68 SALMON-FLIES ARE NONDESCRIPTS. 



is nothing — I am alluding to minor matters — 

 that astonishes me more than the effects of a 

 salmon-fly manojuvred after a certain fashion 

 throuiih the waters of a salmon-river. 



There are some — • clever and minute observers 

 ■ — who maintain that there exists a likeness be- 

 tween salmon-flies and certain insects. I wish 

 there did ; but I could never see the slightest like- 

 ness, excepting, perhaps, in two or three of the 

 flies, out of the hundreds that are used. The 

 living insect commonly named the " dragon-fly," 

 is also called by some the " pike-fly," by others 

 the " salmon-fly." I think it merits the second 

 better than the last name ; first, because it is 

 commonly found amongst the reeds and sedges of 

 ponds ; and secondly, because an artificial fly can 

 be made like it, but of larger size, which will be 

 taken more readily by pike than salmon. The 

 larger and rougher sort of artificial pike-flies, 

 salmon will not rise at ; but one made delicately, 

 somewhat after the fashion of the third beautiful 

 fly in the first plate or frontispiece, and styled 

 " Erin-go-Bragh," will attract that capricious 

 fish. Flies of that sort are the only ones that 

 resemble living insects, and then only partly, 

 viz. in the colour and shape of the body, for 

 their wings are not like those of any insect ever 



