BOWNESS & BOWNESS, Fift&mg &o& £ STadtle MAKERS, 230, STRAND, LONDON. From BELL YARD. THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID HANDBOOK OF ANGLING. LONDON PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODB AND CO. NEW-STBEET SQUARE THE GOLDFINCH. BRITANNIA. ERIN GO BRAGH. J . A HANDBOOK OF ANGLING: TEACHING FLY-FISHING, TKOLLING, BOTTOM-FISHING, AND SALMON-FISHING. WITH THE NATURAL HISTOEY OF RIVER FISH, AND THE BEST MODES OF CATCHING THEM. EPHEMERA Of Bell's Life in London, AUTHOR OF 'THE BOOK OF THE SALMON5 ETC. * I have been a great follower of fishing myself, and in its cheerful solitude have passed some of the happiest hours of a sufficiently happy life.'— PALEY. FOURTH EDITION LONDON: LONGMANS, GKEEN, AND CO. 1865. PKEFACE THE THIRD EDITION. To the previous editions of this practical work I prefixed somewhat lengthened prefaces. They were then necessary, as a bush is to a new tavern not as yet renowned for its good wine. The words * Third Edition' in the present title-page are more significant than any preface. They prove that I am still called for in the fishing market. I obey the call, am thankful for the favour I have found, and shall say very little more. Five years have elapsed since I read this angling treatise through and through. Recently I have done so twice in preparing this third edition. The book appeared to me as if it had been written by another — like a long-absent child whose features I had almost forgotten. I could judge of it then with less partiality than when it was fresh from my brain, and bore the defect-covering K3FM VI PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. charms of a newly-born. Its defects, though perpetrated by myself, I have seen as plainly as if they were done by others, and I have treated them accordingly — removed them remorselessly. I have, I think, improved the general style of the volume; excised repetitions, rejected incor- rect instruction, unsound suggestion, opinion, and advice, and replaced them by accurate information and counsel. The list of trout-flies I have short- ened and simplified, and given no fancy patterns. As it now stands, the list is perfect. The natural history of salmon I have re-written. As a resum£ of the habits of that fish, I can recommend it for its precise truths. The list of salmon-flies for the best rivers in the British Isles I have remodelled after the best specimens in that gallery of ideal insect beauties which I painted for ( The Book of the Salmon.' At this third time of asking, gracious Public, you shall take me absolutely for better, as the 4 or for worse ' can be no longer contingent. CONTENTS CHAPTEK I. Angling defined. — Divided into three branches — into Fly-fish- ing, Trolling, and Bottom-fishing. — Each briefly described. — The superiority and merits of Fly-fishing . . . PAGE 1 CHAPTER II. Throwing the line and flies. — Humouring them. — Fishing a Stream. — Striking, hooking, playing, and landing a Fish . . 11 CHAPTEK III. On Artificial Flies 46 CHAPTEK IV. Fly-dressing 70 CHAPTER V. Monthly List of Artificial Flies 93 CHAPTER VI. Fishing with the Natural Fly, or Dibbing or Daping . 121 CHAPTER VII. Trolling.— Rods, Lines, Tackle, and Baits, and Methods of Using them . . 135 Vlll CONTENTS. CHAPTEK VIII. On Bottom-fishing. — Eods, Hooks, Lines, and Baits . PAGE 177 CHAPTEE IX. On Piscatorial Physiology, by Erasmus Wilson, F.E.S. . 217 CHAPTEE X. The Habits of the Angler's Fish, and the best ways of catching them fairly. — A New Natural History of the Salmon, and a New List of Salmon and Lake Flies. — How to throw and humour them in fishing for Salmon. — How to hook and play that Fish — its haunts, and other Baits for it besides Artificial Flies.— The Trout, Grayling, Pike, and all the Carp Tribe, described. — Their Habits, Haunts, and Favourite Baits pointed out 230 HANDBOOK OF ANGLING. CHAPTER I. ANGLING DEFINED — DIVIDED INTO THEEE SEARCHES — EACH BEIEFLY DESCKIBED — THE STIPEEIOEITY AND MEEITS OF FLY-FISHING. ANGLING — the art of taking fish with rod, line, and hook, or with line and hook only — is one of the oldest of out-door amusements and occupa- tions in every country. At first the modes of practising it were exceedingly rude, and they still remain so amongst uncivilised nations. There are tribes in existence that now, as heretofore, fashion the human jaw-bones into fish-hooks. Even unto this day angling implements, amongst many of the politest people of Europe, their amusements, unfortunately for themselves, being chiefly in-door ones, are manufactured with im- perfect roughness. The inhabitants of the Bri- tish Isles alone, with their colonial descendants B 2 ENGLISH SPORTSMEN. cultivate all matters pertaining to rural sports, of whatsoever kind they may be, but particularly hunting, shooting, and angling, with that perse- vering ardour, comprising passionate study and active practice, which leads to perfection. In their efforts to acquire the surest, most amusing, most health-giving, and, I may say, most elegant modes of pursuing and capturing their game, be it the produce of field or flood, they call to their aid several ancillary studies, amongst which stands prominent one of the pleasantest of all, viz. that of the natural history of animals, and of other living things ranking not so high in the scale of creation. The hunter studies the habits of horse and dog, and of the ferce naturce he pursues with them, the fowler of the birds of the air, and the fisherman of the fish of the water. The general sportsman, a practical naturalist, if I may use the epithet, studies the habits of all. Hence know- ledge, skill, and success ; hence the accomplished sportsman, rarely found except amongst the best types of Englishmen, whether of high or low degree. Though angling has been jeered at more than any other sporting practice, still no other subject connected with field-sports has been more minutely and extensively written upon, No sporting writer is so generally known as Izaak Walton, and his c Complete Angler ' has earned for him an im- ANGLING SUBDIVIDED. 3 mortality which will last until the art of printing our language shall be forgotten. Angling, then, cannot be a theme unworthy of a modern pen ; but the pen perchance may be unworthy of it, and so cause me to fail in my design, which is to write upon angling in a plain, connected, business- like way, teaching its modern theory and practice, together with the useful discoveries, inventions, and improvements that have been recently made in relation to it. The art of angling is divided into three main branches, the general principles of which being understood, an acquaintance with minute detail will follow gradually as a matter of course. The first branch embraces angling at the sur- face of the water, and comprehends fly-fishing with natural or artificial insects, the latter being of more general use. The second embraces ang- ling at mid-water, or thereabouts, and includes trolling or spinning with a live, a dead, or an artificial bait — with a small fish generally, or its representative. The third includes bottom-fishing, that is, angling at or near the- bottom of the water with worms, gentles, and many sorts of inanimate baits. Bottom-fishing is the most primitive, the commonest, and easiest mode of angling, the first learnt and the last forgot ; trolling is less com- mon and more difficult ; fly-fishing is the most difficult and amusing of all, and though less. B 2 4 IGNORANCE ABOUT ANGLING. commonly practised than bottom-fishing in Eng- land, is more generally so than trolling, more particularly in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Although in teaching an art it would be more regular to commence with the easiest branches of it, I begin, for several reasons, with fly-fishing, acknowledging it, however, to be that division of the art of angling which is learned the least easily. I shall only give one reason for my ir- regularity, viz. that he who has learned the prac- tice of fly-fishing will readily learn the two other branches of angling. He will learn them more readily than if he began with either ; for he who has begun with fly-fishing and succeeded must have attained quickness of eye and lightness of hand. If the reader should desire to be more methodical than I am, he has the power of being so, by reading this handbook as if it were written in Hebrew. He will then find the last first, and the first almost last. If he wishes for slow, but sure advancement, let him reverse the order of reading, moving from nearly the back rank to the centre, and so on to the front. The long-continued, unbroken chain of ignor- ance that runs, in many instances, through the world is almost incomprehensible to the active mind. It is a miracle of visible darkness amidst the intelligence that surrounds us. 4The dic- tionary-making pensioner,' as Cobbett used to WHAT FLY-FISHING IS. 0 call Dr. Samuel Johnson, defined angling, as a silly thing, practised by a fool at one end of a rod and line, with a worm at the other. Many stupid people still adhere to this very stupid definition. With the practice of angling they associate nothing beyond worms, punts, patience, cold and wet, a nibble and tittle-bat sport. A salmon caught by angling — with a diminutive artificial fly, a thin silkworm gut line, and a rod of pieces lighter and more limber than a lady's riding wand ! No — no such prodigy in their opinion ever occurred. Believe me — yes, the largest salmon that have ever stemmed the deep rapids of the Shannon have succumbed to the cunning hand deftly manipu- lating such frail gear. Let us after this see what fly-fishing is — whether it is a fool at one end of a rod and a worm at the other. The greatest names in arms, science, literature, and art — heroes, divines, ma- thematicians, poets, painters, sculptors — have been devoted to fly-fishing. Nelson's 4 dear, dear Merton,' with its Wandle wandering by, offered him an attraction which he constantly revelled in, viz. fly-fishing. Sir H. Davy, Archdeacon Paley, Sir Francis Chantry, Sir Walter Scott, General Sir Charles Dalbiac, were enthusiastic fly-fishers. The Dukes of Argyle, Newcastle, Sir Hyde Parker, Mr. Sydney Herbert, Earl Gros- venor, Viscount Anson, and many other great 6 PRAISE OF FLY-FISHING. names, connected with the pulpit, the bar, bench, studio, and the stage, that I could mention, are constant and consummate practitioners of the pleasing sport. Even whilst I wrote (Sept. 1847), Her Majesty, the royal Consort, the eldest of their royal offspring, and a princely party, were indulg- ing in the pursuit with rod and line of salmon and salmonidse in the waters of North Scotland. Had the lexicographic pensioner been alive to witness this, how rapidly he would dele that defi- nition of angling of his, which purblindness dic- tated ! Other field-sports may be more exciting than artificial fly-fishing, but there is not one re- quiring more skill, or calling into exercise more intelligence and adroitness of mind and limb. A quick eye, a ready and delicate hand, an appre- hensive brain, delicacy in the senses of touch and hearing, activity of limb, physical endurance, persevering control over impatience, vigilant watchfulness, are qualifications necessary to form the fly-fisher. His amusing and chanceful strug- gles, teeming with varying excitement, are with the strongest, the most active, the most courageous, the most beautiful and most valuable of river-fish, and his instruments of victory are formed of materials so slight, and, some of them, so frail — they are beautiful as well — that all the delicacy and cunning resources of art are requisite to enable feebleness to overcome force. The large, THE FLY-FISHER S WEAPONS. 7 vigorous, nervous salmon, of amazing strength and wonderful agility — the rapid trout of darting velocity, hardy, active, untiring, whose dying flurry shows almost indomitable resistance, are hooked, held in, wearied out, by the skilful and delicate management of tackle that would, if rudely handled, be warped by the strength and weight of a dace or roach. 'Tis wonderful to see hooks of Lilliputian largeness, gut finer than hair, and a rod, some of whose wooden joints are little thicker than a crow's quill, employed in the capture of the very strongest of river-fish. The marvel lies in the triumph of art over brute force. If the sporting gear of the fly-fisher were not managed with art — on the mathematical principle of leverage — he could not by its means lift from the ground more than a minute fraction of the weight of that living, bounding, rushing fish he tires unto death — nay, drowns in its own element. The overcoming of difficulties by the suaviter in modo forms one of the greatest charms of fly-fishing, and to my fancy is the pleasantest element of success that can be used in any pursuit. Persuade, but never drive. The baits of the pure fly -fisher are imitations of insects in one or other of their forms. He fishes with imitations of the fly, the beetle, the grub, the caterpillar, and moth. These imitations are made of divers materials, the chief whereof are feathers, 8 FLY-FISHING ACQUIREMENTS. fur, mohair, wool, silk, and tinsel. They are affixed upon hooks of various sizes, and by a process requiring the most skilful and delicate manipulation. The fly-dresser is a modeller of no mean attributes. He has to represent, by means of the most delicate substances of varied tissue and colour, insects, often complete atomies, and of changeable shapes and hues. Extreme neatness characterises all the paraphernalia of the fly-fisher. His sport requires the handling of nothing that will soil the best-bred hand. The composition of his bait extracts pain from no living thing. To know positively that his baits are good, he must to a certain extent be a naturalist. He must be acquainted with the outward appearance of several sorts of insects ; he must know the divisions of the seasons in which they live and cease to be ; he must know the climates and localities peculiar or otherwise to each species ; he must know their names, and be able to classify them, if not scientifically, at least piscatorially ; he must know those that prove the most attractive food for each kind of fish he angles for : in fact, he must possess a fund of knowledge that will cause him to be considered an accomplished man by the .members of every rational society. To render the pleasures attendant on his pur- suit complete, he is invited, if he seeks for super- PLEASURES OF FLY-FISHING. 9 lative success, to practise it amongst the most picturesque panorama designed by nature. The swift stream that dashes along the hill's side, the brook that runs through the valley, the moun- tain waterfalls — the currents foaming between moss-grown rocks, or brawling over a pebbly bottom, are the scenes of the fly-fisher's triumphs. Salmon and salmonidse, happily the most frequent prizes of the fly-fisher's skill, are not to be found in the sluggish, turbid waters that flow through flats and fens, but breed in, and inhabit, in due season, those delightful streams that play through table-lands. Their favourite food is not the offal of slime or mud, but the insects that disport on the surface of clear water. There the bounding salmon tribe seek them, and in that search they encounter the fatal artificial insect of the fly- fisher, and all the deadly resources of his craft. The shape, the colour, the flavour of the fly- fisher's fish, do not mis-beseem the beauties that surround salmon, trout, and grayling streams. As the plain, nutritious sheep thrives well upon Leicester and similar pasturage lands, so in their waters breed prolifically the heavy carp, chub, and tench. On the contrary, the heather of the Highlands is the haunt of the dainty doe and wild stag ; and the crystal waters of their inland cliffs produce the aristocracy of the finny race. The concordances of life, society, nature, are 10 MERITS OF FLY-FISHING. admirable, unerring, and tally in delightful diver- sity. The smooth waters of lowland rivers and. ponds afford the placid bottom-fisher his sport. The mountain torrents and lakes hold the quarry the active fly-fisher is ambitious of capturing. The broad, straight, even thoroughfares of the world afford comfort and competence, acquired bit by bit by efforts, slightly but sufficiently stimulating to fresh and repeated exertion. The narrow, precipitous paths of life lead to fame, high honours, and high rank ; and the ascent, rendered enchanting by the allurements of am- bitious hope, is gained by daring activity, which never flags but for breath to bound onward more and more bravely. The accessible streams that meander soothingly through soil for the sickle and scythe, yield to the industrious bottom-fisher a full pannier by a slowly and pleasantly accu- mulating process. The fly-fisher, with haply a few casts of his artificial baits, surcharges his ca- pacious creel with salmon or trout, whose retreat in waters rushing by crag and fell he has attained by paths which none, save the sportsman intent on high game, would choose to tread. I have now run rapidly through the salient merits of fly-fishing. With less precipitation, I will explain the practice of it. THROWING THE LINE AND FLIES. 