FLIES : NATUBAL AND ABTIFICIAL. 81 



requisite — more than any one person could hope to 

 obtain by dressing flies for his individual use alone, 

 unless he were possessed of an inordinate rapacity for 

 annexing hedge-rows and such like; so it has come 

 about that most of us purchase our trout-flies, and are 

 extremely fortunate in being able to obtain such excel- 

 lent imitations at comparatively small cost. 



The south-country trout-streams are, as a rule, 

 smoother than those in the north and the fish more 

 wary; consequently the flies dressed for use therewith 

 are more delicately tied, especially those designed for 

 dry-fly-fishing, which is seldom if ever practised in the 

 north, though there is no reason why it should not be, as 

 we have personally proved it to be equally eflPective. 



Flies of course can be, and for special purposes are, 

 dressed fine in the north; but it will probably be 

 argued that no better results are obtained, nor does dry- 

 fly show any advantages over wet-fly-fishing, while the 

 difierence in cost is greatly in favour of the angler. 



In dressing artificial patterns of the larger trout-flies, 

 such as the Green and Grey Drake, the occasional 

 dresser will experience less difficulty in the actual 

 tying, but the imitation of body and wings will try his 

 ingenuity. 



All kinds of materials are brought into requisition to 

 imitate the wings of the May-fly ; and if they are all 

 even fairly good imitations of the reality, it must be 

 admitted that the varieties of the Drake are not few. 



The bodies are made of various materials selected for 



