THE JEXNY SPINXER. 213 



of a beautiful little insect are careering round you. This 

 is the delicate little 



Jenny Spinner or Spinning Jenny. Curiously 

 enough, while Jackson does not give the iron-blue, he gives 

 its imago, under the name of the little white spinner, and he 

 places it early in May. By Theakstone it is called the 

 pearl-drake. c Ephemera ' does not mention it. Wade 

 calls it the evening bloa. It is not at all an easy insect to 

 imitate, so transparent are its colours and so slender its 

 proportions. It is almost as great a favourite with the 

 trout, however, as in its earlier form. Imprimis, the tail 

 is to be made of two strands of a light blue dun hackle. 

 The body is peculiar : at the head and tail it is of a bright 

 brown colour ; the middle part, however, is of a limpid 

 watery white. This is generally very badly imitated by a 

 few turns of dead white floss silk, which is about as like it 

 as a drumhead is to a window-pane. A clear horsehair or 

 a shred of fine gut wound round may bear some resem- 

 blance to it. But the head and tail parts must be of bright 

 orange-brown silk : about two turns of finest sewing silk, 

 just enough to show clearly. The wings ah ! the wings I 

 What shall we do to imitate their clear, delicate, watery 

 transparency ? The tips of two very pale light blue hackles 

 might perhaps come near it. The usual way, however, is 

 as both Theakstone and Mr. Konalds recommend to 

 dress the fly hackle fashion, or buzz, as it is termed, with 

 the lightest, silveriest dun hackle to be got. If this fly 

 could be well imitated (which it cannot), it would be a 

 valuable one, but hitherto our imitations are but sorry 

 affairs ; and the fish seem to know it too, for although rising 



white spots. The tail increases to quite four times its original length when 

 this change takes place.' 



I have seen this strikingly exemplified on the upper waters of the Test, 

 > -where it is a great favourite with the fish. I have seen the river covered 

 with rises when it is on, and have tried every fly I could think of in vain. 



