THE WONDERS OF THE SHORE. 197 



local species, wliicli liappens to lie on the water at 

 the time. Among gentlemen-fishermen, on the other 

 hand, so deep is the ignorance of the natural fly, that 

 I have known good sportsmen still nnder the delu- 

 sion that the great green May-fly comes out of a 

 caddis-bait ; the gentlemen having never seen, much 

 less fished with, that most deadly bait the "Water- 

 cricket," or free cree]3ing larva of the May-fly, which 

 may be found in May under the river-banks. The 

 consequence of this ignorance is, that they depend 

 for good patterns of flies on mere chance and experi- 

 ment ; and that the shop patterns, originally excel- 

 lent, deteriorate continually, till little or no likeness 

 to their living prototype remains, being tied by town 

 girls, who have no more understanding of what the 

 feathers and mohair in their hands represent than 

 they have of what the I^ational Debt represents. 

 Hence follows many a failure at the stream-side ; 

 because the " Caperer," or " Dun," or " Yellow Sally," 

 which is produced from the fly-book, though, pos- 

 sibly, like the brood which came out three years 

 since on some stream a hundred miles away, is quite 