11 CHAPTEE II. THROWING THE LINE AND FLIES — HUMOURING THEM — FISHING A STREAM — STRIKING, HOOKING, PLAYING, AND LANDING A FISH. OUR LANGUAGE contains many pretty, pithy, and largely expressive figures of speech. One man says of another, s he is the best " whip " in Eng- land.' We understand by this little phrase that he is vaunted to be the best driver and manager of horses in harness in the kingdom. So when we say e he throws a line or a fly better than any man we know,' we mean to assert that he is the best fly-fisher of our acquaintance. The posses- sion of the one power commonly, not always, implies the possession of all the other necessary ones. Throwing well the line is an indispensable fly-fishing qualification, the first to be learned, always called into play, and without which other attributes are nearly valueless. You may hook a fish well, play a fish well, land a fish well, but you will not often have an opportunity of doing so unless you throw a line well. We judge of a fly-fisher by the manner in which he casts his line. If he does so with ease and elegance, and 12 THROWING THE LINE AND FLIES. efficiently, we set him down as an adept in all the minutiao of the art ; if he does not, we conclude that he is a tyro. We confess our conclusions may be frequently wrong. That, reader, you may not long remain in the category of novices, let there be, during the fly-fishing season, for you, nulla dies sine lined. I can see no wonderful difficulty in throwing a line well. Many certainly do not cast well, by reason, chiefly, of having adopted a bad method at the outset. It is better to have no fly-fishing habitude at all, than to have a bad one. Com- mence on the proper principle ; persevere, and you must become a proficient. HOW TO THROW THE LlNE AND FLIES. You are a beginner, I presume, and have never handled a rod before. Let the rod for your novitiate be ten or eleven feet long ; its play inclining rather to faulty stiffness than to over-pliancy. Put the joints or pieces together, the rings standing in a straight line the one to the other, that your line may run evenly between them without any tortu- ous impediment. Affix your winch or reel with its handle towards the left side, and draw out your line through the rings, until there be about four yards of it uncoiled beyond the last ring of the top joint. You have now quite suffi- cient line out to commence the practice of cast- ing with it. Let your winch and the rings of HOW TO HOLD THE FLY-ROD. 13 your rod be on the under side of it when you practise casting.* You are now ready to begin. Grasp your rod, in your right hand, a little above the winch, but not tightly. Your hand must not close firmly with the thumb turned over your knuckles, as if you were about to strike a blow. Your fingers must simply entwine the rod, not squeeze it, and your thumb must lie straight with your arm on the upper part of the butt, the first joint being very slightly bent, and the fleshy or flat fore-part pressing on the rod. Hold your rod up almost perpendicularly, and pointing rather to the left side. Take the tip of the line between the fore- finger and thumb of your left hand. Poise your rod loosely and easily, and see that it balances freely in your right hand. Be devoid of that fear which begets awkwardness. What injury can you do ? You are not going to explode a mine. You * This is the English, and more convenient method The •winch, being underneath the butt, does not come in contact with your fore-arm as you throw, and therein lies the greater conve- nience, but it is counterbalanced by having the rings also on the under part of the rod, whereby the line runs and works upon them rather than upon the rod. The Irish generally, and pro- perly, affix the winch with the handle towards £ he right, and fish with the rings upwards. In this way the line grates less upon the ring- wires, and running upon and along the rod, instead of beneath it on the rings, it is more influenced by the qualities of the rod, and can be thoroughly managed by them. In most cases, play your fish with the winch upwards. 14 THROWING THE LINE AND FLIES. are merely going to throw a thin line with a slight limber rod upon the water. What if you fracture one or both in the attempt ? The damage can be remedied. I suppose you now on a bank above some river's surface, all ready for your first cast. Move your right wrist and fore-arm round to the right, let- ting go, just as it begins to get taut, the tip of the line in your left fingers, and bring round from left to right over your right shoulder the upper part of your rod, describing with the point of it an irregular — a horse-shoe — circle, and then cast forward with a flinging motion of the wrist and fore-arm. The motion of the wrist must predomi- nate over that of the fore-arm and elbow-joint. If you follow the above motions exactly and with freedom, from four to five feet of your line, sup- posing you to have between three and four yards of it out, must fall lightly upon the water. If that length does not so fall, you are wrong, and you must go on casting and casting, practising and practising, until you are right, At first you will find, unless you are very handy and a very apt scholar indeed, that nearly all your line will fall upon the water, and that the top of your rod will come in contact, or nearly so, with the surface of it. These are the greatest drawbacks to throwing a line well, and if not overcome, the learner must never expect to be- PROPER POSITION IN CASTING. 15 come an expert fly-fisher. With might and main he must struggle to vanquish them. They are caused by letting the fore-arm fall too low whilst casting, and bending the body forward in unison with the downward motion of the arm. Here is the remedy. When you have made your casting movement — brought round your rod and line over the shoulder, and propelled them forwards, the motion of the wrist and elbow-joint must be gradually checked the instant the line is straightening itself in its onward course. The body must be upright, the chest held rather back, and the bust must not assume any marked for- ward or stooping position. You will find, if you hold your rod properly, that the end of it nearest to you, the part between your hand and the spear or spike, will come in contact with the under part of your fore-arm just as your line is approaching the water. This contact will prevent the point of your rod following the line so low as to cause a great part of the latter to roll on to the water. Stand with your left foot a little forward., and flat on the ground, with a firm purchase ; the right foot a little behind, the toes turned out, and the ball of the foot touching the ground with a slight springy pressure. Your left upper arm must hang loosely by your side ; the fore part curbed from the elbow-joint will bring your left hand over and opposite to the outer ends of the right 16 THROWING THE LINE AND FLIES. lower ribs. Your position, the limbs, &c. arranged in the above way, will be easy and graceful, allow- ing free play to all the muscles required to be brought into action. I deem you now sufficiently skilled by practice to throw four or five yards of line well, and with satisfactory ease. Double, then, the length of your line out. The right-arm motion must be no longer limited to the wrist, fore-arm, and elbow joint, but must extend to the upper and shoulder joint. The os humeri and deltoid muscle must be called into requisition with fine free vigour, but not with so much of the latter as if you were about to strike a knock-down blow. The whole of the arm must be brought round to the right with an easy, large sweep, and the line thrown forward well from the shoulder. There must be no coachman-like jerk with the wrist backwards, as the front portion of the line is descending to the water, but the hand must follow the rod, and stop by a well-timed degree of suddenness, so that the line will fall on the water with a some- what quick — not plashing — rather than a lazy floating motion, As soon as you can throw from eight to ten yards of your reel-line with the power of making not more than a yard or two of the front portion of it fall lightly on the water, and in whatsoever direction you may chcose, add to it what is called THROWING- THE LINE. 17 the * foot ' or s casting-line ' of moderately thick silkworm gut, in length about two yards. You will now have ten yards of line, more or less, to throw with, and you must practise until you can cause the gut-line to fall upon the water before any part of the reel-line touches it. Do not be in a hurry to put on flies and fish. When yoa have succeeded in throwing your gut-line with freedom, with the ability of making it alight first upon the water — when you can prevent the top of your rod from descending too low — when you can hinder any part of your reel-line from making a more rapid descent than your casting-line, — you may begin to throw from left to right, with a backward twist or slight sweep of the wrist and arm. Hitherto you have been throwing from right to left, and that is the proper and most com- mon way. But circumstances will arise, caused by the direction of the wind, your position with regard to the water, and obstructions on and in it, in the shape of trees, roots, rocks, &c,, that will force you to cast from left to right, and some* times underhand, as it were. I shall say nothing of throwing with the left- hand, because you may, if you like, become able to do so, when you have learned to throw over- hand and underhand with the right arm. It is not by any means a necessary accomplishment. You have begun throwing by moving the point c 18 BACK-HANDED THROWING. of your rod from left to right over your right shoulder, bringing it parallel with the right side of your head, and you have then been taught to cast straightforwards, or rather from right to left. If you have learned to do all this well, have no fear ; you must succeed in fly-fishing. But to be still more an fait in throwing the line, take the end of it in your left hand, and bringing the point of the rod to that side, move your wrist and fore- arm backwards to the right, turning the hand up, so that the finger-nails will point to you. Let go the line, and its point will pass first slightly to the left of you, and then turn over and fall on the water on your right side. Although you will not be able to throw in this way so long a line as overhanded from right to left, you will be able to throw it to a moderate distance easily and lightly. Take a coachman's whip in your hand, and work it right and left, that is, fling the thong sharply and shortly before you to each side, making the lash crack each time, and you will acquire a free- dom in the wrist (but nothing more) that will be of service to you in handling the fly-rod. A coachman driving four-in-hand, with a long, limber whip-handle and tapering thong, very fre- quently uses the fly- fisher's motions, but does so in a manner too cramped, sudden, harsh, and violent. Observe him touching playfully the heads of his leaders with the point of the lash, PKACTICE BETTER THAN PRECEPT. 19 now the off-leader on the right side, and then the near-leader on the left side about the ear, and you will see how he works from right to left and from left to right. Imitate him, but most cautiously. Try and catch his ease and neatness, but avoid the narrowness of the circles he describes with whip-handle and thong, and the rapidity and jerking of his wrist-motions. All you now want is to throw with precision. Let there be a mark in the water, and first try to throw a little above it, and in the next cast, to throw a little below it. Then try to throw upon it, over it, beyond it,, and on your own side of it. Having succeeded in throwing with accuracy where there are no obstructions, seek spots of the river where they exist— where there are over- hanging branches of trees, weeds, rocks, or the ends of piles appearing above the surface of the water. Practise in these difficult spots assiduously until you can surmount the obstructions, and are generally able to avoid getting entangled amongst them. Practical observation is better than any written lesson, because example — good example I here mean of course — is far more cogent than precept. When you see an old fly-fisher of ' acknowledged reputation on the water, watch his movements, and gain knowledge from what you see as well as from what you hear.. You> see, most likely, c 2 20 PUTTING ON THE FLIES. that he performs what you cannot. Observe his method, follow it, and you will overcome what had hitherto been a difficulty to you. If he permits you to accompany him during the day, do so ; and if he will give you any oral instruc- tions, be thankful to him. If happily they agree with those you will find in this book, practise them perse veringly. Attend always to a multi- tude of corroborating, intelligent, and disinterested witnesses. You have been all this while learning to cast with reel-line and casting-line without any flies on the latter. Commence with a single fly of rather large size, dressed on a full length of gut, and looped to the end of your casting-line. That fly is your tail-fly, or ' stretcher.' You may soon be informed of your proficiency in throwing this fly. The information will be conveyed to you in the very pleasantest way, viz. by fish rising at your fly. When large ones do so, it is a proof that you have thrown your fly properly on the water, and you may now add a second fly, which will be your first ' dropper.' It should be a size smaller than your stretcher, and fastened on a yard higher up from it at one of the joinings of your casting-line. During your first season I advise you not to fish with more than two flies on your line at the same time. You may lengthen your casting-line from two yards to three, and HOW FLIES ARE FASTENED TO LINES. 21 the latter length will be found the best average one for fly-fishing with a single-handed rod. In your second year use three flies, placing them from eighteen inches to two feet apart. The length of gut to each dropper need not exceed two inches. The usual way of attaching flies is by looping them on. The only fly I loop is the stretcher. My droppers having a knot at the end of the gut, I fasten in between the sli ding-knots by which T tie together the links of gut that form the casting-line. I prefer these sliding-knots to the whipped ones, because they are lighter, and enable me to attach and detach my knotted drop- pers more quickly than if they were looped. The knots will be found quite strong enough if you make them double ; or even single, provided you do not cut off the gut too closely to them. I cannot clearly explain in writing how these sliding-knots are made, but any fishing-tackle maker will show you. I have now prepared you for fishing with three flies on three yards of gut casting-line. That line should be thicker towards the hand, and dwindle away gradually to the end farthest from you. If the extreme end of your line should be the thickest part of it, common sense will tell you that when you cast it there must ensue a more rapid and heavy descent upon the water than when that end of your line is the finest part 22 SHAPE OF FLY-FISHING LINES. of it. The gradual tapering of the line causes it to stretch out with the cast without kinking or coiling, and to fall lightly and straightly on the water. Keel-lines (the best sorts are platted of half hair and half good silk) are twisted in the shape of a spindle or a porcupine's quill — thick in the middle and tapering off in nice gradation at each end. A line so shaped has this advan- tage : — when you have nearly worn out one end, you can have recourse to the other next the winch, which is comparatively fresh, having been wound first on the reel, and hitherto in great part pro- tected from the action of air and water. The used part, if not too much used, is to be now wound next the winch. Your gut casting-line must be formed of links each finer than the other, but not with marked disproportion. The thickest link must be that next to the reel-line, and the thinnest that farthest from it — that to which your stretcher or tail-fly is to be looped. Each of the intermediate links of gut must be finer than the other, round, and clear-coloured before dyed, and without a flaw.* FISHING A STREAM AND HUMOURING YOUR FLIES. —Touching the practice of angling, there are many moot points. One maintains this, another maintains that, and a third differs from both. In doing anything, there is but a right way and a wrong; but common sense has not followers HOW TO FISH A STREAM. 23 enough to give the right a majority. An im- partial president casting up the votes for the wrong must too often, I fear, pronounce, 'The Ayes have it.' Opinions are divided as to how a stream is to be fly-fished. Some say, Begin at the head of a stream and fish it downwards with the current. Others say, By no means: — commence at the tail of a stream and fish upwards to its head. Who is to decide, when adhuc sub judice Us est? Will the litigants leave it to my arbitration ? If they do, my decision is, as a general rule, to be swerved from on rare contingency — first fly-fish a stream upwards from tail to head, and then, if circumstances make you think it advisable after giving yourself and the water a rest, try down, with, if necessary, a change of fly or flies, from head to tail. By this means you avoid disputed extremes, and, treading the best of all paths, medio tutissimus ibis. You are approaching a stream to fish it. Keep as far as possible at first from the edge of the bank you stand on, and throw somewhat to your left side on to that part of the water running next you — to your left, if you are fishing from the left bank, and vice versa. Float your flies down, humouring them nattily on the surface of the water, or ever so little beneath it, obliquely to your left, bringing them round at a civil distance below you, and close under the bank. 24 HUMOURING THE FLIES. Eepeat your cast, moving one step higher up, still keeping as far as you can from the water-side. When you have fished that nearer side sufficiently, approach the bank, coming down again to the tail-end of the stream, throwing as far as you can across it, humouring your flies as in the first instance, not drawing them directly across to you, but floating them lightly down the stream, until your line begins to grow taut, and the stream has a drag upon it, when you must repeat your cast, a little higher up the stream than before. Pursue this plan until you have fished the stream as widely from you as you can, and up to its head formation. I well know this method will be deemed by many too stringent. Never mind : when you are out of your apprenticeship, you can act more freely. The objections to fishing a stream in the above way are, that by so doing you expose your back and side too much to the fish above you, and you lose too much time and ground by this backward process. In my opinion, these objections are not fatal. If you keep a proper distance from the side of the stream, you will obviate the first ob- jection. The second I think of little moment; for sometimes you cannot fish too carefully or too slowly, inch by inch, especially if the stream be a choice spot, and fish upon the rise ; whilst, un- der contrary circumstances, your progress may be CONSEQUENCES OF FISHING DOWN STREAM. 