EFFICIENT IN DIFFERENT YEARS? 81 



different seasons, as on different rivers and localities ; 

 and in some tribes as the yellow sally and little yellow 

 Mayfly, for instance even between different individuals 

 of the same tribe, on the same day. In one season, or 

 in a particular locality, some tribes may be seen 

 hovering over the pools in countless legions, while, per- 

 haps, for several years previously, they had not been 

 numerous enough to attract observation, or on another 

 river a few miles distant, not one is to be found ; and on 

 the contrary, others which had been almost the exclusive 

 favourites in a former season, will seem now to have 

 entirely vanished from the face of the waters, and their 

 artificial representatives, then so killing, are now entirely 

 disregarded. In support of the above opinion, I shall 

 quote some memorandums from my fishing diary made 

 in the years 1857, 1858, and 1859, from observations 

 on the lower portion of the Breamish, a small river 

 running through an open gravelly valley, free from wood 

 of any kind, with the exception of a few willow bushes 

 here and there. And as it may be considered a fair 

 average of the waters in Northumberland, as far as regards 

 climate, I trust the following observations will not be 

 without interest to some of iny piscatorial brethren : 



DIARY OF FLIES ON BREAMISH. 



" 1857, May 16. While fishing the Breamish this 

 day, I observed the following flies on the water, viz., 

 yellow sally, little yellow Mayfly, little dark dun, grey 

 gnat, large grey crane-fly, and the dung-beetle. The 



