142 A RIVER OF NORWAY 



friend, or from a professional to begin with, and 

 then the books become of value. 



To Walton or to his detractor Franck 1 the 

 fly-tier will hardly go for practical instruction. 

 Of all the successors of these worthies, I know 

 only one from whom the art may be acquired 

 with ease and certainty. Captain Hale's " How 

 to Tie Salmon Flies " (London, 1892) is a marvel 

 of lucidity and thoroughness. It is rare to find 

 a writer with such a gift of giving practical 

 directions in such a plain and intelligible 

 manner. The illustrations, in which every 

 stage of the process is depicted, are as good 

 as the text. For my part, I gratefully acknow- 

 ledge that whatever facility I have acquired in 

 tying flies is mainly due to this excellent 

 manual. Unfortunately for future generations 

 the book is out of print, and difficult to 

 procure. 



Mr. Kelson's book, "The Salmon Fly," is 

 useful to the fly-tier for its large collection of 



1 " Northern Memoirs, calculated for the Meridian of Scotland, 

 writ in the year 1658 by Richard Franck, Philanthropus. " A scarce 

 book, of which a new edition, said to have been edited by Sir 

 Walter Scott, was published in 1821. The verbose pedantry of 

 Franck makes it almost impossible to read him, but he undoubtedly 

 understood the practice of salmon-fishing with the fly, and it is 

 amusing to dip into the book. 



