SIR HERBERT MAXWELL 197 



during the May-fly season in a well known 

 southern trout stream noted for its large 

 and wary trout. Beginning with the usual 

 more or less exact copy of the natural insect, 

 with which he caught several trout, he then 

 proceeded in bright sunshine to cast a scarlet 

 fly over a rising fish ; it was at once accepted, 

 and a fine trout landed all doubtless to the 

 utter astonishment of the attendant keeper. 

 The same fly was then presented to another 

 trout, with the same immediate result. A bril- 

 liant blue May-fly was mounted and just as 

 greedily taken by another victim ; and so on 

 throughout a most successful day, when some 

 thirty trout, none under a pound in weight, 

 were landed, of which nine weighing 13^ Ibs. 

 were kept. Of the thirty a few were caught 

 on the usual imitation ; the rest took the gaudy 

 scarlets and blues, some of which eccentric- 

 looking patterns are now before me. Sir Her- 

 bert then gives in detail a second and equally 

 successful experiment in another river, where 

 trout up to 2 or 3 Ibs. in weight fell victims to 

 the same unorthodox flies. 1 



Against this instance may be given an ex- 

 perience of the writer's, which seems to point 



J The Field article is reproduced in ' extenso in his interesting 

 book, Salmon and Sea Trout ; Lawrence and Buller 1898. 