25 more rapid, hurrying over chanceless parts, and fishing for luck quickly right a-head, hastening on to more favourable localities. There is but one main objection to commencing at the head of a stream, and I do not see how it can be well got over. You hook a fish at the head of a stream, and must generally play him downwards. What is the consequence ? Is it not plain that you must disturb many fish below you, over which you have not as yet thrown your flies ? I think it is evident ; and if I did not think so, I should be decidedly in favour of down- stream fishing, as being the most rapid, pleasant, and apparently the most natural way. At the head of a stream you hook a large and game fish. He darts across it, down it, through it in every direction, at one time splashing on the sur- face of the water, at another doggedly struggling beneath it, or rushing through it, as if an otter were at his tail. His struggles are at any rate extraordinary, and think you not instinct tells other fish, perhaps shoal companions, that there is something wrong ? Surely they see and hear — not usual sights and sounds, but somewhat alarm- ing ones, because they are not customary. May we not infer that they dread an enemy at hand — that they see a fellow fish in danger, and are cowed into skulking for safety, at least for a time ? All anglers will acknowledge something like this ; 26 THY BOTH WAYS, AND JUDGE. but then, some of them argue that the effects of the disturbance are only temporary, and not so lasting as those which arise from the fish seeing you, as you fish a stream upwards. You can avoid their seeing you, but you cannot, unless you whip a fish out of the water the instant he is hooked, or coax him against the current, prevent the more or less disturbance he will cause accord- ing to his strength and unflinching struggles, his weakness or his want of game. It is argued, you can remedy it, by not fishing for some time after you have been playing a fish, or by removing to some other spot, and coming back again in due time to the place you had disturbed. This plan will cause you to lose time at all events, and, may be, the very nick of it during which fish are rising freely. I have generally succeeded best by fishing a stream from tail to head. Excellent anglers have told me they did best by acting differently. I deny no man's word, but I advise the student to try both ways, and then judge for himself. In what precise shape artificial flies floating on the water, or just beneath it, present themselves to the fish, I cannot truly tell. They certainly cannot present themselves in the exact living forms of natural insects, but their appearance must be something similar. If I were to guess, I should say that the artificial flies for the common APPEARANCE OF FLIES IN THE WATER. 27 trout, grayling, and some of the carp tribe, present the appearance of drowning, or drowned natural flies ; or of living insects struggling on, or under- neath the water. I do not think this surmise fanciful. At any rate, the fly-fisher should en- deavour to present his artificial baits to the fish as deceptively as possible, namely, by giving them as natural an appearance as may be. He must cause them to drop lightly on the water, because the natural fly does so ; he must cause them to swim down as near the surface as he can, because the natural fly moves upon the surface of the water, and he must impart motion to his flies — a species of fluttering, generally speaking, being the best. All this is comprehended by the ex- pression ' humouring ' one's flies.* To do it, the moment your flies alight upon the water, hold up your rod, so that the drop-fly next to it may appear skimming the surface ; the other two, if properly proportioned and attached to the casting- line, being ever so little under water. If you allow your upper dropper to be under water, all the flies below that dropper will be sunk too deeply to appear living insects to the fish, and therefore any motion you may give them will be useless. They then can only be taken by the fish * I am not here alluding to salmon, the flies for which must be ' worked ' in the water after a peculiar fashion, to be de- scribed hereafter in the chapter on that fish. 28 STRIKING AND HOOKING A FISH. for dead flies. When you keep your last dropper on the surface of the water, impart to it the slightest skipping motion, by a tremulous wrist- shake of the rod, and the flies that are just under water will receive the most natural motion you can give them. Never drag your flies straight across the water towards you, and never, unless they be salmon flies, work them against the current. A small trout may, perchance, rise at them when so worked, but seldom or never a large one. STRIKING AND HOOKING A FISH. — In cricket there are fast and slow bowlers, which is a proof that one way is thought as good, if not better than another. In striking a fish there are fast and slow strikers, each of them, of course, maintaining the superiority of his own method. Well, if there were no difference of opinion, sad would be the monotony of life, the old proverb, ' Quot homines, tot sententieej having become obsolete. The truth is, there are as many fish missed by striking too rapidly, as by striking too slowly, and a fault either way is bad. I think, however, that he who strikes too quickly labours under a greater disadvantage than he who strikes too slowly. Striking too strongly is a shocking fault, and, as it is generally joined with the defect of striking too quickly, double mischief ensues. You either miss your fish, or whip it out of the water awk- STRIKING GENTLY RECOMMENDED. 29 \vardly, or injure your tackle, if the fish be a huavy one. This strong rapid way of striking shows the absence of that delicacy of action and management without which you can never become an accomplished fly-fisher. The moment you see and then feel a rise, you must strike gently from the wrist, by a slight, sharp jerk of it backwards. As a general rule, strike sideways a little, and not straight towards yOU — to the right most commonly: but you must be guided by a guess as to which way the fish is about to turn on seizing your fly. If you fancy he is going to turn round to his left, you must strike at him neatly towards your right : if you think him on the turn from left to right, strike to your left. By pursuing this plan, you will avoid the probability of chucking the fly clean out of the fish's mouth, or of pricking him only, and you will very likely hook him, perhaps through and through, on either the right or left side of the mouth. A fish very frequently takes your fly under water, and then, feeling the rise, be some- what quick, yet strike as gently as possible; — quick, lest the fish reject the fly ; gentle, for he is already almost hooked. Those who are for strik- ing slowly, act on the notion that fish generally hook themselves, and that the slow stroke is quite sufficient to affix the hook firmly. Fish do some- times hook themsleves, 'tis true, but it is only by 30 THE CKITICAL MOMENT. exception, and not by rule. The fly-fisher of sharp eye and quick hand will often have an advantage over the purblind and the too slow. Dimness of vision and obtuseness of touch mar frequently the benefits of experience, and the young sharp eye and lively hand will successfully compete with the skill of old practitioners in whom the two attributes last mentioned are fading away. On this part of our subject, I find, on the whole, some excellent advice' and remarks in Elaine's 6 Encyclopaedia of Eural Sports,' * 2nd edit., p. 1178. He says, * Striking the fish is to the full as important a part of the rod and line manage- ment as any. Many strike too slowly, many too quickly, and a correct few strike at the critical moment. The first lose their object, the second often lose both the object and their bait, while the third secure all. When a fish seizes the natural fly, his jaws find no resistance; he consequently keeps them closed until deglutition follows ; and thus it is that in natural fly-fishing, it is not found so necessary to be instantaneous in striking ; but with the artificial fly, the instant the fish seizes it, he is apt to find the deception, either by its want of taste, or by feeling the point of the hook, or by discovering the unyielding nature of the material * Published by Messrs. Longman and Co., Paternoster Bow, 2nd edit. 1852. STRIKING INSTANTANEOUSLY. 31 of which it is composed, and he, therefore, as soon as may be, blows it out again ; and this we con- stantly observe — when a timid irresolute learner has raised a fish, and hesitates in striking it, fear- ful of being too quick, or otherwise so paralysed with the sudden attack, that he cannot collect himself for a second or two, and half that time is all that ought to be allowed for the seizure of the bait, and the stroke of the angler. The striking must be instantaneous to be successful ; for when it is considered that the impulsive effort which is to fix the hook in the mouth of the fish, which has but that instant closed it on the bait, is first to be taken cognisance of by the angler, and then is to be acted on by him through a solid line of communication of many yards in length, it will be evident that a rapidity of action is required almost equal to the thought that willed it ; for, as already observed, unless the stroke reaches the mouth of the fish before he has discovered the deception, it is generally too late. Fortunately for anglers, it is not always so, as the act of eject- ing the bait being at the moment of the turning round of fish for their retreat, it happens that they occasionally at the same time hook themselves. It is possible, however, to strike too quickly, and this is frequently done by those who are very ardent, as well as by those who, having been con- victed of being too slow, attempt to amend by the 32 A CURE FOR VIOLENT STRIKING. contrary extreme. We have fished with many young hands who have struck the instant they saw a fish rise even, and, consequently, though the bait must have been risen at, the mouth had never received it, or, if it had, it had not time enough to close upon it. Striking a fish should be done with a smart, but not a violent effort. The ardent angler will often strike with such force as to tear away his hold on the fish, or to become minus gut and fly, which snap by the sudden jerk. There is nothing better calculated to cure a young practitioner who strikes too forcibly, than to oblige him to whip for bleak, and to pay for- feit for every one he raises above the surface of the water, receiving forfeit for every one he hooks without raising it into sight. The forcible stroke that wholly misses its object often throws the bait out of the water by the violence of the effort ; the moderate stroke that misses will not displace the hook more than a foot or two. The critical fish-stroke is made by a very quick, but very gentle, wrist-motion, by which the hand is canted upwards, being displaced about two inches only. Such a stroke made instantly the fish actually reaches the fly (which is learned by habit), at the moment he has closed his mouth on it and before he has time to throw it out again, is sure to secure the entrance of the hook within the substance of the mouth, without causing great alarm to the EVILS OF VIOLENT STRIKING. 33 fish by any unnecessary violence ; for it cannot have escaped the observant angler, that, when a trout has been harshly tugged in striking, he commences at once a more determined resistance than when the stroke has been less violent, and his alarm less sudden. Neither can we wonder that his efforts should be extreme, when he is made sensible of his situation by a stab and a drag which have half pulled him out of the water.* If such critical nicety be required in striking, it may be here asked, how is it that fish are ever taken by novices ? Such a question is reasonable, but may be easily explained. Many eager and hungry fish hook themselves in* taking any bait without hesitation. Their seizure of the fly, their closing their mouth on it, and the passing it backwards, are all one instantaneous effort; and, on examination, such fish will be found to have partially gorged the bait. But if the number of fish so taken were arrayed against the number of those lost by a defect in striking, the difference would be as five to one of small fish, and as ten to one of those of mature growth.' This extract contains much of the sound rationale of striking a fish, and should be read and digested carefully. * The practical philosophy of this sentence, and of the latter part of the previous one, is correct and valuable, and refers also to the danger, whilst playing a fish, of suddenly and violently checking him the instant he is hooked. But of this more anon. D 34 PLAYING A FISH. PLAYING A FISH. — This is the pleasantest and most exciting portion of the angler's recreation. Contest and struggle have now begun. If you fail, you lose the object you have been carefully seeking for, and perhaps a line and flies you have cherished for the fatal remembrances attached to them. The fish that had struggled so savagely to do them damage you see with exultation tired to death, or with chagrin you see him swim away with them and sink to the bottom of the current. The blood in this tussle is called from the interior to the surface of the body and sent through the vessels with exhilarating rapidity, and you feel a temporary access of the pleasantest sort of in- toxication, viz. that which attacks you at a sport- ing crisis.. Playing a fish is the great crisis of angling, full of hope, full of fear, full of doubt. If he be hooked firmly, if your tackle do not fail you, if he do not get your line and flies foul, if, if, if — ah, the pleasant anxiety implied by those ifs ! — you must kill him. Having hooked a fish, your first business is to determine what may be his size, and whether he be hooked firmly or loosely. You can scarcely be^ mistaken with respect to size and strength, except when you have hooked a fish foul, that is, eutside the mouth, in the fin, or in some other external portion of the body. Then a small fish may be taken for a large and strong one. There A FISH SLIGHTLY OR FIRMLY HOOKED. 35 is a general rule for judging how a fish is hooked. If slightly, the fish, on being struck, generally struggles for a few moments on the surface of the water before he darts down into its depths ; if firmly hooked, he sinks rapidly and heavily to- wards the bottom, as if he knew that the only way of getting rid of the barb that holds him was by attrition against stump or stone, or some such thing, at the bottom of the water. You must prevent the slightly-hooked fish from struggling on the surface by lowering the point of your rod, and you must prevent the firmly-hooked fish from sinking to the bottom by elevating its point. These two general rules are easily practised. I see, veluti in speculum, your recently-hooked fish plashing about upon the water, endeavouring to shake out the hook, or at any rate to loosen its hold, which he will do if you allow him too much freedom. Point your rod downwards towards him, and the slackened heaviness of your line will cause him to quit the surface. The moment he does so, raise the point of your rod, so as to feel him well, and keep him in hand, gently or strongly, according to his size and the nature of the locality. If small, allow him just so much play as will deprive him of any power of straining your rod, then wind up, and lift him out of the water. If large, which you will soon find out — you have found it out already, by having measured D 2 36 HOW TO TIRE TOUR FISH. him with your eye whilst he was on the water — - give him line, tightly though, as he darts through the water— just tightly enough to enable you to check him instantaneously should he near some foul portion of the water. As he rushes from you, keep going with him. holding him gently, ' under buckle/ as they say, and at each pause he makes after every rush, feel him more fully, by presenting towards him the butt-end of your rod. The lower joints of your rod will then incline backwards over your shoulder, and the upper pieces will be bent like the one half of a strained bow, the weight of the fish being thrown on every part of your tackle, arid equalised according to its strength, the small and thick pieces having the severest strain upon them. If whilst the rod is in this position you find your fish still vigorous, do not press upon him by holding the butt-end of your rod too much pointed forwards, but, let- ting it fall into an easy perpendicular position, give a little line and move onward with your fish. The greater the length of line he drags after him through the water, the sooner will he be tired. Still you must take due care that the line be not too long to prevent you from making it taut by a turn or two of your winch at an instant's notice, or by inclining your rod backwards over the shoulder. After you have checked your fish a few times, and you find his struggles wavering to PLAYING A FISH FIRMLY HOOKED. 