166 FLY FISHING FOE TROUT. 



and landrail above. The fly is used by some 

 dry fly fishers, but is by no means universal, for 

 many prefer, for the magic quarter of an hour 

 when great trout take the Sedge, either a 

 Coachman, large Red Quill, large Wickham, 

 or Hare's Ear or Silver Sedge ; and I am of that 

 number. The large Red Sedge as dressed 

 to-day has a white body of silk or wool, a 

 reddish buff hackle run all the way down, 

 ribbed the reverse way with gold wire, and full 

 wings of landrail. For the sunk fly nothing 

 beats a copper silk body, with landrail hackle 

 at the head only. It is a great summer fly for 

 day or evening fishing, dressed very small. For 

 night fishing it becomes the Bustard, dressed 

 immense, with a brown owl wing. 



THE ALDER. 



The alder may or may not be mentioned in 

 the Treatise. This is the dressing of the only 

 fly given for August : 'The Drake Fly, the body 

 of black wool and lapped about with black silk ; 

 wings of the mail of the black drake with a 

 black head.' Markham called it the Cloudy 

 Dark Fly, and made it with a cork body covered 

 with black wool clipped from between a sheep's 

 ears, ribbed with black silk : head black : 

 wings, the under mail of the mallard. 



First of all, there is a point on the construc- 

 tion of the Treatise dressing. What is the 

 meaning of 'mail of the black drake with a 

 black head' ? It may mean one of two things : 



