PREFACE. 
Many and great have been the improvements that have 
taken place in matters piscatorial during the past twenty 
years, and were the author of this little work now alive, 
he would no doubt be only too glad to admit the advan- 
tages that anglers have derived from them. 
Born in the ancient city of Ripon, upon the banks of 
the Yore, and from early boyhood passionately fond of 
anything connected with fish or fishing, he pursued his 
favourite sport until a year or so previous to his death, 
which took place at the ripe old age of eighty. A short 
time ago I had the pleasure of inspecting the original 
manuscripts of this work, and at the same time had a 
most interesting conversation with one of the author’s 
daughters; many were the happy days, she informed 
me, that she had spent with her father, acquiring know- 
ledge into the inmost secrets of insect life, or accom- 
panying him on some angling excursion during the 
long summer days. I may add that this lady sketched 
from nature the whole of the flies depicted in this book, 
so that evidently her father’s lessons were not thrown 
away. Although I am a great advocate for the system 
of matching your artificial flies with the natural ones 
