JULY. 73 



a brown tinge ; honey glistening legs. Out on fine days, 

 often in good numbers, into autumn. 



Head, shoulders, and body, black silk ; wings a slightly 

 broken feather from an old bright bronzy yellow brown 

 hen ; legged with a few fibres of mohair. 



89TH. LITTLE BROWN DUN. Full length, rather bet- 

 ter than three-eighths ; wings near three-eighths, top ones 

 a dark whalebone brown, set round the ends with small 

 light spots ; shoulders and body a dark dull brown, belly 

 rather lighter ; legs and thighs a dim fleshy transparency ; 

 wings a bloaish transparency ; feelers spotted light and 

 dark. Are hatching and breeding and out in the evening, 

 about six o'clock, wheeling in small groups to and fro, just 

 over the water. There is another small brown dun u rather 

 less than a quarter. 



Hackled, for wings, with a small slightly freckled feather 

 from the moorcock ; with a few fibres of red brown fur or 

 mohair at the breast ; body, deep coppery silk, waxed. 



90TH. LATE BLACK SPINNER, GNAT, OR FLY. 46 Full 



(45) "Brown Silver-horns" of Francis; "Light Silver-horns" of Jackson ; 

 not mentioned in Ronalds, although he gives the black and shining black varieties. 

 On the Wharfe the local anglers usually dress this fly hacklewise with feather from 

 a thrush's wing and ruddy brown silk, I have killed some good grayling with this 

 pattern used as an evening fly. 



(46) This is the autumn edition of that diminutive insect usually denominated 

 the " angler's curse," and a very appropriate title it is, for when the surface of the 

 stream is literally boiling with fish rising at the black midge, nothing will induce 

 them to even look at the imitation ; I have a vivid recollection of one day in parti- 

 cular, when Mr. Marston (editor of the Fishing Gazette) and myself spent the whole 

 of a September day upon the Wharfe, exercising our utmost skill and patience for 

 the grand result of a brace and a half of small fish ; on all sides of us large grayling 

 were rising in real earnest at this little pest, but although we employed the firest 

 of drawn gut, and the most minute of artificials, we might as well have thrown in 

 our hats. The following patterns were afterwards sent to me by Mr. Marston, they 

 were recommended to that gentleman by Mr. Hall, of Bristol, and I append them 

 for the benefit of such of my readers who may feel inclined to try their skill during 

 a visitation of the " curse." 



No. 1. Body, two strands of a turkey's tail feather; hackle, from a starling ; 

 wings, ditto. 



