132 BRITISH SPORTING FISHES. 



not one already, thou and all things which live), 

 and make thee happy in all ceons to come ! But 

 as it is, such immortality as I can bestow on thee 

 here is small return for all the pleasant days thou 

 hast bestowed on me." 



That which Kingsley here expresses for the 

 black alder is only an echo of what goes forth from 

 the heart of every angler towards a dozen other 

 flies which may happen to be his favourite, or the 

 " killing " fly of his own particular stream. Every 

 fly-fisher has some speciality with which he has per- 

 formed doughty deeds, and how anxiously does he 

 wait for his beloved fly to " come on "! As soon as 

 the warm weather returns, and the trout begin to 

 feed, every month brings its more or less season- 

 able flies. Of these gauzy creatures, which con- 

 stitute the food of trout, there are myriads ; but of 

 course the number of species is comparatively 

 few, and, speaking generally, these are represented 

 by four great families, representing two general 

 classes of flies. The Ephemera are the " up- 

 winged " flies of anglers ; the Phryganea the flat- 

 winged. But with all the myriad water-flies 

 which constitute the bulk of fish food, there are 

 a dozen on most streams which carry the angler 

 right on through the season. Though what " the 

 season " means in particular districts only the 

 angler knows. What will kill in one place in 



