26 ANGLING. 



are held decumbent, or close to the sides. They 

 fly heavily, and are produced from aquatic larvae 

 called caddis-bait or case-worms, remarkable for 

 their curious dwelling-places, which are hollow tubes 

 composed of sand, small shells, and pieces of wood, 

 agglutinated together, and made heavier or lighter 

 according to circumstances, that they may the more 

 easily sink or swim. They are open at either end, 

 and the worm crawls along the stones and gravel, by 

 protruding its legs at the anterior extremity. They 

 disencumber themselves from their aquatic habita- 

 tions, and assume the winged state in spring and 

 the earlier part of summer. Secondly, the different 

 kinds of May flies (Ephemera?), called green drakes, 

 &c. are also produced from larvae, which, for a long 

 time previous to their appearance as perfect insects, 

 have inhabited the waters. There are many species 

 of this genus, all of which are greedily sought for 

 by trout. They are easily known by their tapering 

 abdomens, veined wings, short antennae, and the 

 long slender setae or hairs which terminate their 

 bodies. They chiefly abound from May to mid- 

 summer. Thirdly, The small black or ant-fly, is 

 the winged female of the common black ant, and 

 occurs in the nests or hills of that insect during the 

 summer and autumnal months. 



There is scarcely any season of the year, except- 

 ing an ice-bound winter, in which an experienced 

 angler may not successfully ply his trade.* In the 



* Although Izaak Walton, that " great master in the art of ang- 

 ling," informs us that no man should in honesty catch a trout till the 

 middle of March, yet the grayling is in best condition during the 



