78 TROUT FLIES. 



tion of this fly is with the same mixture of blue 

 water-rat fur and pale yellow, inclining to white for 

 body ; and for wing, the most transparent feather 

 to be got from the wing of the bunting* or the 

 mistletoe thrush. 



As these flies are tender, you may perceive them 

 in breezy weather all dishevelled by being blown in 

 from the ruffled surface to the sheltered eddies 

 their wings being dashed asunder, and spread on the 

 water like shivered oars. In this state the trouts 

 devour them ; and from this circumstance, as well 

 as another which I shall presently describe, a hun- 

 dred vile imitations of this fly meet with partial 

 success ; while those who use such, often ignorantly 

 aver that it is of little consequence to be nice about 

 flies. The next best imitation of this fly (or it may 

 be even a preferable imitation to mine, as I never 

 used it) has the body the same as described, but 

 small and gentle, and the wings of a small body 



* Buntings are a numerous family ; but from the fly he speaks of, 

 he must mean the yellow bunting, the yorlin. To an angler with 

 " music in his soul," the black-headed bunting is a river-side pest. In 

 the early morning it follows him from bank to bank, with its whit-o, 

 whit-o, whit-o, bringing him in mind of saw-sharpening. We once 

 saw a brother piscator lay down his rod and commence stone-throw- 

 ing with great vigour, into a bank of trees. On coming up and 

 enquiring what he aimed at, he said he was trying to drive off a sick- 

 ening bird that had " wkeetled-icheetled there for the last half hour." 

 This was the black-headed bunting. Strange, we have more than 

 once seen this bird classed as a British song bird. [EDK.] 