37 weakness, wind up and make him show himself on the top of the water. If he bear this languidly, shorten your line to a convenient length, and guide him, not against the water, but with it, to some easy landing spot, if it can be found. Whilst you play a fish, never show yourself to him if you can help it, and request anyone who is with you, or who may be looking on, to keep away from the water until your fish is in the landing-net, or landed by other means. When a fish, on being struck, darts to the bot- tom and then away, you may be sure that the hook is firmly fixed, and then you may play him more confidently than when his first struggles are made on the surface of the water. Still be cautious, and do not play too roughly. Eough play is never necessary. It is always dangerous. Checking a fish rudely whilst he is strong, increases his obstinacy and his strength at the very time when they ought not to be exerted. If you strike gently, he will not plunge desperately ; and as he will at first scarcely feel the check, you may lead him by manoeuvring delicately into some open portion of the water, where you will have 4 a clear stage and no favour.' Reduce then his vigour by degrees, and as it wastes away by your repeated checks, and your causing him to haul a long length of wet line after him, hold more tightly ; and when you see him turn upon his side, bring his opening 38 PLAYING A FISH HOOKED FOUL. mouth to such contact with the surface of the water that more of that element will enter than can pass out by the gills. These safety-valves having lost their natural action, something very like suffocation or asphyxia by drowning will ensue. Your victory is then complete. When a fish is hooked foul, that is, on the out- side of the mouth, he has his head free, and you will find great difficulty in tiring him down. A small fish so hooked will show more strength than a large one fairly hooked. You have not got the bit in his mouth, but are forced to manage him with, as it were, a halter round his head. Give him as much line as you can, bearing upon him as heavily as the strength of your tackle will with safety admit, and having no fear that your hook will tear away, as it often does from the brittle fibrous parts of the interior of the mouth. Be prepared for several swift rushes of a fish hooked foully, and do not bring him near you until you have softened down his struggles. Use much patience, and should your line, as it not unfrequently does, get coiled round his body, hold hard and shorten line, for you will now have little more than his weight to contend with, the power of his fins being impeded. I repeat again, eschew violence. Always play with a light hand, making its strength gradually felt in the ratio of the decline of that of your fish, and so follow the killing rule in playing LANDING A FISH. 39 a fish. In doing so, never seize your line in either hand to shorten it, unless (and the occasion will not often occur) you cannot wind up rapidly enough to prevent the fish from darting into some dangerous place. Playing a fish with the line in your hand, without having recourse to your rod, is the very worst habit you can adopt. I should say, avoid it altogether, which you will be able to do if you fish with a perfect winch. The best sort of winch is a carefully London-made multiplier. Although this is nay opinion, I do not act by it, but use a best London check- winch. LANDING A FISH. — A few lines will describe this final operation. In performing it, mark, let your person, and all that pertains to it, be as nearly invisible to the fish as may be. Select the clearest spot you can for landing. If you have anyone with you to handle the landing-net, let him keep himself before the fish, sink his net in the water, and as you gently bring the fish towards it, let him advance it underneath the struggler, and when right under him, lift it up without a jerk, and with an easy motion, well-timed and accurate, after the fish is withinside the hoop. Never thrust the net at the fish whilst he is in voluntary motion, or touch him with it until he is fairly inside it. Where there is no bank, but & low shelving strand, you may land your fish on it 40 LANDING-NETS. without the aid of the net ; but I advise you to do so rarely, as hauling the fish ashore over gravel or sand will strain your rod prejudicially, and very often injure your flies. Use the net upon all occasions, unless some casualty occurs to render it exceedingly inconvenient. When you have no one to assist you in landing a fish, and the banks are high, tire your fish out completely, and bring him in close under the bank. If you cannot reach him whilst holding your rod in either hand, wind up tightly, and put the stop on your winch. Then stick the spear or spike in the ground, your rod inclining backwards from the river, and sinking your net before the fish, bring it headwise under him, and lift him out. If you frighten your ex- hausted fish by clumsy use of the net, showing it to him, touching him with it or making a noise in the water with it, you may awaken in him a death -flurry, fatal to some portion of your tackle and to your success. The generality of landing- nets are too small. On an average, they should be by one-half as large every way as the largest that are commonly sold in the shops. The thread the meshes are made of should be stained of a water colour ; and if frequent immersion in water should wash the dye out, they should be dyed again. I have seen many a fish break away through the dreadful vigour with which he has been inspired by the sight of a net bleached THE GAFF. 41 almost white by constant exposure to sun and water. In landing large fish, salmon, very heavy trout and pike, you may use the gaff, that is, a large, well-tempered, sharp, deeply-barbed hook fastened to the end of a proper piece of wood. The best place to insert your gaff-hook is beneath the gills of a fish in his gasping moments. The next best place is above one of the pectoral fins, by a sharp stroke. When you intend to gaff your fish in the breast or shoulder, put the gaff outside and be- neath him, the point upwards, and if possible towards you. Then strike sufficiently strong to make the barb penetrate far beyond the skin, and then, if you cannot land him, he must be very strong, or you must be very weak, or something for angling purposes much worse. Eemember this caution : never fly-fish without a landing-net or gaff. In playing and landing a fish, do so with your winch and the rings of your rod pointing up- wards. In England, people throw the line, strike, play, and land a fish with winch and rings under the rod. They do wrong. When the rings point to the water as you play a fish, there is too much strain upon them ; taking it off the rod, wearing out the line by friction against the rings, and not letting it run freely through them, as it would along the rod if they pointed upwards. In casting 42 STRIKING, HOOKING, PLAYING, only is it more convenient that the winch should be beneath the rod. Appearance and convenience are the only advantages of that position. The following observations of Mr. Konalds should be attended to : — ' When a fish has just risen at a natural object, it is well for the fisher- man to try to throw into the curl occasioned by the rise, and left as a mark for him ; but should the undulations have nearly died away before he can throw to the spot, then he should throw, as nearly as he can judge, a yard or two above it, and allow the flies to float down to the supposed place of the fish : if a rise do not occur, it may be concluded that the fish has removed without seeing the flies ; he may then try a yard or two on each side of the place where the curl appeared, when he may probably have a rise, and may pos- sibly hook the fish, provided he has the knack of striking, which knack, like all others, is acquired only by practice : it must be done by a very sudden, but not a very strong stroke — a twitch of the wrist. Having hooked him, the rod should be carefully retained in that position which will allow its greatest pliability to be exerted. For beginners to do this, it may be advisable that they should get it up over the shoulder, and present the butt- end towards the fish. A gentle pull must now be kept upon the fish, and he should be led down the stream rather than up, making use of the reel as AND HOW TO SECURE A FISH. 43 occasion may require to shorten the line. But if he run in towards the bank upon which the fisher- man stands, it will be necessary for him to ap- proach the edge of the water as nearly as possible, holding the rod with an outstretched arm in almost an horizontal position ; and if the reel be of the usual bad construction, it will be also necessary to pull in the line as quickly as possible with the left hand ; this may prevent the fish from reaching his harbour : if it should not, he will most likely twist the gut round roots, &c., and break away. To kill him, the nose must be kept up as much as possible ; and should he be very importunate and resolute, he may be lent a little more line now and then, but it must be promptly retaken with tremendous interest, and got up as short as possible. After various fruitless efforts to escape, which exhaust his strength, the nose may be got fairly out of the water, the fish towed gently to the side, and the landing-net passed under him. From the time of hooking the fish, if a large one, to the time of landing, care must be had that the line shall not be touched by the hand, excepting under the just-mentioned cir- cumstances : all should depend upon the pliability of the rod. In case a landing-net should not be at hand, the reel may be stopped from running back, the rod stuck up in the ground by the spike, and, both hands being disengaged, the fisherman may 44 LANDING THE GRAYLING. stoop down and grasp the fish firmly behind the gills. The principal differences between trout and grayling fishing are, that the latter requires a more delicate hand, a quicker eye, and the use of smaller flies upon the finest gut. The strike must be made on the instant of the rise. The fish may be sometimes seen, if he be of a good size and the water bright, a few inches before he gets up to the fly, and the fisherman must strike immediately that he does so, for his motion at the instant of seizure is too rapid to be visible. When the fisherman comes upon a favourable place for grayling, he should recollect that this fish does not follow the fly as the trout does, and should therefore allow it to float down the stream in a riatural way ; for should a grayling be waiting for it, and it is drawn away, " the fish will be disap- pointed of that which it was the fisherman's in- tention to entertain him with." It must also be remarked here that the mouth of the grayling is much more tender than that of the trout, there- fore much more care in landing is required; and a landing-net is generally indispensable, especially when the banks are high, for the mouth will seldom bear his weight out of the water.' This chapter is a long and important one. Unless you carry into practice its precepts, you will never become a good angler. It teaches the great branches of the art— throwing a line, hook- THROWING THE FLY FOR SALMON. 45 ing, playing, and landing a fish. When you understand them, nearly all you require to know is, the best sort of tackle and the best baits for the several fishing months. When I come to the chapter on Salmon, I shall accurately describe the mode of throwing the fly for him — how to humour the flies he takes, strike, hook, and play him. My instructions, hitherto, principally relate to the capture of salmonidae. 46 ON ARTIFICIAL FLIES. CHAPTER III. ON ARTIFICIAL ELIES. OF LATE YEARS a new doctrine — in my opinion a totally wrong one — has been sent forth about artificial flies. Some Scotch writers were the first promulgators of it, and they have carried it to ridiculous extravagance. They positively maintain that there is no likeness between the natural fly and the artificial one, and that when natural flies are on the water the angler will be more successful by using artificial flies as widely different from them in shape, colour, &c. as may be. A nondescript artificial fly will succeed better, they say, than a bad resemblance, and every at- tempt at imitation, in their opinion, produces at the best but a bad resemblance. These angling- heretics contend that fish rising at a natural fly immediately detect, by comparison of course, the bad imitation, and refuse to rise at it ; whereas they will rise at some outlandish artificial that differs, as much as chalk does from Cheshire cheese, from the living fly on the water. They say, that when they go fly-fishing they catch some of those flies that are on the water, and fish with artificial flies totally different from them, MAD MEN AND MAD FISH. 47 and invariably meet with more success than if they used so-called, as they name them, imitations. The majority of mankind are mad on one subject or another. Perhaps the majority of animals are similarly so. I deem these fly-fishers mad, and think them successful because they meet with mad fish, more readily taken with fantastic flies than with naturally coloured and shaped ones. That is the only way I can account for the for- mer's heterodoxy. My friends, do not mind what these cracked sectarians say. They are learned philosophers, writing articles on ' Angling' in ponderous en- cyclopaedias, from visionary data, but we are lowly scatterers of information gathered by the water-side. We grant that there is very great difficulty in imitating, by means of feathers, fur, wool, &c., the water-insects fish feed upon ; but we maintain that a fair deceptive imitation can be made, and that it is beyond all comparison more attractive to fish than no imitation at all. We contend that the less imperfect an imitation, the more attractive will it be found in fishing. Let any impartial judge examine the artificial flies made by Mr. Blacker, of 54 Dean Street, Soho, and then say whether his imitations are fair ones or not. We said that philosophers — naturalists with barnacles on nose — reading insect nature through 48 BIRDS CAUGHT WITH ARTIFICIAL FLIES. the glass-cases of museums, find, they assert, no likeness whatsoever between the natural fly and what, to the vulgar, appears the best artificial imitation ever dressed. The microscope, they cry, proves this. An unjaundiced human eye proves quite another thing. The eyes of birds are, I believe, pretty good. At any rate, they can see at an immense distance. The philosophers will perhaps allow that the eyes of the feathered tribes are as difficult to be de- ceived as those of the finny tribes. I should say more so, because their eyes are sharpened by something very like an intelligent brain placed close by them. Well, birds are continually de- ceived by the artificial fly of the angler. Swallows, martins, swifts, goldfinches, have darted at arti- ficial flies as the wind blew them about on the line, and have hooked themselves and been taken. About six years ago, a dunghill cock seized an artificial May-fly, attached to an angler's rod resting outside an inn at Buxton, and was hooked. If birds take these imitations of water-flies, not being their natural or best food, how can it be argued that fish will not take them ? The philosophers say, attempts at imitation are of no avail, for salmon and some of the larger salmonidae rise eagerly at artificial flies that re- semble nothing living on earth, in air, or water. That is true, and as yet unaccountable. It is A QUESTION FOR THE PHILOSOPHERS. 49 perfectly abnormal, as are many matters in the natural history of salmon, and of the sea- visiting salmonidse. But dress those gaudy salmon flies, or lake trout flies, as small as you like, and the common trout and grayling will not rise at them ; neither will dace, chub, nor roach ; and yet they will rise freely at imitations of river-flies, cater- pillars, house-flies, and flies that are bred upon trees, amongst gravel, sand, and plants. I say they will rise at these imitations, and rise at them in preference to any other when the natural insect they are designed to represent is on the water or in season. Will the philosophers answer this question? How is it that neither the common river-trout nor grayling will, during the spring, autumn, or winter months, rise at an imitation of the May-fly, their especial favourite during a part of May and June? If trout, or grayling, or chub would prefer nondescripts to the imitations of flies on the water, no more attractive nondescript could be presented to them than the imitation of the handsome May-fly when out of season. But they never take it, except during the ' drake season,' or a little before or a little after it, In that season, viz. when the May-fly (Ephemera vulgata) or green drake is out upon the waters, fish will prefer an imitation of it to an imitation of any other fly, except indeed of mornings or evenings, E 50 WHEN IMITATIONS OF THE MAY-FLY KILL, when other natural flies are out, and the May-fly is not. I will here grant, and doing so will strengthen my argument, that it is impossible to imitate well the delicate and beautiful May-fly. Still, fish will generally sooner take the bad imi- tation, I may say the worst imitation of it, than the best of any other fly not in season. The artificial May-fly is not a killing bait except under peculiar circumstances, and when thrown upon the water amongst the real flies, fish will generally prefer the latter. Use any other artificial fly, as unlike the May-fly as pos- sible, and you will prove the theory of the philo- sophers to be erroneous, for fish will not rise at these unlike flies at all. They will rise, however, at a bad imitation of the May-fly, particularly under circumstances that tend to improve that imitation. When the weather is gloomy and windy during the tf drake season,' and the deep waters are ruffled, and few natural May-flies are out, imitations of them will kill well. I account for it thus. During such weather the imperfec- tions of the artificial fly are to a great measure hidden. The water is disturbed and not very clear, the plash caused by the falling line and large imitation-flies is not very great, and the appearance of the artificial fly then is not unlike that of a natural one, either drowned or drowning, or struggling against the effects of gusty weather. AND WHEN THEY DO NOT. 51 On a fine clear day, in pools at least, the artificial May-fly will not succeed; and still less any of the philosophers' outlandish flies, because of the im- possibility of imitating the motions of the natural May-fly, observed plainly and constantly by the fish through the clear and tranquil water sending up myriads of the beautiful living insect. When it first comes to the