The Fourth Day 85 



the stone-fly, the red -fly, the moor- fly, the tawny-fly, 

 the shell-fly, the cloudy or blackish-fly, the flag-fly, 

 the vine-fly ; there be of flies, caterpillars, and canker- 

 flies, and bear-flies ; and indeed too many either for 

 me to name, or for you to remember. And their 

 breeding is so various and wonderful, that I might 

 easily amaze myself, and tire you in a relation of 

 them. 



And, yet, I will exercise your promised patience 

 by saying a little of the caterpillar, or the palmer-fly 

 or worm ; that by them you may guess what a work 

 it were, in a discourse, but to run over those very 

 many flies, worms, and little living creatures, with 

 which the sun and summer adorn and beautify the 

 river-banks and meadows, both for the recreation 

 and contemplation of us anglers; pleasures which, 

 I think, myself enjoy more than any other man that 

 is not of my profession. 



ffliny holds an opinion, that many have their birth, 

 or being, from a dew that in the spring falls upon 

 the leaves of trees ; and that some kinds of them are 

 from a dew left upon herbs or flowers ; and others 

 from a dew left upon coleworts or cabbages : all 

 which kinds of dews being thickened and condensed, 

 are by the sun's generative heat, most of them, 

 hatched, and in three days made living creatures : 

 and these of several shapes and colours ; some being 

 hard and tough, some smooth and soft ; some are 

 horned in their head, some in their tail, some have 

 none ; some have hair, some none : some have sixteen 

 feet, some less, and some have none: but, as our 

 Topsel hath with great diligence observed, those 

 which have none, move upon the earth, or upon 

 broad leaves, their motion being not unlike to the 

 waves of the sea. Some of them he also observes 

 to be bred of the eggs of other caterpillars, and that 

 those in their time turn to be butterflies ; and again, 



