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CH'uple of blues. It's mighty pleasant to sit ilius beside the 

 crystal brook, and listen to its lullaby, as bubbling and 

 gurgling over the stones it hurries on to presently lose itself 

 in the mighty ocean. What a world of scientific wonders 

 lie hidden in this stream, and how profound and widespread 

 is the iunorance which makes these wonders a sealed book 

 to the vast majority of mankind ! Of the myriads of 

 insect life which people these waters, who amongst our 

 acquaintances can give us the most superficial description, 

 or possesses even the most elementary knowledge ? 

 That fresh water mussel shell, for instance, might furnish a 

 theme for an essay upon aquatic boring insects. Those tiny 

 holes which perforate the shell are the work of a minute 

 beetle, no greater than a barley-corn or more formidable in 

 appearance than a lady-bird, yet he has compassed the 

 destruction of the mollusk which tenanted that shell. The 

 subtle ami persistent attacks of tliis little borer were neither 

 unknown or unheeded by the mussel, for deposits of fresh 

 shell-making material over the place attacked, show that 

 the instinct of self-preservation — call it what you please — 

 made him alive to the necessity of guarding against the 

 danger by which he was assailed. But we are going a- 

 fishing and I will not plague you, gentle reader, more than 

 I can help with pryings into the habits and doings of the 

 minute creatures which inhabit the watery world. By the 

 way, that belt of valerien is worth a passing glance, for the 

 drought of the past two years has left it high and dry, and 

 it has thrown out long tender roots above ground, which 

 extend many feet down towards its beloved water ; the 

 source from whence it draws its sustenance and luxuriance. 

 Is it "instinct" which teaches these water-loving plants 

 tc» throw out their feelers in the right direction ? Don't, 

 talk to me about the "laws of attraction " ; that is a lame 

 and insufficient attempt to explain one of nature's subtle 

 mysteries. Now then for a trial of my home-made fly, for 

 along this shallow of rippling waters several feeding fish 

 show themselves, and they are less likely to be fastidious 

 than are those shy fellows in the smoother surfaced runs 

 of the river. Yes, I've got him, and he comes down stream 

 as gently as if he knew it was wrong to disturb the water 



