CONCERNING THE WIND 193 



not rise well when the breeze is from that quarter ; 

 neither, we suppose, will larvae move about with 

 freedom or be inclined to change their state. If 

 any loch or river yields good results under such a 

 condition, it is looked upon as some wonderful 

 exception which must be subjected to examination 

 and explained away. 



Attempts have in consequence been made to 

 account for this supposed peculiarity of Loch 

 Leven. It has been argued that, as an East wind 

 is not so cold immediately it leaves the sea as it 

 is after it has traversed many miles of the colder 

 land, and as Loch Leven is near the East coast, a 

 wind from the East is there not harmful in its 

 effects. 



This seems to make rather many assumptions: 

 first, that a cold wind makes trout fast ; secondly, 

 that the East wind is warmer on the East coast than 

 it is inland ; thirdly, that the land is colder than the 

 sea; and lastly, that whatever is not harmful is 

 beneficial. 



If our year was one eternal spring we do not 

 mean the spring of the Golden Age, when the rivers 

 ran with milk and nectar, worse conditions for 

 angling than any wind three of these assumptions 

 would be correct. A cold wind in spring does not 

 encourage fly-larvae to enter the winged state, but 

 in summer it has exactly the opposite effect on 

 certain species, and then trout feed readily. We 

 who have shivered in St. Andrews by the grey North 

 Sea know exactly how warm the spring East wind 

 can be; Andrew Lang also knew "how the keen 

 and biting spray drives up the melancholy street/' 

 and R. F. Murray was often glad " to draw more 



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