THE AMERICAN TROUT. 17 
vided lie follows, as lie sometimes appears to do, the 
advice of the young folks, shuts his eyes and opens his 
mouth. I cannot recommend such tackle, being con- 
vinced the most skillfully made is the best ; but I do 
advise simplicity of color. One of the best of all flies 
is the female cow-dung, made of a dark cinnamon color, 
and after the pattern used in England ; there is a green- 
ish abomination unjustly foisted upon American inven- 
tion that is worthless. The hackles are in my opinion 
altogether inferior, except the black-winged hackle, 
which, of a bright warm day, is irresistible. The ibis 
and professor, dressed d VAmericaine^ with yellow floss 
body and red tail, are both excellent flies. The coach- 
man is the best evening fly, and will attract trout long 
after the angler can see to strike them, and when the 
sound of their plunge alone entices him to continue his 
efforts. The May and stone flies are good, and of late years 
a fly of mixed red and black, with wings, called by some, 
from his colors, the devil-fly, has come into vogue. The 
palmers are only to be despised and avoided. In sum- 
mer, of the midges the yellow sally, the alder fly, the 
little cinnamon, the black gnat, the black and red ants, 
and in fact all others, are attractive. The water is then 
covered with myriads of many-colored flies, and there is 
hardly any artificial but will find its representative among 
the real life. 
These are but a few of the flies that can be pur- 
chased in the shops, which yearly invent new varie- 
ties, regardless of truth to nature or the recommend- 
ations of experience. Many have no names whatever, 
and in others the workman has given his fancy such play 
