A GREAT QUESTION ANSWERED. 61 



of those flies which are in season. But they kill 

 oh a principle totally different from the philoso- 

 phers' doctrine, viz., because they are like some 

 natural fly, whilst the bad imitation is not like 

 any fly at all. 



In the month of March, when the weather was 

 open and the water in fly-fishing tune, I have seen 

 thousands of a particular species of fly sailing 

 with wings erect upon the surface of the water. 

 The fly I mean is diversely called the March- 

 brown, brown-drake, cob-fly, and grey caugh- 

 lan. It is easier to dress an imitation of this fly 

 than of the May-fly, and therefore such imita- 

 tion will kill when a nondescript, or a fly as 

 unlike as possible the March brown, will not. 

 Practical anglers know this so well, that when the 

 March-brown is on the waters, they fish with 

 three imitations of it of different sizes attached 

 to their foot-line at one and the same time. I 

 have known a good imitation of the March brown 

 thrown upon the water amongst the live insects 

 and eagerly taken, I may say in preference to 

 the natural fly. Did the fish confound it with 

 the natural fly, or rise at it because it was a non- 

 descript ? That is the question. I answer with- 

 out hesitation they confounded the artificial with 

 the natural fly. At the same time I maintain 

 that if fish did not in general make the mistake 

 of confounding the artificial with the natural fly, 



