MODERN ADVANTAGES. 227 



CHAPTEE V. 

 THE CHOICE OF FLIES. 



" Xa/nre ever indicates the way to her bent secrets without leading us thither by her oicn 



hand.' 



STUDENTS of angling history will probably agree with me that in days 

 gone by all men " roughed " it. There were no sporting newspapers to 

 encourage discussion on the choice of flies, nor other means of com- 

 municating experiences ; and as for the publication of a work on the 

 sport, that was a matter of serious cost, whilst the popularity of the 

 author depended on his literary style, rather than on the skill with which 

 he handled the subject. Consequently there was little intercourse among 

 Fishermen of different rivers. All this is now changed. Modern facilities 

 for travel, and the dispensation of knowledge, have ensured that the 

 angling world will ever possess new lights and copious records. Art and 

 science lend their aid to furnish the Angler with improved appointments 

 that serve to instruct him in the habits of his prey ; and, at a relatively 

 small expense, he can avail himself of the experience of those men who, 

 with larger opportunities for acquiring it, now command some fifteen 

 yards in excess of the cast which our ancestors made with an old 

 " hickory " and a line of " silk and hair ! " 



But notwithstanding these modern advantages, it seems to me that, 

 apart from a certain happy class who want no instruction, much ill- 

 digested information exists among Salmon-anglers on the great question 



Q2 



