THE BRITISH ANGLER'S LEXICON. 15 



another must have it dressed with the fur taken from the 

 flank of the water rat. Now they both may be right in 

 English rivers the silk body obtains ; in the Irish rivers the 

 water rat fur has the preference. Instances of this kind 

 might be given about all the flies ; it is a distinction without 

 a difference. The flies that are now being tied for the 

 modern dry fly fishing come nearer the living insect in 

 appearance than what has hitherto been used for the wet 

 fly fishing, and are perfect works of art. Recently a new 

 style of artificial trout fly has been introduced. It is 

 patented, and is called the "Inimitable Fly. M The natural 

 fly is copied to the life, even to the veining of the tiny 

 transparent wings. Its manufacture is an unquestionable 

 stride in the right direction, and, to judge from its 

 appearance, it will be a most successful lure, and, taking 

 into consideration the skill displayed in its creation, the 

 price is very reasonable. Artificial flies (at any rate 

 those used for dry fly fishing) should be kept in a box 

 in preference to a book, as the latter presses the feather 

 and fur into awkward shapes, destroying the light, airy 

 appearance which all flies should possess. The flies used 

 in salmon fishing are different from trout flies in this, that 

 they do not resemble any natural insect that exists. They 

 are composed of gorgeous coloured feathers, wool, and silk, 

 with tinsel lavishly disposed about them ; are tied on larger 

 hooks, of course, as they have much heavier work to contend 

 with. They have a loop of twisted gut tied in the head of 

 the fly, which serves in place of an eyed hook or the link of 

 gut that is fastened to the trout fly. The size of salmon 

 artificial flies depends very much on the weight of water. In 

 heavy rolling rivers, sometimes the fly is a veritable monster 

 in size. This is the case in many of the large rivers in 



