FLIES AND KNOTS. 259 



like many other parts of it, are copied from the English 

 writers, and in our waters are utterly valueless. The 

 author, although a splendid sportsman, was not as an 

 angler acquainted with our trout streams and ponds, and 

 the contributor of the supplement judged rather too 

 exclusively from his experience on Long Island. 



The first and most striking difference to be observed 

 between the systems of the two countries is in the com- 

 parative size of the flies, those of America, following the 

 natural insect, bemg larger, and, probably for a similar 

 reason, gaudier. It is a remarkable fact that the most 

 gaudy of all, the scarlet ibis, is prominently successful 

 alone in the streams of Long Island and of the British 

 Provinces. As many of the Long Island trout yearly 

 migrate to the sea, in which peculiarity they resemble 

 the fish of the latter place, it may be that this fly is only 

 a favorite with sea-going fish. A little tinsel wound 

 round the body is supposed to improve its efficiency, as 

 some fishermen suggest from a resemblance to the. prin- 

 cipal Winter food of the trout, the salt water minnow. 



The earliest fly on the Long Island ponds is a dark 

 water fly, with a brownish red body and legs, and black, 

 filmy, transparent wings. It is rather large, is wafted 

 along upon and occasionally rises from the water, and 

 never appears in any considerable numbers. It is usually 

 represented" by the English or female cow-dung, which, 

 although not similar in coloring, presents somewhat the 

 same general appearance. The wings, being transparent, 

 should not be imitated with a black feather, although I 

 have had great success when these flies were on the water 

 with a fly that had black wings and a claret body and 



