126 THE SCIENTIFIC ANGLEE. 



In fly-making, a natural specimen of the fly it is de- 

 sired to imitate should always be placed before the artist. 

 Man's greatest achievements in the fine arts are admired, 

 and justly so, in proportion to their faithful accordance 

 with the originals of nature. Mere reproductions of 

 these are not nearly so much esteemed ; for, though the 

 original canvas may be valued at its weight in gold, even 

 good copies are of small comparative worth. We have 

 often deplored the perverseness of individuals who, mis- 

 conceiving the object and aim in view, persist in repro- 

 ducing old renderings, from books and other sources, 

 and thus, instead of endeavoring to improve upon exist- 

 ing or old st} r les, merely perpetuate them, and are con- 

 tent. Many an old pattern of "artificial" is considered 

 irresistible in its season, owing to past exploits in which 

 it may have figured favorably, when given the post of 

 honor upon the fly-list. Their owners fail to compre- 

 hend that their vaunted virtues could and would have 

 been eclipsed in the matter of conquests, had a truer, 

 and therefore better copy been employed in equally fa- 

 vorable circumstances. 



The natural insects, common to all pure running 

 streams, are precisely similar upon all waters productive 

 of them; nevertheless the immense diversity in the imita- 

 tions (so called by courtesy) is simply astounding. To 

 take the Drake, or May fly, as a case in point. Though, 

 comparatively, this is a large and well-known fly, we 

 venture to assert that if a copy of it be obtained from 

 five hundred different fly-dressers, scarcely any two will 

 be alike; and it may be, that not many amongst the bet- 

 ter renderings have much in common with the original. 

 To the eye of the experienced fly-fisher, a glance at the 

 handiwork of any fly-dresser proclaims the amount of 

 practical knowledge and experience possessed by him. 

 To distinguish an old style of fly from a more modern 

 one, is a much easier matter; this is a problem, the solu- 



