4 THE WONDERFUL TROUT 



Edition, whilst acknowledging the favour- 

 able reception of previous editions by the 

 press and by many eager and interested 

 pupils, still points out (p. x) that 'dark- 

 ness rather than light is the deliberate 

 choice of the million/ and this fact we hope 

 to bring out more emphatically. Notwith- 

 standing the aforesaid reception, the average 

 local angler of to-day (A.D. 1898) does not 

 fish up-stream in any state, on any stage of 

 water, upon at least nine -tenths of the rivers, 

 large or small, of Scotland. 



We do not desire to appear even to 

 assume a higher standard of authority than 

 we honestly believe we possess. We humbly 

 think, after these many years, that we 

 cannot compete with hundreds of other 

 anglers, old and young (young especially !), 

 whose opportunities and experiences, energies 

 and abilities, have very likely been extended 

 over double or treble or ten times the areas 

 that ours have. What we try to aim at is 

 to get a large body of fisherfolk to give 

 up that terrible practice of 'flailing down- 

 stream' under all conditions of flood and 

 drought, thereby frightening all the decent- 



