MAY-FLY FISHING. 359 
with his elongated foretarsi (whose articulation with the tibia is 
so constructed as to admit of supination of the tarsus), he bends 
the extremity of his body forwards over his back, grasps with his 
forceps the hinder part of her seventh ventral segment, and with 
his outer caudal setae embraces her sixth segment. These two 
setee exhibit near their origin a strongly marked articulation, where 
they can be deflected abruptly so as to lie forwards over the back 
of the female, parallel with one another between her wings. 
Meanwhile the couple gradually sink, the female not being quite 
able to support herself and mate, and by the time they reach the 
ground, if not before, their connection is usually terminated.’ 
The fecundated female, after resting awhile, repairs to the water 
and, hovering over it, just touches the surface from time to time 
as she drops part of the eggs. 
The only purpose for which they seem to have existed in 
the winged state, viz., that of perpetuating the species, having 
been accomplished, both sexes fall almost lifeless on the water, 
with their wings extended and lying flat, and at this period of 
their brief existence are usually designated by anglers the Spent 
Guat. 
The immature May-flies at the earlier stages being burrowing, 
larvee living in the mud (‘Zarves Joutsseuses,’ as Pictet styles 
them), do not to any great extent serve as food for the fish. A 
certain number are occasionally found during the spring in the 
stomachs of trout, but it is probable that when an autopsy 
reveals the presence of any considerable number of these larve, 
it is due to some disturbance of the mud of the river having 
set the larvee adrift, and, naturally, a hungry trout finding a 
quantity of palatable food such as this within his reach would, 
if possible, gorge himself with it. I know, from undoubted 
evidence, that from one fish in the Kennet more than one 
hundred May-fly larvze were taken in spring, but considering the 
enormous quantity of May-fly present in this river, it is not sur- 
prising that after a flood or during weed cutting a fish should 
find hundreds of larvee helplessly carried along by the stream. 
The first stage at which the trout can get the chance of 
