136 A RIVER OF NORWAY 



have prevented the growth of a variety of local 

 patterns such as Scotland and Ireland are 

 plagued with. The English angler has brought 

 with him, as a rule, examples of certain well- 

 known and standard patterns, and his Norwegian 

 attendant has accepted them with stolid indiffer- 

 ence as a natural part of the Englishman's 

 wonderful outfit. If I showed a fly to Lars, 

 and asked his opinion of it, he would wait until 

 he had carefully felt the point of the hook with 

 his thumb, and if he found it sharp, would pro- 

 nounce the fly good enough. And here, I 

 believe, he hit on a great truth, often forgotten 

 by our local practitioners, that the quality of 

 the iron is of greater importance than the fur 

 and feathers with which it is decked. Better a 

 rough fur body and a simple turkey wing on a 

 good wire with a firmly-tied loop, than the 

 finest creation of silks and toppings on a badly- 

 tempered hook and a loop that draws. 



And so it happens, that in Norway most 

 anglers use but few patterns, and those chiefly 

 the well-tried "standards." The Jock Scot 

 and its derivatives; the Rangers, Durham and 

 Black; the Doctors, Black, Silver and Blue; 

 if to these we add the Black Dose, the Benchill, 