surface of the water, it has to shake off the case that confines its wings, to dry them, to gain a little strength in the new atmo- sphere it inherits before it can fly away to enjoy a few hours' existence. Whilst making these inci- pient preparations for ephemeral enjoyment, it is seen by the fish, and frequently checked at the outset of its career. The fly-maker cannot imitate these acts of the fly, so apparent to fish in sunny weather, and hence the little success attending the artificial green drake at such a time. The above famous fly, so common in the rivers of the midland, the western, and the southern counties of England, is not so common in the north, is rare and even unknown in many of the best rivers of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. It would be in vain to fish with it there, which proves again that the common trout, at any rate, will not rise at nondescript things, which instinct informs them bear no resemblance to their natural food. Grnats and midges are to be found every- where throughout the kingdom, especially in E 2 52 FAILURE OF NONDESCRIPT FLIES. summer, and hence the different sorts of dun artificials, intended to be imitations of those in- sects, are good general flies in every part of the empire. Artificial palmers, which are imitations of the caterpillars of different sizes and colours common to the rivers of the British Isles, are good baits, perhaps the best general ones, except in those months when the living caterpillar does not exist. After what I have now written, it will be ap- parent to every one that I am in favour of close imitation. I have tried the nondescript fly, and found it fail — tried it for two seasons on the Thames without a shadow of success. Having found how difficult it was to kill large Thames trout with the ordinary artificial flies, I had some nondescript ones dressed as attractively as imagi- nation, guessing at probabilities, could make them. During the seasons 1846-7 I used them with the utmost perseverance, for I wanted to test the dis- covery of the philosophers ; but the Thames trout seemed determined not to afford me a single ex- cuse for becoming a convert to the new doctrine — they would have nothing to do with my new- fangled flies. In previous years I had killed Thames trout with artificial flies, and I had made others kill them with flies similar to those I had used, viz. large red, black, brown, and furnace hackles, and a very large imitation of the sand- ARTIFICIAL FISH. 53 fly. Flies like these were successful in the year 1846, and I saw a trout weighing upwards of lOlbs. that had been taken with a large brown palmer at Sunbury. My gaudy flies were of no use. I had my faith slightly shaken one day by seeing a Thames trout taken with a bad imitation of the May-fly late in July. That fly was a non- descript then. A day or two afterwards I saw several natural flies on the Thames ; they were large, in shape like the May-fly, but the body was of a lighter colour, and the wings not so transparent as those of that insect. In fact, the bad imitation of the May-fly that had been taken by the Thames trout was not unlike the living fly that was then out upon the waters of that river. If fish preferred nondescript artificial flies, we might reasonably conclude they would prefer non- descript natural fish, mice, frogs, beetles, grass- hoppers, and so forth. They do not, however; and artificial fish-baits are made as like as possible to natural minnows, bleak, gudgeons, dace, roach, and small trout. Perhaps the philosophers would contend that an artificial imitation of the red mullet, or of some other fish that would be a non- descript to salmonidae or pike, would be taken by them with greater avidity than the bad imitation of the fish they feed upon, because — and that is the philosophers' reason — they can distinguish 54 THEORETICAL NONSENSE. the badly-imitated artificial minnow or gudgeon from the real ones they constantly see and feed upon, and will therefore seize by preference some- thing concerning which their instinct can draw no comparison. Before I conclude this chapter, I think it but fair to the philosophers to give a summary of their theory. It is the opinion of governments and of other bodies of men, that it is dangerous to pub- lish false theories. I do not think so. Falsehood cannot stand against truth in the open day. It may creep on in private, but its publication draws after it its refutation, and the establishment of true knowledge into the bargain. There is great philosophy in 6 0 that mine enemy had written a book ! ' A modern writer (( The Angler's Souvenir ') says : c Most books on fly-fishing con- tain long lists of flies, named after the particular insect of which it is pretended they are an imita- tion, but to which they bear so very distant a .resemblance, that the most skilful entomologist would be completely at fault in assigning the species. Such lists, for the most part, only con- fuse the beginner, and give him wrong ideas of the rationale of the art, and are not of the least use to the proficient. The greatest number of trout, as is well known to every practical angler,* * This I pronounce one of the most barefaced misrepresenta- tions ever uttered. THEORETICAL NONSENSE. 55 is caught with flies which are the least like any which frequent the water. The imitation of the yellow May-fly, which is so common on many streams towards the latter end of May and the beginning of June, is scarcely worth admitting into the angler's book ; for when the natural fly is most abundant, and teachers say the imitation is to be used, it is generally good for nothing, as the trout very seldom take it when the real fly is on the water; but, in direct opposition to the unfounded theory, prefer a hackle, black, red, or brown, or a dark-coloured fly. Wherever fly- fishing is practised — in England, Scotland, Ire- land, Wales, France, Germany, and America, — it has been ascertained, by experience, that the best flies are not those which are dressed profess- edly in imitation of any particular insect. Red, black, and brown hackles, and flies with wings of the bittern's, mallard's, partridge's, woodcock's, grouse's, martin's, or blue hen's feathers, with dubbing of brown, yellow, or orange, occasionally blended, and hackles, red, brown, or black under the wings, are the most useful flies that an angler can use on any stream in daylight all the year through.' The above passage contains a summary of the doctrine preached by the new piscatorial philo- sophers. They are lazy theoretical anglers, and would be glad if there were only three general 56 LAZY THEORETICAL ANGLERS. killing artificial flies, that they might not have the trouble of changing them, or observing which flies are in season. There is one truth, and one only, in the above extract : viz., that which says fish will freqently, in the drake season, ' prefer a hackle, black, red, or brown, or a dark-coloured fly,' to the imitation of the May-fly. That truth, however, does not strengthen the philosophers' reasoning. Quite the contrary. I have already explained why the artificial green drake is not generally a successful fly. It is the most difficult of all flies to be imitated well. Other artificial flies are better imitations of other real flies, and therefore fish prefer them to the bad imitations of the drake. Another reason why they take f a black, red, brown, or dark-coloured fly,' is that fish, like man, have a versatile appetite. What will the philosophers answer, when I tell them that trout at certain times of the drake season will prefer a small artificial fly to the fine fat living fly ? Unaccountable ! perchance they will say. Not a whit of it. I have seen fish so much gorged and surfeited with the live May-fly, that they would no longer rise at it ; whilst they would rise rapidly, particularly towards evening, at an imita- tion of the common house-fly. What do I con- clude from this ? Not, certainly, that the arti- ficial fly is a better bait than the natural fly at all times, but that it is sometimes, when palled ap- GENERAL FLIES. 57 petite, or some other casualty, makes it so. The philosophers recommend the use of only a few flies. They recommend, however, the most general ones; that is, those whose appearance on the water is not limited to a few days in a particular month — in fact, flies which are to be found alive in one shape or other during spring, summer, and autumn. After all, they do not in reality recom- mend nondescripts, and are particularly minute in describing how their imitations should be dressed. If they consider, as they say they do, imitation useless, why are they so precise about appearance, about certain sorts of feathers, fur, &c. ? I grant them that some of the flies they name are the best general ones we know of, and that they will kill, when trout are rising at very different sorts of flies, better than bad imitations of those flies which are in season. But they kill on a principle totally different from the philoso- phers' doctrine — viz., because they are like some natural fly, whilst the bad imitation is not like any fly at all. In the month of March, when the weather was open, and the water in fly-fishing tune, I have seen thousands of a particular species of fly sailing with wings erect upon the surface of the water. The fly I mean is diversely called the March- brown, brown drake, cob-fly, and grey caughlan. It is easier to make an imitation of this fly than 58 A GEE AT QUESTION ANSWERED. of the May-fly, and therefore such imitation will kill when a nondescript, or a fly as unlike as pos- sible the March-brown, will not. Practical anglers know this so well, that when the March-brown is on the waters, they fish with three imitations of it of different sizes attached to their foot-line at one and the same time. I have known a good imitation of the March-brown thrown upon the water amongst the live insects and eagerly taken, I may say in preference to the natural fly. Did the fish confound it with the natural fly, or rise at it because it was a nondescript ? That is the question. I answer without hesitation, they con- founded the artificial with the natural fly. At the same time, I maintain that if fish did not in general make the mistake of confounding the artificial with the natural fly, the fly -fisher's art would be a bungle from beginning to end, and should be called a comedy of errors, rather than an art. Of the March-brown, Mr. Bainbridge in his ' Fly-Fisher's Gruide ,'— and Christopher North pronounces that gentleman to have been one of the most accomplished anglers that ever crossed the Tweed, — says : 6 This very excellent fly very generally appears about the middle of March, and is strongly recommended as a good killer from eleven until three o'clock. Large numbers of these beautiful insects sail down the streams in succession, and invite the trout to action. Their AN ORTHODOX AUTHORITY. 59 wings are upright on the body, and whilst they are on the water, it is almost in vain to attempt the use of any other fly. Therefore, as they vary in the shade of their body, it is advised to use three of this form, but of different sizes and colours, at the same time, which will ensure suc- cess to the angler.' Mr. Bainbridge is an ortho- dox authority acknowledged by every practical angler. He is perfectly right in advising the use of differently coloured March-browns, because the hue of the male differs from that of the female. Why are duns in general use ? Because they are imitations of the ephemera family, the most common and most killing water insects. It is not because they are nondescripts ; and he who has the best dun hackles of various hues, dressed in the neatest way over bodies varying in colour, as the natural flies do, according, I am justified in saying, to wind and weather, will meet with the surest success. For my own part, I seldom fly-fish for trout or grayling without some sort of dun on my line, and I am guided by the shape and colour of the dun-fly on the water. Some species or other of dun-fly is on the water through- out the fly-fishing season. I find in ' The Encyclopedia of Eural Sports,' some passages so full of sound sense on the subject of natural and artificial flies, that I cannot resist 60 ON EPHEMERAL FLIES. the temptation of borrowing them. They deserve attentive perusal, and their author, the late Mr. Delaborde P. Elaine, was famed for his knowledge of natural history and his practically scientific attainments. He says : * The small ephemeral flies, called duns in the angler's vocabulary, are very important to his practice : the entomological outline will show that they are very numerous also. A few, as the May-fly, the March-brown, and great whirling dun, are large ; most of the remainder are very small, but yet are so attrac- tive to fish, particularly to the trout, that in the counties which are favourable to their propaga- tion and increase, they form the sheet-anchor of the trout fly-fisher's practice. It would be diffi- cult in the extreme for the most attentive, either angler or naturalist, to designate or characterise them individually, from their numbers and varie- ties. The short period of their existence, limited to a few days at most, and in some to a few hours only, renders a constant succession necessary to fill up the void. They have been grouped under the comprehensive term of duns, which has be- come so conventional, that it would be extremely difficult to disjoin them; although, whoever ex- amines the yellow and the orange varieties, which equally pass under the same name, will find they have little of a dun hue about them. There are, however, extreme exceptions, for it is very certain EPHEMERAL AND DUN FLIES. 61 that in most other varieties there is a predomi- nating bluish grey tinge. Were it not for the successional changes which take place in their tribes, they might perhaps be conveniently and appropriately divided into brown, red, and yellow ephemerae ; of each of these the modifications are almost infinite. c Of the brown ephemerae, or duns, some are very dark, approaching a claret colour, which is best imitated by a dark blue, mixed with a reddish brown. These are usually found in the earliest part of the fly-fishing season, and to them usually succeed a mixture of red and coloured varieties, followed by a new series, which are gradually softened into the different hues of dun, orange, or yellowish ash. Of the true dun ephemeral flies the variety is equally endless, from the early blue dun, which may be considered as the type, through all the gradations of iron-blue, violet- blue, ashy grey, and pale-blue. The yellow ephemeras or duns are still more difficult to define, as there are few even of the former that do not exhibit a yellowish intermixing tinge about some parts of their little frames. Often it appears in exquisite orange bars over the abdomen, but they derive their character from the yellow being more strictly predominant. In some may be perceived a slight mixture of bright yellow with a larger of ashy dun. When both colours are 62 VARIETIES OF DUNS. bright, an elegant tint of green is produced In others again, as the little yellow May-fly, bright yellow prevails without mixture. Of all these the series are wonderfully varied, some having orange bodies and dun wings, while in others the orange is shed over the wings, and the dun body serves as a foil to them. s The successional change of colour which takes place in the series of ephemerae, as they advance from the spring to summer, and as they retro- grade again towards autumn, has not escaped the notice of anglers ; and we find in most of the directions for fly-dressing the subject practically glanced at, but no systematic arrangement of the series has been attempted. All that has been hitherto noted is, that in the early spring months the predominating colour of the winged insects which are seen near the water is almost black. The early duns are of a very dark olive, whose occasional varieties, as the season advances, assume a lighter brown, while others shine in a heavy blue ; until at length yellow, orange, or cinnamon decks the former, and pale blue the latter, inter- mixed with others apparently compounded be- tween these. With one exception, that of the blue-blow, the ephemerae appear invariably to become of a lighter hue as warmth and light in- crease ; and we see the summer duns dressed in bright yellow, orange, red, and cinnamon. From VARIETIES OF DUNS. 63 these fresh relays appear, and as the season ad- vances these again assume the gradatory shades of red, brown, violet, and claret colour. 6 The daily appearance of the ephemerae, as well as the colours they shine in, is 'also under the in- fluence of times and seasons. Excess of cold, as well as of heat, is unfavourable to them : thus in the depths of winter they are not seen at all ; in spring they do not show themselves until towards noon ; while in the meridian splendour of the summer days, they (to avoid heat) come out in the mornings and evenings principally, and are hardly seen at midday. A kind and provident nature so suits the supply of her creatures, that her economy may never be disturbed. If these ephemeral flies appeared all of them at one time, the air would be vitiated, and the birds and the fishes which live on them would be glutted to satiety and fatal repletion at one time, and at another might want the necessary support. But we see species after species arrive in succession to fill up the breaks made by the last ; and that no inconsiderable interruption may occur by variation in temperature, and changes in weather, some are destined to appear when cold and storms prevail, while others require cloudless skies and genial warmth to draw them from their seclusion. The whirling dun thus frolics in the gale, the red spinner dances in the sunny beam, and the blue- 64 ADVANTAGES OF ENTOMOLOGY. blow braves the chilling day. The observant angler makes a practical use of all this, and frames his mimic art accordingly.' The intelligent reader will find, in the above extract, hints that will serve as a safe clue to much interesting and useful information. He will be inclined to think that a partial knowledge at least of entomology will be necessary to make him a perfect fly-fisher. He will find that each month produces its particular flies, with some that are common to most months and waters, and with imitations of these he will angle. He will find that the first spring flies are generally olive- coloured, reddish, and brown ; that as spring ad- vances, various duns, not as yet very light ones, come on, together with larger flies of mottled wings, and yellow and dark bodies. In the last spring month appear such flies as the little and large May-fly, precursors of more gaudy ones for summer-tide; and in early autumn he will find gnats, transparent duns, cinnamon-coloured flies, ant-flies, and, as the season declines, the spring flies, olive and green, reappear. This information is important. In dressing flies, precise colour is of more im- portance than exact shape. If the colour^of your materials be bad, it is in vain for you to be correct in shape. You must, therefore, ascertain the colours of the living flies, and match them by FLY-MAKING MATERIALS. 