Notes and Sport of a Dry -Fly Purist. 151 



more leisurely falls, displaying their perfections to 

 each other for a few brief hours previous to pairing, 

 ovipositing, and dying. And as the angler can 

 only spare one day from his office in London, where 

 over his daily task and common round he dreams 

 of halcyon days by the riverside, he orders break- 

 fast to be ready in good time on the morrow, and 

 edibles, including fruit, to be prepared to carry 

 with him ; for he wisely has no idea of leaving the 

 margin of the stream until long after sunset, 

 regarding the whole affair as a sort of lengthened 

 picnic, and therefore delighted to take his needful 

 refreshment al fresco. He is almost certain to 

 meet friends and eke competitors, for during the so- 

 called " carnival " fly -fishermen are gregarious, and 

 often it must be thought, if not openly expressed, 

 by those keenest on the sport, very much in each 

 others' way. Especially so is the roving rodsman, 

 who parades along the bank in a listless manner 

 and seldom appears content to settle to his work, 

 and, worse still, is given to gossiping. 



Alas ! there is very little to be said about the 

 May-fly sport this year, as everywhere on our 

 southern rivers it was a failure compared with 

 former seasons, and it must have been most dis- 

 appointing and vexatious to a host of its votaries. 

 At the beginning of June, when it should be at its 

 best, I counted over a dozen fishermen on about a 



