138 TIPS. 



With reference to the largest size used, a writer to one of the 

 weei^ly journals contradicted certain remarks sent to the paper by 

 me from the North of Scotland in the Spring of 'g6, and said that : — 

 " Mr. Kelson misleads the public by talking about his success with 

 six-inch flies '' — or words to that effect. One would hardly think it 

 necessary, but this opportunity is taken of again stating that nearly 

 all the salmon alluded to in the early reports from Carlogie of that 

 year, were taken with flics dressed on these identical hooks measuring 

 exactly six inches in length. 



I would here like to ask if this is a legitimate method of con- 

 troversy. 



A story is told of a saloon bar in the wild West of U.S., where 

 entertainments took place before a somewhat rough audience of 

 miners and cowboys. A notice was hung in a prominent place to the 

 following effect : — 



" Gentlemen are requested not to shoot at the pianist, who is 

 doing his best." 



I sympathise with that unfortunate pianist very much ; and I do 

 not think the method of the gentleman who thus criticises me is nnich 

 more legitimate than those brought to bear upon him. 



If I had propounded some elaborate theory depending upon nice 

 arguments admitting logical error, and my opponent had impearhed 

 the validity of the sequence in such arguments, it would even th.en 

 be rather a strong statement to f^ay that I was misleading the public. 

 But the case is different. 1 state a plain fact that I caught a large 

 number of fish with a fly measuring six inches. I certainly did so, 

 and there are witnesses of the fact, who are still alive, and capable of 

 testifying to the same. An exact replica of that same fly, measuring 