65 artificial means. The fly-fisher who is the best judge of colour has an immense advantage over the bad colourist. When by-and-by I give my list of flies, I shall be most particular in stating the coloured materials of which they are to be made. The wings and feet of flies are almost al- ways made of feathers — the bodies of fur, mohair, silk, wool, &c. ; and the fly-dresser cannot be too particular in the quality and colour of those mate- rials. The most general feather for wings is the wing-feather of the starling, its longest or inner fibres to be used ; the most general feather for legs, and sometimes for body, is a cock's hackle- feather ; and the most general substance for dub- bing the body is mohair : it is the best also. The hackle-feather is taken from the back part of the cock's neck, and that part of the bird affords feathers of various sizes and various hues. Mohair can be dyed any colour ; it resists water well, does not cake in it, shows its colour effectually, and mixes well with fur and silk. It is a most valu- able material. The hackles of cocks are of differ- ent colours. The most valuable are duns, and they are the most difficult to be obtained in per- fection. The best dun feathers are to be found in Wales and the midland counties. Hackles are to be got from a variety of other birds — from the grouse, the green and golden plover, the partridge, bittern, woodcock, snipe, wren, tomtit, &c. ; and F 66 IMPROVEMENT IN FLY-DRESSING. feathers for wings from a still greater variety of birds. The same feather that will make the wings will frequently answer best for the legs, shoulders, and tail of the fly. All that is required is judgment in the selection, and this can only be obtained by comparison. Artificial flies are now certainly very neatly made — infinitely better, every judge acknow- ledges, than they used to be a few years ago. My own ephemeral writings in BeWs Life in London have (I have heard many say) tended much to this advance towards perfection; and so have Mr. Ronalds's 6 Fly-fisher's Entomology,' and Mr. Blacker's ' Art of Fly-making ' * and, lastly, so have the two first editions of this Handbook. Still we are not perfect in fly-making, nor shall we be so until some more painstaking fly-dresser than we now have gets a collection of natural flies, examines them by means of the microscope, ascertains their precise colours and anatomy, and then by microscopic examination again of feathers, mohair, fur, and so forth, arrives at the exact imitative materials. When that is done, fly-fishing will be reduced to a sporting science exceedingly amusing and instructive. The journeyman fly- * I earnestly recommend this valuable little work to all who wish to become perfect fly-making adepts. It is sold by the author, 54 Dean Street, Soho, and by the Messrs. Longman and Co., Paternoster Kow. HINTS TO FLY-DRESSERS. 67 dresser at present is merely acquainted with the mechanical part of the art, dresses from artificial specimens, knows little or nothing of the natural insect, and is rarely a good angler. He is a copyist of a copy, and does not know whether that which he has to copy is a good likeness of the living subject or not. A fishing-tackle maker, to be a great and good one, should have an insect museum, — the flies, caterpillars, and beetles, fish feed on, preserved in cases, named and numbered, and the season of each noted. From these models he should dress his flies : and when he finds he has succeeded in framing perfect copies, he should note down the materials he has used in their formation, and then he will have sure guides for the fly-dressers he employs. He should pay those persons well, and engage none who do not deserve high pay ; and should charge his customers a remunerative price. The generality of flies are sold at too low a price. They cannot be made well at a low price. They must be defective in every way, and hence the purchaser meets with little success, much loss of time and of money, for cheap things are always the most ex- pensive in the end. There have been persons advertising to make, at Is. 6d. a dozen, the flies I recommend. At that price the hooks and gut must be of inferior quality, the workmanship 'scamped/ so that the hooks will draw after a if 2 68 STRETCHERS AND DROPPERS. tussle or two with a good fish. My flies cannot be well dressed for less than double the above price. In trout and grayling fishing I would always have three flies on my casting-line at the same time. The tail-fly or stretcher should be the best, and when possible the largest; the first dropper, a good general fly, and the second drop- per, or third fly, a most attractive hackle. The stretcher should be an imitation of the fly in season. It is the fly which ought to fall first on the water ; if you cast well, it floats most naturally in it, and a fish hooked by it is more easily played and killed than with either of the droppers. When you find that fish are rising at one sort of fly only — that your stretcher, or one or other of your droppers, is the sole attraction, remove your useless flies, and make your sole attraction a triple one. You will often find several sorts of natural flies on the water simultaneously : observe which of them the fish are feeding upon, and produce your imitations if you have them in your book. If not, make them if you can. It is a fact that hackles and palmers are the most killing flies on many of the rivers in Eng- land, whilst on others winged flies are the best. Hackles, except a very few, do not kill well in Ireland. Winged flies are the best there. Palmers are not good flies, generally speaking, in Ireland ; THE GENERAL FLY. 69 whilst in some parts of England they are the best general baits. In our northern streams, which are exposed to cold winds, and not well sheltered with trees, bushes, and plants, hackles and small flies are the most killing. In well- wooded rivers, in our midland, western, and southern counties, winged flies are the most attractive, and the palmer kills better than the simple hackle. The natural flies are bred larger there, and with more seasonable regularity. We have one consolation, however, that the good general fly extends its attractive qualities to all aquatic coquettes, be they English, Irish, Scotch, or Welsh salmon or salmonidas. Experience alone, whether it be your own experience or that of others, can make you intimately acquainted with the great local favourites. 70 ARTIFICIAL FLIES. CHAPTER IV. PLT-DKESSING. THERE are hundreds of things that cannot be taught easily by means of pen and ink, but which the tongue and hand, reciprocally illustrating each other, can inculcate with very little difficulty. Fly-dressing or fly-making is one of those things. I can scarcely teach it by writing ; in a few hours I could explain the whole matter with tongue and hand. However, I must on paper do the best I can ; and the artist in wood having lent me some assistance, I fancy I can make a short lecture on fly-making practically comprehensible. The woodcut on the left-hand side of this page, and marked 1, re- presents what fly-dressers V*^ [ "\ term ' the gut armed,' that is, plainly speaking, the gut and hook whipped on, or tied together. It is the first step in fly-dressing, and is thus performed : —You take the hook by the bent part, or bend, between the tips of the fore finger and thumb of the left hand ; the back part of the hook being ARMING THE GUT. 71 upwards, and the barbed part downwards, as represented in the little plate before you. You next take a strand of fine silk, neatly waxed, and about a foot or more in length, and you whip it two or three times firmly round the hook at that part of it nearest your finger-nails, or, generally speaking, that part of the shank which is opposite to the pointed and barbed part of the hook. You make the two or three whips in the direction of the end of the shank of the hook, that is, towards your right. Next you take a link of gut coiled for convenience' sake, as you see in the cut ; and having softened between your lips, and drawn between your teeth to soften and flatten it, a small portion of the freed end of the gut, you place that end against the last whip that you have made with your silk, and you wind your silk over gut and hook up to the end of the shank, or up to that part of it from which you see in the cut a portion of the silk hanging. Wind your silk firmly, and in regular twists, and one winding will be sufficient to fasten safely your hook and gut together. If you only wind your silk as far as you see it wound on the hook before you, a very small portion of the end of the shank will be bare, and leave more room for you to make the head of the fly, and fasten off there with greater delicacy. On the other hand, if you wind your waxed silk to the end of the 72 SETTING ON THE WINGS. shank, and back again to the spot at which you see the silk depending, you will make a firmer foundation for the setting on of the wings, the time for performing which operation is now arrived. Here you see the wings merely whipped on ; the butts of the fibres fast- ened down by being whip- ped over in the direction of- the bend of the hook, and the tips of the fibres pointing away to the right. You ask, where do you get these fibres, and what are they ? Simply a small parcel of them, clipped or torn from the stem of some appropriate feather, generally from that of the wing of a small bird, the most common one being the starling. These fibres are generally taken from that side of the feather lying on the inner part of the wing. They are longer, of a lighter colour, and more transparent than the fibres lying on the pinion side of the wing, because the latter are more exposed to atmospheric action. Having cut or stripped your fibres in sufficient quantities to form two wings, and having made a little bundle of them, their butt-ends lying evenly, and not projecting the one beyond the other, fasten the butt-ends down on the top of the back of the hook, at the spot indicated in the wood- FLY-DRESSING: — THE TAIL. 73 cut. Three firm whips of your silk will be sufficient to fasten them. Then cut away any of the butt-end fibres that may remain uncovered by the silk. Wind your silk down towards the bend of your hook, stopping at the spot at which you first began the arming of your gut, as de- scribed in Fig. 1. You are now ready for the placing on of the tail. Here you see it placed on and whipped over with your silk. The tail is generally made of two fibres of a feather, or of two hairs. In tying on the tail, use three fibres or three hairs, lest one should drop off or be in any way injured whilst you are dressing the other parts of the fly ; and afterwards, if you have succeeded in fastening on three, you may cut away the worst of them, and allow only two to remain — the generality of angling flies having but two tails, and a few only being pachas of three. These illustrious insects have their appendages particularised in our list of killing- flies. You have now, attentive learner, per- formed three things, — armed your gut, fastened on your fibres for wings, and fixed your tail. You next come to making the body, and attaching it round your hook. 74 FLY-DRESSING: — THE BODY. Here are hook and gut with a body on without wing and tail. That body is made of what is called dubbing; and dubbing is made of fur, hair, mohair, silk, and a few other sub- stances. You spin a little of either (the quantity to be determined by the size of the hook you use, the size of the fly determining the size of the hook) on your silk, by twirling both dubbing and silk between the fore finger and thumb of your right hand, and you wind the whole on your hook, beginning at the tail, and working up to the setting on of the wings. The dubbing must be wound more sparingly on the silk near the tail, and increase upwards, being most plentiful close under the wings. You will perceive that you begin winding the hook upon the dubbing after you have tied on the tail, just where you see the silk hanging from the hook in Fig. 3, and you cease winding on when you come to the wings. It may be here necessary to warn you that in some instances you place the tail and dubbing on first, before you whip on the wing-fibres. These instances are, when you are dressing very small flies with perfectly upright wings. Then you place on the wings last, with the butts of the fibres pointing towards the end of the shank, and the top ends towards the bend of the hook. In REVERSING THE WINGS. 75 fact, such wings, for such flies, are placed on in a way quite the reverse from that shown in Fig. 2. This next cut represents an ordinary winged fly, one of the easiest of the sort you can make, in nearly a fi- nished state. You have only to cut off the silk which is left hanging at the spot at which you have finished the fly. You wonder, perhaps, at the position of the wings, pointing very differ- ently from the way you left them when you first tied them on as directed in the explanation ac- companying Fig. 2. I will explain to you the different operations that have caused this change of position. When you wind up your dubbing to the setting-on of the wings, you fasten your dub- bing there, and pinch off all of it that is super- fluous. You fasten your silk with a slip-knot. You then take the wing-fibres between the fore- finger and thumb of your left hand, and reverse them, bending them down over the back of the body of your fly, with the tops of the fibres point- ing towards the bend of your hook. Whilst so bent and held down, you pass your silk behind the wings, between them and the end of the shank of the hook, and you lap your silk two or three 76 DIVIDING THE WINGS. times tightly close over their base. They will now lie nearly as represented. To make them do so completely, you divide the fibres exactly in the middle with your dubbing- needle, and through the division you pass the silk ; and then you wind it round the bottom of the division farthest from you, or that on the right side of the fly, and you bring back the silk, passing it again through the divided wings, and bringing it round and under the bottom of the division which is next to you. You now whip the silk behind the wings, and form the head part of the fly ; fasten with a couple of slip-knots newly waxed, and clip off the depending silk ; touch the knots with a little varnish, which will render them thoroughly safe. Your fly, consisting of tail, body, and wings, is now finished. If your wings are too long, pinch off with your finger-nails the unnecessary portion of the tips of the fibres ; pick out your dubbing with your dubbing-needle, and make your body taper by taking away parts of the dubbing wher- ever you see it superfluous. The fly here repre- sented has three visible defects. It has three tails, one of which should have been clipped off; the head is too thick and too long, which might have been prevented by fewer laps of the silk between the wings and the end of the shank ; and the wings should be more pointed and equally divided. I have purposely left the defects HACKLE-FEATHEK PUT ON. 77 standing, in order to show how they are to be remedied. Here is a 'complete fly, with wings, body, tail, and hackle for legs wound under the wings, and just before them. You see here the hackle-feather whip- ped on for the pur- pose of making the legs of a winged fly, or for making a plain hackle or a palmer- hackle. I will suppose you going to make the fly, Fig. 6. You arm your gut, as described at Fig. 1 ; you fasten on your wings, as shown at Fig. 2 ; and you then whip on your hackle, as here represented, close by the wings. You cut away butt-ends of the hackle and wing-fibres, and you whip your silk down towards the bend. Whip on your fibres or hairs for tail, and then spin on your dubbing, which you wind up to the thick ends of hackle and wing. Carry back towards the tail your silk a little, and then wind on over the body for two turns, in the same direction as your silk, your hackle-feather, which you tie down, and cutting off what remains of it unbound, bring your silk through the fibres 78 DRESSINGS A TINSEL-RIBBED FLY. of the hackle behind your wings, which divide, and pass your silk through the division, and round the bottom of each wing, finishing at the head in the way directed for fly, Fig. 5. A fly made carefully in this way is a most general and killing one, wanting only, for higher finish, to be ribbed or tipped with tinsel. I here present you with a fly ribbed with tinsel over the body. It is a difficult fly to make ; and when you can make it well, you may consider yourself a proficient in the art of fly-dressing. Arm your gut, then tie on your hackle for legs, and your wings as usual. Cut away thick end of hackle and wings, and wind your silk down to the tail. Attach your tail, and then your gold or silver twist, as may be. Spin on your dubbing, which wind up carefully to the wings, fasten with a slip-knot, and leave your silk depending. Go back to the tail, and take your gold or silver twist and lap it at regular intervals over the body up to the wings ; fasten and cut away the remaining parts of the twist and dub- bing; then wind your hackle a couple of turns over twist and dubbing in the direction of the tail, and,xfastening down the hackle cut away the point p£iit. Bring your silk back behind the wings ; divide them, and finish in the way already A GOOD PLAIN FLY. 79 taught. In the body of the fly represented, you see white and dark ribs. The white are caused by the tinsel ; the dark, by the portions of the dubbing which you have not covered with the twist or tinsel. In this figure there are three prominent defects : the head is too thick, the wings unequally divided, and the tail is omitted. These defects are designedly caused. They will often occur to the young fly-dresser ; but when they do, he must unfasten his defective fly, and begin again. The two last flies the learner has been studying are amongst the most diffi- cult to make. I will give him a little relaxation now by presenting to him one or *^/%jjjjl 9 two flies more easily dressed — and here is one. It is a fly with plain silk for body, with wings and legs. The making of it should be frequently practised, as that will pro- duce greater facility in dressing the more com- plicated flies. There is nothing like a good foundation. Arm your gut. Suppose the body of your fly to be delicate and of an orange colour, let the silk you use for arming be of that colour, waxed with colourless wax.