62 FISHING GOSSIP. 
Scarcely do any other genera of aquatic insects 
furnish so many baits for the fisherman. All the 
multitudinous varieties of “duns” and “spinners ” 
belong to the Ephemeride, the former representing 
the pseudimago, and the latter the imago states ; and 
though of so short an individual existence, some one 
or other of the tribe may be found on the water from 
February to November. Whatever may be the time 
of day, or month of the year, whether the locality be 
north or south, the water river or lake, the fisherman 
cannot be far astray who has one specimen of a dun 
on his line, resembling of course in shape and colour 
the natural fly on the water. Ask a Scottish fly- 
fisher of long experience what fly in the course of 
his life he has caught most fish with, and, ten to 
one, he will answer, “the hare-lug.” To the same ques- 
tion an Irish fly-fisher would reply, “the ash-fox ;” 
both being representative types of a large sub-class of 
duns. All the Ephemeride are readily recognised by 
each species possessing what may popularly be 
termed a, tail, consisting of three long hairs, or, as 
fishermen name these appendages, “the whisk.” 
To trace the Ephemeride ab ovo, the eggs are 
dropped into the water in such immense quantities 
that although they at once become the welcome prey 
of every kind of fish and aquatic insect, yet numbers 
escape to advance in due course of time to the larvae 
state, when they, in turn, commence vigorously 
