THE COMMON TROUT. 231 



ostrich harl, made thick towards the tail and be- 

 neath the but of the wings ; the legs of a reddish- 

 brown hackle. 



The great red ant is nearly contemporaneous with 

 the preceding, which it resembles in size and form. 

 The wings are made of a light starling's feathers ; 

 the body of gold-coloured mohair, or copper- coloured 

 peacock's harl, with a ginger hackle for legs. 



Among the preceding flies will be found some 

 which will assuredly suit for any river, or for any 

 period of the fishing season. The angler who places 

 implicit confidence in the generally received opinion, 

 that in every stream, and at each season, there is 

 one particular fly in much more special request than 

 any other, will do well to prepare for an unknown 

 river, by making ready a few lines, each with three 

 flies all of different character. For example, a 

 March brown at the end of the line, a dun hackle, 

 with a lighter or darker body to suit the weather 

 or complexion of the stream, for the first dropper, 

 and a red hackle with peacock body for the second 

 dropper; or, 2e?/y, a sand fly at the end, with a 

 grouse hackle or wren's tail, with orange body, for 

 the first dropper; and a pale yellow or cream- 

 coloured hackle over a bluish body, or one of the 

 ant flies, as the second dropper. These are promis- 

 ing flies for most seasons of the year, though, like 

 the others, they may require to be changed accord- 

 ing to the circumstances of time and place, or the 

 varying caprices of the finny tribes. We recom- 

 mend them to the reader chiefly because we find 

 them recommended to others in various works, but 

 we shall now exhibit a very few which ourself and 



