EVOLUTION OF THE TROUT FLY. 157 



some rivers is a typical autumn fly. I have seen 

 it come down in fleets when fishing the Eden for 

 salmon in October. Bowlker knew it well, and 

 gives an excellent description, and is the first 

 writer to say what is so true, that it is particu- 

 larly abundant on cold, stormy days. Bowlker 

 winged it with 'a Cormorant's feather that lyes 

 under the Wing in the same form as those of a 

 Goose.' I should like to see that feather. The 

 body he made of mole's fur, or still better of 

 water rat's, ribbed with yellow silk : and two 

 or three turns of a grizzled hackle. The best 

 dressing to-day for a sunk fly is water hen either 

 for the winged or still better for the hackled 

 fly, with a body of silk, either all purple or 

 purple and orange. Or it may be composed of 

 a dark snipe hackle with a purple silk body. 

 Four variations, all good, are given in Pritt. 

 For the dry fly nothing beats tomtit's tail for 

 wings, whilst for body you can have either 

 mole's fur or quill dyed purple. I always fancy 

 mole's fur kills best. The hackle should be 

 honey dun. This pattern, by the way, with 

 mole's fur on claret silk, is given by that fine 

 judge Mr. Skues as the best underwater 

 pattern, but I should feel happier with a Water 

 Hen and Purple. 



Such is the fly as it is, and such was it at the 

 end of the seventeenth century : how did it get 

 from one to the other? It starts well, for a 

 dark dull starling wing is good and so is a 

 mouse fur body. In fact either mouse or mole's 



