THE SUMMING-UP. 135 



atmosphere, and the result is, our full con- 

 currence in the remark of Mr. Ronalds, that 

 " the duns form the sheet-anchor of the fly- 

 fisher's practice." 



Our pupils, after all we have said, must under- 

 stand us to lay down these principles : 1. That 

 trout can discriminate species, and have prefer- 

 ences for particular flies under particular cir- 

 cumstances. 2. That imitations of some of the 

 principal species are necessary for successful 

 practice. 3. That imitation consists not of a 

 slavish copying of detail, but an expression of the 

 general character of the fly imitated. 4. That 

 besides specific imitation of the fly, an imitation 

 of its action in the water must be included ; and, 

 5. That a difference in the imitation of that 

 action (all other circumstances being equal) con- 

 stitutes, to a great extent, the various grades of 

 skill possessed by different anglers. 



Before leaving this subject, it may not be 

 amiss to correct a notion very commonly enter- 

 tained by many even experienced anglers, that 

 artificial flies become darker and collapsed when 

 in the water. The simple experiment of ex- 

 amining an artificial fly in a tumbler of water 

 will show at once that this notion is entirely 

 unfounded. 



K 4 



