338 SALMON AND TROUT. 
so long as it comes down exactly in the right spot before his 
suspicions are aroused by seeing a foot or two of glittering gut 
pass over his nose half a dozen times. So that there is a certain 
amount of truth in the saying, ‘It is not so much the fly as the 
driver,’ though the originator of this Hampshire maxim is him- 
self quite as famous for his practical knowledge of flies and fly 
tying as he is for his skill in handling a rod. 
But the angler who really desires to get the most enjoyment 
out of his sport will never be contented with the utilitarian view 
which measures a day’s sport solely by the weight of the basket; 
he will always have powers of observation keenly developed, 
some at least of the instincts of the naturalist will be present, 
and the marvellous profusion of insect life—which is the pecu- 
liar characteristic of the chalk streams—cannot fail to excite 
his interest. And, other things being equal, there can be no 
doubt that the entomologist always has a great advantage over . 
the man who knows nothing and cares nothing about the habits 
and life history of the flies of the streams he frequents. More- 
over, there are some days, as all experienced anglers will admit, 
on which any efforts however skilful appear to be useless until 
the right fly is found. Then possibly, after an hour or more of 
fruitless whipping, the spell appears to be broken, and fish after 
fish falls a victim to the attractions of a single fly, the only 
pattern in the angler’s store which for the time possesses any 
charm. 
A certain amount of fly-fishing entomology may, of course, 
be learnt from books, but the only knowledge which can be really 
useful is that which the fisherman acquires for himself by his 
own habits of observation. The novice should, therefore, make 
a practice of studying the flies by the water-side; he will soon 
learn to recognise some flies at a glance, but, however proficient 
he may become, it is hardly likely that he will ever be able 
wholly to dispense with the useful habit of dipping up from the 
water a few of the natural insects, rather than fish for a moment 
in doubt or hesitation. To readily recognise the fly on which 
the fish are feeding, and to be able to match it with a good 
