54 FLY FISHING FOR TROUT. 



off the notch, when it unwound itself off the 

 slip, and thus he played himself. This inven- 

 tion is not original, for the principle was used 

 all the world over for a fixed line or hand line, 

 and I think I have seen it mentioned in pre-reel 

 days, as a means of holding slack line in your 

 left hand ; but I know of no one who used it as 

 did Frere Francois Fortin, fixed to the line 

 itself, and working automatically. 



Nearly fifty years more had to pass, and 

 Louis XIV. was not far from the end of his 

 long reign, before the artificial fly appeared. 

 In England the Treatise was two hundred years 

 old, Lawson, Venables and Cotton had 

 equipped fly fishing for its long journey, the 

 reel had been invented and modern times are 

 near, before there is any French book mention- 

 ing fly fishing, of which I can find any trace. 

 The earliest I know is the Traitte de toute sorte 

 de Chasse et de Peche printed at Amsterdam in 

 1714. It is I believe a reprint of Louis Liger's 

 Amusemens de la Campagne, 1709. I have not 

 seen this edition of this well known book, but I 

 have seen later ones, and these, as well as the 

 Traitte, I believe to be identical with the first 

 edition. 



The Traitte was largely pirated from the 

 Ruses Innocentes, whose admirable illustra- 

 tions were stolen wholesale. But it has some- 

 thing quite new, for it contains a detailed 

 description of five artificial flies. The dress- 

 ings are by no means bad and, as will be seen 