* Consequently, whilst * Wax colourless, as far as the effect on coloured silk goes, may be thus made : — Take two ounces of the best and lightest- coloured resin, with a drachm of bleached beeswax ; put them 80 DRESSING A SIMPLE HACKLE. you are arming your gut, you are forming the body of your fly. You must make that body of the requisite length and thickness, and of the proper tapering shape, by a few laps more or less of the silk. Tie on your hackle and wings, as shown at Figs. 7 and 2 ; wind on your hackle two or three laps down the body of the fly; fasten, and clip off the point of the hackle. Bring your silk back through the fibres of the hackle to behind the wings, which divide in the usual way, and finish at the head delicately. Never forget to varnish the final knot. I now give you a simple hackle to make, which I think very easily done, though others do not. The great difficulty consists 10 in winding the hackle- feather, so that its fibres may project below and above the hook with great regularity, tapering off into a pipkin on a slow fire, until completely dissolved. Let the whole simmer for ten minutes. Then add a quarter of an ounce of white pomatum, and allow the whole, constantly stirring it, to simmer for a quarter of an hour longer. Now pour the liquid into a basin of clean cold water, when the liquid will instantly assume a thick consistency. In this state, and while it is yet warm, work it by pulling it through the fingers until it be cold. This last operation is necessary to make the wax tough, and give it the bright silvery hue which it has when made to per- fection. DRESSING A PALMER-HACKLE. 81 according to their length towards the bend of the hook, and not being entangled, by some getting tied down by the others, or hitching in them uncouthly. Arm your gut, and attach your hackle as shown at Fig. 7 ; then wind your hackle to the bend of the hook, and there fasten; cut away your silk and the point of your hackle- feather. Now with your dubbing-needle pick out any of the fibres that may be caught in the winding-on, and clip away the points of those that project irregularly. Before you now is a palmer-hackle, a most useful bait, representing a caterpillar. Arm your gut, and then attach your hackle- feather as usual, together with some floss silk, pea- cock or ostrich harl, or dubbing, to form the body. They must be at- tached near the end of the shank. First, wind your floss-silk, or harl, or other material for the body, down to the bend of the hook ; then wind your hackle for legs ail down the body, and fasten at the tail; clip away all that remains at the end of the hackle and body. Palmer-hackles are frequently ribbed with gold or silver twist. When you use it, attach your hackle first, then your twist or tinsel, and lastly your harl or dub- bing. Note, as a general rule, that the material G 82 THE WINGS PLACED ON LAST. you attach first, is that which is to be wound round your hook last. Having attached hackle, tinsel, and harl near the shank of your hook, wind down the hody of it towards the bend : first, your harl or dubbing ; secondly, your tinsel ; and lastly, over all, your hackle. Fasten, and cut away the ends. I said before that very small flies are dressed differently from the way I have been teaching you hitherto. The chief difference consists in the wings being tied on last instead of first, after the gut has been armed. To dress flies with the wings fastened on last, you must arm your hook as usual, then attach your hackle-feather at the bend, as here represented, and then spin on your dubbing also from the bend. When you have wound up your dubbing to the shoulders, fasten it down there, and then wind up your hackle to the same spot ; clear away the ends of dubbing and of hackle ; set on your wings with the butt- ends towards the shank of the hook; lap your silk a couple of times round the butts of the FLAT-WINGED FLIES. 83 fibres. Divide the wings, and pass your silk through the division, as directed at Fig. 5, Finish at the head carefully. Wings set on in this way will sit bent forwards, and enable you to dress a finer body, and one composed of a great variety of materials, It may often happen that, after a little use, the wings will get spoiled, and the body of the fly remain uninjured. By the method taught here, you can attach a new pair of wings without interfering with the body, and that is an advantage. I think that wings tied on last generally sit better, but they cannot be tied on so firmly as the wings that are attached imme- diately after the arming of the gut, with the butt- end fibres pointing to the bend of the hook. As many insects have their wings lying flat on the body, such wings are best imitated by feathers tied on with their roots pointing towards the end of the shank of the hook. The last specimen of fly-dressing I intend to give is a very simple one, though not the less valua- ble. It is a hackle, with the wings placed on last : that is, dressed reversely 'W/^// from the fly, Fig. 9. You see that the wings sit well, and as one way is as easy as the other, you may adopt whichsoever you like. In making plain hackles, you may begin 02 84 FLY-DKESSING. by attaching the hackle near the end of the shank, as shown at Fig. 7 ; or near the bend, as seen in Fig. 12 : 'tis six of one, and half-a-dozen of the other. I have now shown the reader, as clearly and concisely as I could, how to dress the usual sorts of trout and grayling flies. The cuts are rather rough ones, because the models were designedly left in a rough state ; lest if they were too much fined down, and finished, the learner, seeing that he could not easily approach their neatness, might be deterred from fly-dressing. When he can tie flies in this passably rough way, he must get finished models — those made by Blacker, of 54 Dean Street, Soho, being the best I have as yet seen ; and laying them before him, he must pick, trim, and shave his own rough insect statues until he can fashion them as delicately as the most cunning professional artist. If he confide in the sure and steady improving progress which time and perseverance invariably produce, he will become his own complete artist in flies. In ar- ranging the heads of this chapter, Mrs. Little, the wife of Mr. Little, fishing-tackle maker, No. 15 Fetter Lane, courteously assisted me. SUBSTANCES FOR FLY-MAKING. 85 MATERIALS USED IN FLY-DRESSING. The substances the fly-dresser wants wherewith to make his flies are exceedingly various, — chiefly feathers, fur, hair, and silk. The colours he requires are still more various than the materials, and, therefore, some of the latter must be dyed. There is scarcely a bird or quadruped, particularly the smaller sorts, that does not contribute to the fly-dresser's magazine. The fly-maker who is a good judge of colour has an immense advantage over him who is not ; he will find many suitably- coloured materials where the bad judge would never think of looking for them. Feathers are obtained, remarks Mr. Elaine, from nearly every bird, from the gigantic ostrich down to the Lilliputian wren. Nothing can well be com- moner for making flies than the ostrich harl, or the individual fibres of some of the plumes of that bird, dyed variously. Peacock harls, or single fibres of its largest feathers, are still more common for the bodies of flies. The wings of small flies are made of the wing-feathers of the starling, lark, landrail, hen pheasant, partridge, woodcock, plover, snipe, dotterel, sea-swallow, sea-gull, wild duck, teal, water-hen, domestic hen, and many other birds. The tomtit's tail affords an excellent blue feather for wings and hackle. Foreign birds 86 HACKLE-FEATHEKS. afford an infinite variety of feathers for gaudy flies. Hackle-feathers are very valuable, and, as Mr. Elaine says, ' they are generally those which deck the neck and rump of the cock. Such haekles only should be chosen as have fibres about half an inch long, and those from the game-fowl are to be preferred. The principal colours are white, black, grizzled, grey,, ginger, light red, dark red, and the variety in which the dark red is divided by a black listing. The dun or blue hackle is difficult to obtain, not only on account of the colour, but because, as it is wanted to dress minute flies (the duns), those of the dun cock are rather too long and gross, and those of the dun hen too weak.' The dun hackle is seldom to be got pure. Fowls' feathers should be plucked in winter, and from full-grown birds. The feathers of male fowls are generally the best. The backs and tails of the partridge, grouse, golden plover, snipe, and some other wild fowl, afford excellent hackles. Golden pheasant's feathers from the head and neck are most valuable for salmon flies. Furs can be easily got at the furriers'. Those most wanted are bear's, — grey, black, brown, and dun of every shade ; badger's, sable, and martin's fur, particularly the parts about the head of the former, and the yellow-spotted portions under the jaws of the latter ; squirrel's fur, American and BEST SORTS OF HAIR AND FUR. 87 English : also the fur of the water and house rat, field-mouse, mole, hedgehog, seal, both dyed and natural. Skins of the black, sandy, and grey rabbit, in all their varieties, are useful; also those of the ferret, weasel, and polecat. The fur of the ears, head, and neck of the hare is most useful. Mr. Elaine advises ' that skins of all kinds, when they fall in the angler's way, should be looked over, and any striking portions preserved, every one of which may prove valuable in the hour of need.' Of hair, there is none more useful than that called ( hog's down.' Naturally it is of various colours, and can be dyed of any hue advan- tageously. It resists the water well, and when immersed in that element retains its vividness of colour, whatever that may be. I have a high opinion of mohair, which can be obtained of every colour. Worsted is only suited for the bodies of large flies. For tying on flies the best silk is that which is the finest and strongest. Undyed silk is always the strongest, and the floss silk used for making delicate fringes, and the sewing-silk employed in the finest sort of glove-work, are perhaps the best. If you use them of different colours, wax them with the wax, to make which I have already given you a recipe. If you use white silk only, you must wax with wax dyed the general colour of 88 RECIPES FOR DYEING. the body of the fly you are dressing. Common shoemaker's wax is, however, the most useful; and, unless we be very particular, it may on all occasions supersede dyed wax. Thick floss silk and camlet of various hues are necessary for the bodies of some flies and palmers. The instruments for fly-dressing are few, and practice will make them fewer. At first you will want a small table-vice, a small spring-pliers, a penknife with a file-blade, two pairs of scissors of the very best manufacture — one with long and fine blades, ending in the sharpest and finest points, another with short stout blades and large finger-loops, and as correctly pointed as the other. A large needle, with a fine point and fitted into a small handle, is necessary to divide the wings, to pick out the dubbing, and to free the fibres of the hackle when required. A FEW RECIPES FOR DYEING. Under the head of the May-fly, will be found a recipe for dyeing feathers a yellowish green. Mr. Packer, in his ' Dyer's Guide,' dyes feathers yellow thus :•. — Into a saucepan three parts filled with soft water, put the feathers to be dyed ; and when they are thoroughly wetted, add a small quantity of sulphate of iron. Simmer them over a moderate fire a few minutes, and the feathers FIRST PROCESS OF DYEING. 89 will have gained the colour-base or mordant. Eemove the liquor from the feathers, and put to them instead a smaller quantity of soft water ; and when it is of a simmering heat, add a small quantity of powdered Aleppo galls. The requisite shades of dun colour may be obtained by varying the quantities of the iron and galls. For a full dark dun, add sufficient quantities of the sulphate and galls. By increas- ing or diminishing the proportions of either of these articles, you will obtain duns of divers shades. If logwood be used instead of galls, a different tint will be the result. Madder, cam- wood, the bark of the alder-tree, walnut -peels, produce different hues. Grails, logwood, and madder should, however, be omitted when the colouring is intended to approach a red or brown. >The light shades in all cases should be first gained, and any other deeper hue added after- wards. Hard water should not be used in dyeing. Having given to the feathers their mordant or base, as already directed, add either sulphate of iron, sulphate of alum, acetate of alum, or acetate of copper, according to the intended shade. Wash the feathers from the mordant, and put them into a strong decoction of that plant which the dyers call weld. Simmer them in this a few minutes, strengthening or weakening the weld-decoction in proportion as the colour is to be more or less 90 DYEINa HACKLES VARIOUS COLOURS. brilliant. A little practice, and the noting of the various results after each trial, will soon make the angler familiar with the methods of varying the colours so as to meet his wishes. These in- structions, Mr. Packer states, apply to wool also, which may be tinted in the same manner. Mr. Ronalds dyes white feathers a dun colour thus: — Make a mordant by dissolving about a quarter of an ounce of alum in a pint of water, and slightly boil the feathers in it, taking care that they should be thoroughly soaked or saturated with the solution ; then boil them in other water with fustick, shumach, and a small quantity of copperas, put into it until they have assumed the required tint. The fustick and copperas will produce a yellow-dun tint, the shumach and cop- peras a blue-dun tint. The greater the quantity of copperas, the deeper will be the dye. To turn red hackles brown. — Put a piece of copperas, the size of half a walnut, into a pint of water ; boil it, and whilst boiling put in the red feathers. Let them remain in it until, by fre- quent examination, they are found to have taken the proper colour. To stain feathers an olive dun, &c. — Make a very strong infusion of the outside brown coating of an onion, by allowing the whole to infuse by the fire for twelve hours. If dun feathers are boiled in this dye, they will become an olive dun, RED, PURPLE, AMBER, AND BROWN. 91 and white feathers a yellow. If a small piece of copperas be added, the latter colour will become a useful muddy yellow, darker or lighter as may be required, and approaching to a yellow-olive dun, according to the quantity of copperas used. To dye feathers dark red and purple. — Hackles of various colours, boiled (without alum) in an infusion of logwood and Brazil-wood dust until they are as red as they can be made by this means, may be changed to a deeper red by putting them into a mixture of muriatic acid and tin, and to a purple by a warm solution of potash. As the muriatic acid is not to be saturated with tin, the solution must be made diluted. If it burns your tongue much, it will burn the feathers a little. To dye feathers various shades of red, amber, and brown. — First boil them in the alum mordant already mentioned ; secondly, boil them in an infusion of fustick strong enough to bring them to a bright yellow (about a tablespoonful to a pint of water) ; then boil them in a dye of madder, peach wood, or Brazil wood. To set the colour, put a few drops of dyer's spirits (i.e., nitrate of tin combined with a small quantity of salt), which may be had from a silk-dyer, into the last- mentioned dye. To stain gut the colour of weeds, water, &c.— Make an infusion of onion coatings, as before 92 GUT STAINED A WATER-COLOUR. directed ; and when quite cold, put the gut into it, and let it remain until the hue becomes as dark as required. A strong infusion of green tea will dye gut a useful colour. So will warmed writing-ink : the gut to be steeped in it a few minutes, and immediately afterwards to be washed clean in spring-water. You will obtain another good colour by steeping gut for three or four minutes in a pint of boiling water in which you have put a teaspoonful of alum, a bit of logwood the size of a hazel-nut, and a piece of copperas the size of a pea. To make your gut a water- colour, take a teaspoonful of common red ink ; add to it as much soot, and about the third of a tea- cupful of water ; let them simmer for about ten minutes; when cool, steep your line until it be stained to your fancy. This is a very good colour for the purpose, but should be applied gradually, taking out your gut frequently to examine the depth of the tint, lest it should become too dark. THE FLIES FIT FOR EVERY MONTH. 