PREFATORY NOTE. xiii 



angling Editor of the Field, Mr. Christopher Davies, 

 Mr. R. B. Marston, Editor of the Fishing Gazette, and 

 Mr. Thomas Andrews, I am also under the greatest 

 obligation for the very charming and interesting con- 

 tributions to which their names are attached. I only 

 regret that circumstances should have unavoidably 

 deprived my readers of a promised contribution on 

 salmon fishing from the pen of His Grace the Duke 

 of Beaufort, which would have been warmly welcomed 

 by all fly-fishers. 



For the rest, it has been my aim to make these 

 volumes as practical as possible ; and if the exigencies 

 of this rdle have involved a certain amount of space 

 being devoted to more or less technical matters — which, 

 however necessary and important, are, perhaps, less 

 attractive to the general angling public than to the 

 enthusiastic student — I hope the other part of the pro- 

 gramme laid down by the Editor has not been over- 

 looked, and that the following pages will be found to 

 be sufficiently diversified with anecdotes and incidents 

 of sport to redeem them from being hopelessly ' dull 

 reading.' 



H. C-P. 



