38 AN ANGLER'S SEASON 



closure to such sayings as that "It is 

 a profound mistake to suppose that the 

 first object of the angler is to catch fish." 

 The more fish one catches, the more fresh 

 glimpses one gains into the marvellously 

 intricate system of natural laws by which 

 the incidents of the sport are regulated. 

 One finds understanding, that is to say ; 

 and it is understanding that is wanted. 

 There is precedent for the belief that 

 opportunities for a sport multiply and 

 become enriched in proportion as the 

 pursuit is freed from prejudicial con- 

 ventions and conducted with scientific 

 energy. Grouse, for example, are much 

 more abundant now, when many men 

 seek them every August, than they 

 were seventy years ago, when they were 

 sought by only a few ; and they are most 

 plentiful on those moors from which the 

 heaviest bags are carried year after year. 



It is more than probable that a similar 

 wonder may ere long overtake the trout- 

 streams. A most instructive discovery 

 by Mr. Wilson H. Armistead, an expert 



