where bushes grow and over-hang the water, to which places they fly when they change from their chrysalis state: its wings (which are single) stand high on the back, like the butterfly.

The body of this fly is a yellow, ribbed across with green; the tail consists of three small whisks, quite dark, and turned upwards to the back, like the tail of a drake or mallard; from the green stripes on the body, and its turned up tail, this May fly receives the name of green drake; in some places it is also called the cock-up or tilt-up tail, so is the grey drake.

Grey Drake. The grey drake, in shape and size, is like the green drake, but different in colour, being a lighter yellow, and striped with black down its body; the wings are glossy black, and thin like a cob-web.

Stone Fly called the Water Cricket or Creeper while in the state or form of a maggot. The stone-fly escapes from the husk or case before the wings are sufficiently grown to enable him to fly, and creeps to the crevices of stones, from which circumstance the name is derived: they are found in almost all trout streams, or stony rivers, and are known by the angler for trout as a killing bait. The body of the stone-fly is long and thick, of a brown colour, ribbed with yellow, and has whisks at the tail, and two small horns on his head when full grown, the wings are double, and of a dusky dark-brown colour. This fly has several legs, and uses them more than his wings, as you may often find them paddling on the top of the water, only moving their legs. The three flies just described, namely, the greendrake, the grey-drake, and the stone-fly, are all known by the name of the May-fly. Although the green drake, the grey drake, and the stone fly, are all termed May-flies, yet the young fly fisher should be apprised, that when the May fly is spoken of among anglers, they generally mean the green drake, or as some call it, the yellow May fly, from the colour of its wings, and it

certainly is the most general killing May fly.

Plain Palmer or Hackle.-First provide a short length of gut, about fifteen inches long, and a hook, No. 7, or 8, some red silk well waxed with red wax, a fine red hackle, and some ostrich feathers: hold the hook by the bend, between the forefinger and thumb of the left hand, with the shank towards the right hand, and with the point and beard of your hook nearly parallel with the tops of your fingers, then take the length of silk about the middle, and lay the one half along the inside of the hook towards your left hand, the other to the right, then take that part of the silk that lies towards your right hand, between the fore-finger and thumb of that hand, and holding that part towards your left tight along the inside of the hook, whip that to the right, three or four times round the shank of the hook, to the right hand; after which, take the gut, and lay one end of it along the inside of the shank of the hook till it comes near to the bend, then hold the hook, silk, and gut tight between the fore-finger and thumb of your left hand, and afterwards give that part of the silk to your right hand three or four whips more over the hook and gut, till it comes nearly to the end of the shank; make a loop and fasten it tight; then whip it neatly again over silk, gut, and hook, till it comes near the bend of it, after which, make another loop, and fasten it again; then if the gut reaches farther than the bend, cut it off, and your hook will be whipped on, and the parts of the silk will hang from the bend of it: then wax the longest ends of the silk again, and take three or four strands of an ostrich's feather, and holding them and the hook as in the first position, the feathers to the left hand, and the roots of them in the bend of the hook, with the silk you waxed last, whip them three or four times round, make a loop, and fasten them tight; then turning the strands to the right hand, and twisting them and the silk together, with the forefinger and thumb of the right hand wind them round the shank of the hook till you come to the place where you fastened, then make a loop and fasten them again: if the strands should not be long enough to wind as far as it is necessary round the shank, when the silk gets bare, you must twist others on it; after which, take a pair of small-pointed sharp scissors, and cut the palmer's body to an oval form. Both ends of the silk being separated at the bend and shank end of the hook, wax

them both again; then take the hackle, hold the small end between the fore-finger and thumb of your left hand, and stroke the fibres of it with your right contrarywise to which they are formed; keep your hold as in the first position, and place the point of the hackle in its bend with that side which grows nearest the cock upward, then whip it tight to the hookin fastening it, avoid tying in the fibres as much as possible: the hackle being fastened, take it by the large end, and keeping the side nearest the cock to the left hand, begin with your right hand to wind it up the shank upon the dubbing, stopping every second turn, and holding what you have wound tight with your left fingers, whilst with a needle you pick what fibres may have been taken in: proceed in this manner until you come to the place where you first fastened, and where an end of the silk is, then clip those fibres off the hackle which you hold between your fore-finger and thumb, close to the stem, and hold the stem close to the hook; afterwards take the silk in your right hand, and whip the stem quite fast to it, then make a loop and fasten it tight. Take a sharp knife, and if that part of the stem next the shank of the hook, is as long as the part of the hook which is bare, pare it fine; wax your silk, and bind neatly over the bare part of the hook, then fasten the silk tight, and spread some shoe-maker's wax lightly on the last binding; then clip off the end of the remaining silk at the shank and bend of the hook, also any fibres that may stand amiss.

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Directions for making a Golden or Silver Palmer. The dubbing the same as the palmer, ribbed with gold or silver twist, with a red hackle over all. When whip the end of the hackle to the bend of the hook, you must do the same to the gold or silver twist, first winding either of them on the dubbing, observing that they lie flat on it, and then fasten off, then proceed as before directed with the hackle.

Small light coloured flies are most proper for clear shallow water, during a bright sky, and the larger sort for dark weather, and thicker or deeper waters.

