DEPRECATORY 9 



greatly lower in temperature than the air, trout 

 do not rise well. When both temperatures are 

 too low they do not rise well. But if the tem- 

 peratures are nearly equal, above about 53 

 to 55, they often do rise well ; and especially 

 in summer, if the temperature of the air be 

 cooler than that of the water, they rise best. 

 Often in a backward spring the water and 

 the air become colder as the day advances 

 instead of warmer, as we have repeatedly 

 proved, and this is most fatal to the hatching 

 off of water insects. A continuation of high 

 floods, and dark skies, and dark waters, with 

 these low temperatures, sum up the worst 

 circumstances that can befall the spring or 

 early summer angler, and, in consequence, 

 the trout fail to get into their best condition 

 from the absence of winged insect food. 

 Such a season was 1898, at least upon the 

 less aerated reaches of our rivers. Under the 

 above conditions, as we have said, we refuse to 

 ' flail.' We often prefer to sit still when other 

 anglers are in the words of Stewart 'ex- 

 ercising unlimited patience ' (op. cit. p. 2). For 

 hours together we have in vain watched a 

 long, lovely reach of water, to detect the 



