A FAVOURITE FLY. 297 



aware of, in fact, I go so far as to imagine myself the 

 inventor ; but whether my title is good or not to this 

 honour I will give its description, pro bono publico. 

 Wings from the wing feathers of the bustard (a bird 

 now to be found in quantity only on the steppes of 

 Southern Kussia or Tartary : in plumage and colour 

 it much resembles the wild turkey, whose feathers, I 

 have no doubt, would answer equally well), with a few 

 strands of the scarlet macaw or ibis mixed with it. 

 Body of two colours, equally divided ; upper portion 

 of dark blue mohair, lower of gingery red, a red 

 hackle round the lower portions of body and a black 

 round the upper. A band of silver tinsel if for a 

 bright day, and gold if for a dark one, wrapped care- 

 fully and regularly between the hackles ; the whole 

 terminating with a scarlet tail either of ibis or worsted 

 the latter I prefer. To say that this fly has not 

 been tried previously might be deemed presumptuous ; 

 but this I will say, that when I first made it 1 had no 

 pattern, neither did I try to copy anything I had seen. 

 I have used it in many waters, and invariably with 

 success, although I am aware that frequently what is 

 found most deadly on some streams is totally ineffective 

 in a neighbouring one. 



My fly being on and the cast well stretched, I com- 

 menced operations, and at the third throw rose a 

 heavy fish without pricking him. However, I thought 

 I would move down and return when I had got to the 

 bottom of the pool and offer his excellency another 

 chance. At the fifth throw I rose and hooked a fine 

 fish, who, as soon as he felt' he was impaled, rushed 

 down into the still water. Not less than seventy 

 yards did he run out at this burst, and when I thought 