Materials for making Artificial Flies.Get seals' and moles', squirrels' and water rats' furs; also mohairs, black, blue, purple, white, and violet; camlets, of every hue and colour; and fur from the neck and ears of hares, hogs' down, and bears' hair; hackle feathers; get them of the following colours, but not too large red, dun, yellowish, white, and perfect

black. Feathers to form wings, &c. of flies, are got from the mallard and partridge, especially those red ones in the tail; feathers from a cock pheasant's breast, and tail, the wings from the blackbird, the brown hen, the starling, the jay, the landrail, the thrush, the field-fare, the swallow, and the water coot; the feathers from the crown of a plover, green and copper-coloured; peacock's and black ostrich's herl, and feathers from the heron's neck and wings. You must also be provided with marking silk, fine, strong, and of all colours; floss silk, gold and silver flatted wire or twist, a sharp knife, hooks of all sizes, shoe-maker's wax, a large needle to raise your dubbing when flattened, and a pair of sharp pointed scissors. A little portable vice is necessary to fix on the table, to which you may occasionally fasten your hook while dressing a fly.

A List of Flies for every Month during the Season, commencing with April.-Artificial flies are called dub flies when the body is principally made of wool or mohair, when chiefly made of feathers they are called hackle flies. If the body is like a palmer to which is added wings, then it is properly called a palmer fly.

There are upwards of a hundred different kinds of flies made for fly fishing, suitable for every month during the season, and which may be purchased at a small expense at the tackle shops, should the angler decline making them himself.

April. The cow-dung fly may be used from the first of this month, and is a killing fly to the end. The brown or dun drake is a good fly in the middle of the day, particularly if the weather proves gloomy.

May. The stone-fly may be used all this month with much success, but more particularly in the mornings. The yellow May fly will answer, especially in the evenings, during the whole month. The black caterpillar fly is a good fly, and so is the black-thorn fly this month, in small rivers and trout streams; it kills best in those days that succeed very hot mornings. The fly called the camlet, may be used all day till the middle of June, for small fish.

June. The lady-fly is now a good one, particularly when the water begins to brighten after a flood. The black gnatfly in an evening, especially if the weather has been warm and showery. The blue gnat is only used when the water is very fine and low. The red spinner is an excellent fly, but most killing when the water is dark, and late in the evening.

July. The orange-fly is an excellent bait, particularly if this month proves close, hot, and gloomy. The large red ant-fly is killing for some hours in the middle of the day.

The badger-fly is good in the early part of this month, and in the coolest days. August.-The small red and black ant flies are good killers for three or four hours in the afternoon, and sometimes till sun-set, if the sky is occasionally obscured. The small fly, called the light-blue fly, is known to most fly-fishers to be a killing bait from morning till afternoon.

September. The willow fly is most to be depended on this month, and for the remainder of the season: any of those noticed for July or August may also be used occasionally. All the flies I have enumerated are for killing trout, but you may also take chub and dace with them, and perchance a salmon. For making these flies, mohair of various colours, is used; also seal's wool, bear's and camel's hair, sheep's wool, badger's hair, hog's down, camlets of all colours, the fur of hares, squirrels and foxes, feathers from the neck of the game cock, called hackles; likewise feathers from the peacock, &c.and pass your hook through them, under their wings. Natural fly-fishing is generally termed dibbing or dapping, and is practised with a stoutish rod, having a light stiff top, running tackle, strong gut or hair line, and No. 7 or 8 hook, for trout or chub. When dapping with a May fly, put two or three on the hook, which should be carried through the thick part of the fly's body under the wings, with their heads standing different ways, and take care that your fingers are always dry when baiting, or you will soon kill or spoil the bait. Bait the same way with the black ant fly in June, in July use the wasp fly, in August the hazel, or button fly, in September the badger fly, in March and April the thorn fly, yellow dun, and stone flies. The stone fly, when in the state of a maggot, is called the water cricket or creeper, and is to be found in most small stoney rivers or trout streams in April, lying under hollow stones. In those waters where this cricket is found, it will prove an excellent bait the latter end of April; put two or three on a No. 9 hook, and use it as a tripping bait in the middle of the stream. This cricket is a good bait to dap with about noon in the said month.

In this mode of fishing, it is absolutely necessary to kneel down or stand behind a tree, bush, high weeds, or something to

hide your person, or the fish will not rise to your fly or bait. You must draw out as much line as will just let your baited hook reach the surface of the water; then with the top of your rod a little raised, keep the bait in motion, and if you see several fish, cautiously guide your bait to the largest, play it a little an inch or two above the water, by gently shaking the rod, then let it drop just before the fish. When a fish takes your bait, after a moment, strike smartly, and if not too large to endanger breaking, lift him out immediately, for by playing them while dapping, you are very likely to scare away the others by exposing yourself to their sight; but if the wind is brisk, and you stand sufficiently high on a bank or bridge, you may let several yards of line out. The angler may play his bait on the top of the water in streams whose water is nearly level with the bank with success, because he may keep far from the water and yet see a rise.

The best bait in June, July, and August, for chub, is the humble-bee during the day; late in the evening, a large white moth, bred in willow trees. When you bait with a live bee, it is necessary first to extract its sting.

They will also take the cock-chaffer or May bug, (but before you put this insect on the hook, take away its upper horny wings) grass-hoppers, the fly called father long-legs, all kinds of moths and small butterflies, also large blue flies, bees, and wasps, generally preferring the largest.

For Dace the best bait is the common house fly; you may put two on a No. 10 hook. The time, the last three hours before it is dark, you may use two or three hooks at a time, tied on about three inches of hair or fine gut, and fastened on the line about fourteen inches apart.

For Bleak.-One common flesh or house fly on a No. 11 or 12 hook. Dace and bleak are also caught by whipping with an artificial fly.

In casting or throwing a fly while yet a novice, observe the following rules: having fixed the winch on the butt of your rod, draw the line through all the rings of the rod to the top, and then again as much more as will reach within a yard of your butt-end from the top, the line will then of course be nearly as long as the rod, which will be quite as much as is necessary for a learner to throw; indeed, when you have attained the art of throwing a fly thirty yards to any given spot, you may use line ad libitum. Having fastened your