10 OLD FLIES IN NEW DRESSES 



these experiments, being carried out by 

 myself, are hardly a conclusive proof of 

 my theory, as, however impartial I might 

 wish and believe myself to be, I must be 

 naturally biassed in my own favour. I 

 quite realise that this is a natural doubt, 

 but fortunately others besides myself have 

 tried my flies. 



Mr. Herbert Ash put them to an even 

 more severe test than I did myself, and 

 has kindly permitted me to give his ex- 

 perience. I give an extract from a letter 

 written by him and published in Land and 

 Water on October 23rd, 1897, as I think 

 it is a very pertinent testimonial to the 

 practical success of my theory. 



" I put up a cast of three Alders, two 

 being the shop-tied patterns which I 

 usually used, and the third, which I put 

 on as a first dropper, being Mr. Walker's. 

 I landed eight trout in about an hour and 

 a half, and each of those fish took Mr. 

 Walker's fly." 



" Now, although I used three flies, I 

 was fishing up stream and dry, my ob- 

 ject being to test the new mode of 

 tying the Alder, and I found that while 



