PREFACE. 



MANY and great have been the improvements that have 

 taken place in matters piscatorial during the past twenty 

 years, and were the author of this little work now alive, 

 he would no doubt be only too glad to admit the advan- 

 tages that anglers have derived from them. 



Born in the ancient city of Ripon, upon the banks of 

 the Yore, and from early boyhood passionately fond of 

 anything connected with fish or fishing, he pursued his 

 favourite sport until a year or so previous to his death, 

 which took place at the ripe old age of eighty. A short 

 time ago I had the pleasure of inspecting the original 

 manuscripts of this work, and at the same time had a 

 most interesting conversation with one of the author's 

 daughters ; many were the happy days, she informed 

 me, that she had spent with her father, acquiring know- 

 ledge into the inmost secrets of insect life, or accom- 

 panying him on some angling excursion during the 

 long summer days. I may add that this lady sketched 

 from nature the whole of the flies depicted in this book, 

 so that evidently her father's lessons were not thrown 

 away. Although I am a great advocate for the system 

 of matching your artificial flies with the natural ones 



