CHAPTER IV 



THE ALDER-FLY (Sialis lutaria, Linn.). 



THE Alder is a fly which hitherto has 

 taken a position in the dry-fly fisherman's 

 estimation very much inferior to that which 

 is its due. Almost every writer on the 

 subject says that it is but rarely found on 

 the water. It is naturally not found there 

 so often as the flies which are hatched out 

 in the water, but I have notwithstanding 

 frequently seen them on the water in fair 

 numbers. The proportion of Alders which 

 get on the water is probably very small if 

 compared with those which do not ; but as 

 the fly is in some places extremely numer- 

 ous, even this small proportion becomes in 

 those places a large number. 



A practical proof that they do frequently 

 fall on the water is the avidity with which 



