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we routine fishers have adopted his opinion, 

 that, in dressing flies, as much care as possible 

 should be taken to imitate the particular fly 

 with an artificial representation of which he 

 meant to deceive and catch fish. Not only, 

 according to our modern scientific schismatics, 

 is this care quite unnecessary; but, though it 

 has been recommended and practised since 

 and before the time of Cotton, it nev.er has as 

 yet succeeded. All the efforts of our prede- 

 cessors, and all the attentive studies of our- 

 selves, have served only to produce " pretended 

 imitation." So says a learned professor of 

 zoology professor too in a metropolitan col- 

 lege - but we hope he will excuse us if we do 

 not take for oracular all that is announced 

 from his professor's chair. We confess our- 

 selves rather obstinate in some cases so 

 much so, indeed, that, unlearned as we are, we 

 cannot adopt as true mere assertions unaccom- 

 panied with proofs, though they emanate from 

 a professor of high degree, from a philosophical 

 contributor to the " Encyclopaedia Britannica," 

 or from a score of smart, but, we some how or 

 other think, superficial writers of the steam- 

 engine school. We have, however, some pretty 

 good authorities on our side, and, if betting 

 were our : cue, we could get three professors of 

 the "routine" school backed to kill more trout 



