ERRIS IMPOSTORS. 403 



all bags together, and I never did much good with it. 

 The fly, on the contrary, with the plain turkey wing was 

 an invention of our own, and killed 48 salmon and 137 

 white trout in one week, on the Owenduff. The fly with 

 the mallard wing and fiery body also kills right well on 

 both rivers, and so do the Ballina flies, more especially 

 one of Pat Reams', called the Thunder and Lightning. 

 An equally great pet is the enclosed, with the frayed gut. 

 He is confoundedly ugly, sir, having been composed by 

 vour humble servant ; but treat him with respect, fur this 

 very year that identical specimen has slain six Salmo solar 

 in the river Erne that thou knowest of. I enclose four 

 or five more of what MacGowan calls Ballycroy flies, 

 but they are awful impostors (on second thought I don't, 

 for they are no use at all). The fish, in fact, like plain 

 sober mallard and turkey, and furnace hackles, with either 

 orange or brown bodies, and a jay about the shoulders. 



<H. I. S.' 



Mr. S. enclosed me several patterns, some with orange 

 and green joints, others of all the colours in the rainbow, 

 and with manes of all sorts of colours. I will not fatigue 

 the reader and burden my fly list with their description, 

 but will merely describe the plain flies referred to in the 

 above letter. 



N'o. 4. This is the fly that killed the 48 salmon and 137 

 white trout in a week. N.B. The white trout at Ballycroj 

 run up to six or seven pounds weight, and average from 

 two to three pounds. Tag, gold thread ; tail, a slip of 

 mottled brown turkey, and tuft of orange mohair ; but, 

 black ostrich ; body, half orange mohair (inclining to 

 darkish) and half black mohair ; black hackle (over brown 

 mohair only); gold thread over the orange, and gold 

 tinsel over the black part of body; wing, rich brown 

 mottled turkey ; black head. 



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