SALMON FLIES 

 landed during that afternoon thirty -one trout, of which only one 

 weighed less than a pound. Four or five were hooked on the grey fly, 

 all the rest on reds and blues. My limit being four brace, I exceeded it 

 accidentally by one, and kept nine trout weighing 13^ lb. I might have 

 landed many more had I worked harder and continued longer. . . . 



•' Two days later, on Saturday, June 5, I enjoyed an even better 

 opportunity of testing the abnormally coloured flies, in the presence 

 of three independent witnesses. This was on the Beane, near Hert- 

 ford, where flsh are not nearly so plentiful as in the Gade, and far 

 more wary. The day was intensely hot and bright. Unluckily I had 

 used up, or given away, all my cherry -coloured mayflies,* and I had 

 only one very bright blue one left. The fish began to rise 

 about 2.30 p.m., and I had landed two brace, weighing 7^ lb., with 

 the ordinary mayfly before 4.30. 1 mention particulars of size in order 

 to show that these trout had arrived at years of discretion. I tried 

 a good fish with the grey fly, which he refused. I then went up to a 

 friend's house for a cup of tea. Returning at 5.30, I found this fish 

 still rising, and mounted my solitary blue fly, though I considered 

 it too large for the intensely bright sunshine. He took it immediately, 

 and was landed — 2^ lb. Not far from the same place another fish had 

 taken up his position; on being offered the blue fly he seized it the 

 first time over — 2^ lb. Three persons — Mr Abel Smith, M.P., the 

 Hon. Mrs Smith and Mr Anstruther — saw the fly taken out of the 

 mouths of these fish, and I warned them that I might have to sub- 

 poena them as witnesses. 



" The next act in the drama did not end so propitiously. ... A large 

 fish was rising in a pool at the foot of an alder. I got the blue fly 

 nicely over him, and he took the first opportunity of hooldng himself. 

 Throwing himself out of the water, he showed well over 3 lb.; but, 

 dashing suddenly into a dense bed of weeds, he struggled so violently 

 that, in spite of all care, he smashed the gut and carried off the last 

 of my heretical flies. I stopped after landing two other fish — 3 and 

 1^ lb. — on a grey fiy, making a total of eight trout weighing 16| lb., 

 besides a few others returned under size. . . . 



" Now I am as far as possible from desiring to bolster up an a 

 priori theory about the colour-blindness of fish. ... It may be asked. 

 Why was the experiment tried only in the mayfly season, when 



'They had become known as "Bloody Marys." 



I 57 