93 CHAPTEE V. A MONTHLY LIST OP FLIES FOR THE SEASON. ffw Jfrfcrnarw anfc JHarcf). I HAVE NOT in this edition inserted so many flies as in the previous ones. I have omitted several occasional killers, and retained good ones only. I have every reason to flatter myself that the list as it now stands, amended and purified, will be found the most useful one ever laid before the angling community. The flies described in it, if properly dressed, will kill trout and grayling universally. No. 1. Early dark dun. — Body, water-rat's or mole's fur ; wings, an old cock-starling's wing- feather ; legs, dark dun hackle ; tail, two fibres of a dark grizzled hackle. Hook, No. 9. No. 2. Olive fly. — Body of dark olive mohair ; wings, a starling's wing-feather, to stand upright; tail, two whisks of a mottled mallard's feather ; to be tipped with a lap of silver tinsel. This fly may be advantageously varied by mixing with the mo- hair a little yellow hare's fur, and tying on with yellow silk. Hook, as before. 94 FLIES FOR FEBRUARY AND MARCH. No. 3. The Ted fly. — Body of the dark red part of squirrel's fur, mixed with an equal quantity of claret-coloured mohair, showing most claret colour at the tail of the fly ; to be spun on, and warped with brown silk. Wings, from a ginger-dun covert feather of the mallard's wring; legs, a claret-coloured stained hackle. Hook, Nos. 9 and 10. No, 4. The dark hare's ear. — Body, dark fur, of the hare's ear ; wings, woodcock's wing-feather, the redder the better ; legs, the fur picked out at the shoulder ; tail, two fibres of the brown-mottled mallard feather; small gold tip. Hook, Nos. 10 and 11. No. 5. The hare's ear and yellow. — Body, dark hare's ear fur, and yellow mohair mixed ; wings, starling's wing- feather. To be made taper in the body ; fur picked out at the shoulder for legs. Hook, No. 10. Good in March and April. A general fly. No. 6. The partridge hackle. — Body, light and dark hare's ear fur, mixed with yellow mohair, and ribbed with yellow silk ; wings and legs, the brown-mottled back-feather of the partridge. Hook, Nos. 10 and 11. An excellent fly. No. 7. The red spinner. — Body, brown silk, ribbed with fine gold twist ; tail, two fibres of a red cock's hackle ; wings, some transparent light- brown feather; legs, red cock's hackle. Hook, 10. FLIES FOK FEBEUAKY AND MARCH. 95 No. 8. The furnace-fly. — Body, orange-co- loured silk ; wings, a fieldfare's feather ; legs, a cock's furnace-hackle. A good general fly. The feather called the furnace -hackle is rather a rare one. Its outside fibres are a beautiful dark red ; that portion of them next to the stem being black. It is got from a cock's neck. No. 9. Ho flanks fancy. — Body, reddish dark- brown silk; wings, woodcock's wing; legs, red hackle ; tail, two strands of a red hackle. Hook, No. 10. This is a good general fly for trout and dace, particularly in the rivers near London. No. 10. The Maltby. — Body, cinnamon-brown mohair ; wings, woodcock's wing-feather ; legs, small black-red hackle; tail, two fibres of the brown mallard's feather ; gold tip. Hook, No. 12. No. 11. The cuckoo dun. — Body, lightest part of water-rat's fur, mixed with yellow mohair ; wings, hen pheasant's wing-feather ; legs, a dun cock's hackle, with dark bars like a cuckoo's back-feather ; tail, two fibres of a grizzled hackle. Hook, No. 10. No. 12. The March-brown, or dun drake. — This is, perhaps," the best fly that can be used from the middle of March to the middle of April, and sometimes up to May. It is a large, showy fly, and almost as great a favourite in March as the May- fly in May. It has various names, viz. the cob-fly, brown caughlan, and turkey-fly, and kills 96 ARTIFICIAL FLIES FOR MARCH. everywhere. In a work I edited formerly, I find the following note: — c On the 23rd of March, 1836, we killed with this fly, from one and the same standing on the Dove, sixteen trout and one grayling. We fished with two flies of this sort on our casting-line at the same time, and we caught three times successively two fish at one cast. We should have caught many more, had it not been for an accident that occurred to our tackle; for, before we could repair the damage caused by it, the rising time of the fish was over. From the middle of March to the middle of April it is decidedly the best and most killing fly that can be fished with in the trout-streams of the midland counties. We recommend the angler to fish with two flies of this sort on his casting-line at the same time, one ribbed with gold twist, and the other without. The best time for fishing with this fly is between the hours of eleven and three o'clock, especially if the water be curled by a smart breeze.' Dress this famous fly as follows : — Body, orange- coloured silk, or deep straw colour, over which wind some fox-coloured fur taken from a hare's poll ; legs, a honey-dun hackle ; wings, to stand erect, of the top of the light or inner fibres of the feather of the hen pheasant's wing; tail, two fibres of the same feather. Eib with gold twist for your tail-fly, and let your dropper be without COCH-Y-BONDDU. 97 any twist. When the natural fly is out well upon the water, and fish are voraciously taking it, angle with three flies on your foot-line, varying them slightly in size and colour. Hook, Nos. 8, 9, and 10. No. 13. Blackens March-brown. — Body, light and dark hare's ear fur, mixed with a little yellow brown mohair, and ribbed with pale-yellow silk ; wings, hen-pheasant's wing-feather, or grey mot- tled feathers of the partridge's tail ; legs, small brown partridge's back-feather ; tail, two fibres of the brown mallard's feather. Hook, Nos. 9 and 10. No. 14. The great red spinner is a metamor- phosis of the dun-drake, and is in season longer. It kills well on fine evenings, and may be used in conjunction with the dun-drake. It is a fine showy fly, dressed thus : — Body, brown red hog's down, ribbed with gold twist, and tied on with brown silk ; wings, starling's wing-feather ; legs, bright amber-red hackle ; tail, two fibres of the same feather. Hook, No. 9. No. 15. The soldier palmer. — Body, bronze- coloured peacock harl, ribbed with fine gold twist, and two black-red or furnace hackles, struck with strict regularity from the tail to the shoulder. Hook, No. 10 or 11. A general fly, and special favourite with grayling No. 16. Coch-y-bonddu. — Body, short and full, of black ostrich and brilliant peacock harl twisted H 98 ARTIFICIAL FLIES FOR APRIL. together ; wings and legs, a dark furnace cock's hackle of the purest black and red colour. Hook, Nos. 10 and 11. This is a famous fly. If fish will not rise at it, you may conclude that they are not 6 on the feed.' They either take it for a small red . and black caterpillar, or for a round black and red beetle. Fine warm cloudy days are the best for its successful use. fnr April is the best fly-fishing month for trout in the year. That fish is then getting strong and voracious. The water is generally in good tune, being neither too full nor too low. The weather is often as it ought to be : wind blowing west or south with alternate sun and clouds. The tem- perature is moderate. Fish are to be found in the streams, and also in deepish water — the largest and the best-conditioned in the latter. The pools are often aptly ruffled by a genial breeze, and can be fly-fished to the greatest ad- vantage. All the good flies of March will kill in April. Add to them the following : — No. 17. Stone-fly. — Wings, a mottled feather of the hen-pheasant, or the dark-grey feather of a mallard, rather inclining to red, to be dressed large, long, and flat : — Body, yellow-brown mohair THE OAK-FLY. 99 mixed with light hare's ear fur and ribbed with yellow silk, so distributed in making the body of the fly that the under and hinder parts may exhibit most yellow to the fish ; legs, a brown-red hackle; tail, two fibres of the brown mallard. Hook, Nos. 5, 6, or 7. This fly is a large and tempting bait, but you must have it dressed of different sizes, since its size varies according to locality. In small, sheltered, well-wooded streams the insect's growth is very large ; on wide bleak waters it is smaller. This insect is named by some the caddis-fly, It ap- pears in April, and is found until July. It kills best on warm, cloudy, windy days, especially in the morning and evening. The live fly is an ex- cellent one for dibbing. No. 18. The eowdung-fly. — Body, lemon-co- loured mohair ; legs, ginger-coloured hackle ; wings, from the wing-feather of a landrail, to lie flat on the body, and be longer than it. To be dressed with orange silk. A general summer fly, but seldom killing except on windy days. No. 19. The oak-fly, or down-looker. — This fly is my fancy. It is generally considered as fit chiefly for the summer months, but I consider it the best English trout-fly for those April days which are not too cold and windy. During the last fortnight of April the fly-fisher should never angle without this fly. It is called by some the H 2 100 FLIES FOR APRIL — SAND-FLY. ash-fly, cannon-fly, and woodcock-fly. It is found on the trunks of trees by the river-side, in a state of quietude, its wings lying close to its back, and its head looking downwards — hence one of its names. In May and June this fly is also in season, and it will kill well in deep streams, and on pools that are ruffled by a strong but tepid wind. I shall give but one way of dressing it, the very best, which is as follows : — Body, yellow mohair, ribbed regularly with dark-brown silk ; legs, a honey-dun hackle wound thrice under the wings, which are to lie flat and short, and be made of the wing-feather of a young partridge or hen-pheasant. To be tipped with pale gold twist. Hook, Nos. 8, 9, and 10. No. 20. The sand-fly. — Body, bright sandy- coloured fur from the hare's neck, mixed with a very small quantity of orange-coloured mohair ; legs, a ginger hackle ; wings, the sandy-coloured feather of the landrail's wing. If dressed as a hackle, the feathers from under the wings of a thrush or red-wing will be found proper. Of this fly Mr. Bainbridge observes, that 'It may be considered as one of the best for affording diversion which can possibly be selected, for it may be used successfully at all hours of the day, from April to the end of September; and is equally alluring to trout and grayling.' Though I have not so high an opinion of this fly, I think THE ALDER-FLY. 101 it one that should be tried, in conjunction with the oak-fly, in April and May. It may be used of a small size in August. I agree with Mr. Konalds, who says — ' My own experience leads me to recommend the sand-fly during April and May, on days when there is no abundance of any parti- cular insect on the water. A fly very like it is used in September and October, called the cinna- mon-fly.' No. 21. The grannam, or green-tail. — This fly is very well known, but, generally speaking, it is too highly spoken of. It lasts only for about ten days in April, and its chief value is that it is a morning fly, and will kill from sunrise to eleven o'clock, when the mornings and forenoons are fine, and the water moderately clear and low. It is dressed as follows : — Body, dark hare's ear fur, mixed with a little blue fur ; at the tail a twist of a green harl from the eye of a peacock's feather, or a lap or two of green floss-silk ; wings, from the wing-feather of a partridge or hen-pheasant ; legs, a yellow grizzle hackle. Hook, No. 8 or 9. No. 22. The alder-fly. — Body, any dark claret- coloured fur, as that which a brindled cow yields, and that of a copperish hue, from a dark brindled pig or a brown-red spaniel's ears ; upper wings, red fibres of the landrail's wing, or red tail- feather of the partridge ; lower wings of the star- ling's wing-feather ; legs, dark-red hackle ; horns 102 THE KOBIN HOOD AND BLUE-BLOW. and tail of fibres the colour of the legs — the horns or antennce to be shorter than the body of the fly, but the tail a little longer. Hook, Nos. 9 and 1 0. No. 23. The Robin Hood. — Body, blue mole's fur, blood-red hackle under the shoulder ; wings, light-grey mallard's feather ; tail, two fibres of the same. Hook, Nos. 9 and 10. Vary this killing fly by substituting a brown-red mohair body for the mole's fur. No. 24. The blue-blow. — Wings, from the tail- feather of a tomtit; body, blue water-rat's or monkey's fur ; legs, a fine light-blue hackle ; tail- whisks, two blue hairs. Hook, Nos. 10, 11, and 12. Of this fly Mr. Elaine says : e It comes on early in March, and continues through April, when it is succeeded by a race of flies in which the blue- dun tinge predominates in various proportions. It is weM therefore to be prepared with the gra- dations of this fly, of which the ashy-dun appears the first. In favourable days the blue-dun will kill in all the fishing-hours, particularly in April, but best towards mid-day. It is likewise almost universal on the British waters.' Nothing can be more true than Mr. Elaine's reasoning touching those very general and very good baits, called palmers, or palmer-hackles. He says : ' As they are meant to represent the larvae or caterpillars of flies, as well as some of the insects themselves, it is very evident that their PALMER-HACKLES. 1 03 sizes and colours may be varied to infinity. If our experience did not inform us that they are very effective in taking fish, we should be natu- rally led to expect it ; for as every tree and every bush which overhangs the water teems with one or more varieties of larvae, which must be con- stantly liable to fall into it, and as from their natural plumpness of figure they must form a delicious morsel, we need not wonder that the fish are always ready to receive them, unless something more tempting (as when particular favourite flies are on the water) is at hand to attract their at- tention. As these larvae are continually appearing in endless succession, so palmers are used to ad- vantage from March until the latest period of fly- fishing, or at least until October. In May, June, July, and August they are, however, in the greatest request. When the innumerable varia- tions in the size, form, and colour of the larvae of insects are considered, it is evident that the di- rections in our angling-books to confine the number of palmers to three, four, or five, are limited in the extreme ; but it is still more erroneous to con- fine their size to a No. 6 hook. On the contrary, there is such an endless number of them, each different from the other, that the dresser may vary them in any way he pleases with effect, tying them on hooks from No. 4 to No. 9 ; but keeping these general principles in view, that when the water is 1 04 PALMEK-HACKLES. fine and low, they should be dressed small, and sober in their tone of colour, but when used on waters which are disturbed, and the day is dark, such as are larger and more conspicuously co- loured are required.' Palmers kill better in England than in any other part of the Empire. They are better suited to streams running somewhat smoothly through flat districts, than to the precipitous ones that dash through hills and mountains. I subjoin a list of them : — No. 25. Black palmer-hackle* — Body, black ostrich harl, ribbed with gold twist ; black cock's hackle wound over the whole. Hook, Nos. 45 5, 6, or 7. When palmers are dressed large they may be tied on two hooks, whipped lengthways, bend to shank, on the gut. No. 26. Brown palmer-hackle. — Body, brown floss-silk, or brown fur, or mohair of a deep am- ber, or a rich brown ostrich harl, ribbed alternately with gold and silver twist; legs, a red cock's hackle. Hook, as before. No. 27. Red palmer-hacJde. — Body, dark red- coloured mohair, with a little richly-tinted red fur intermixed, to be ribbed with gold or silver twist ; legs, a blood-red cock's hackle. Hook, as before. No. 28. Golden palmer-hackle. — Body, green PALMER-HACKLES. 1 05 and gold peacock harl, ribbed with gold twist ; legs, a bright red cock's hackle, worked with a rich green silk. Hook, Nos. 5, 6, 7, or 9. No. 29. Peacock palmer-hackle. — Body, a rich full fibre of peacock harl, ribbed with wide silver platting. Make a head to this palmer with a bit of scarlet mohair. Legs, a dark grizzled hackle, dressed with red silk. Hook, No. 5 or 6. This hackle, dressed very large, will kill Thames trout and chub of the largest size. No. 30. A good general palmer. — Body, long and tapering, of yellow mohair ; legs, a good furnace hackle wound on from tail to shoulder ; head, black ostrich harl. Hook, 4, 5, 6, or 7. No. 31. The whirling dan. — Body, water- rat's fur, ribbed with yellow silk ; wings, cock- starling's wing-feather ; legs, blue-dun hackle ; tail, two fibres of a grizzled hackle. Hook, 8 or 10. No. 32. Dotterel-hackle. — Body, yellow tying silk, with a very little blue rabbit's fur spun on it, so as to show the yellow of the silk ; wings and leg?, dotterel hackle round the shoulder. Hook, 12, sneck bend. No. 33. Golden plover-hackle. — Body, yellowish- green floss-silk; wings and legs, the golden-plover's back- feathers. Hook, 10 and 11. No. 34. Carshalton cock-tail. — Body, blue-dun fur, mixed with a little of the light fur of the 106 FLIES FOR MAT. hare's ear and yellow mohair ; wings, light fibres of the hen-starling's wing ; legs, a turn or two of a small light dun-hackle ; tail, two fibres of a grizzled hackle. Hook, 11 and 12. This month is one of the best of the season for using small duns, provided the water be clear, and particularly that period of the month which pre- cedes the arrival of the ephemera vulgata, or the May-fly, or green-drake. I shall give a list of them and other good flies, and conclude the month with its chief attraction, the beautiful insect just named. Many of the April flies will kill in May, and the duns of the latter month will kill in the former, provided the weather be fine and the water low. No. 35. The wren-tail fly. — Body, gold-coloured mohair, dressed fine ; wings, grey tail-feather of the partridge; legs, wren's tail-feathers struck on at the shoulder ; tail, two fine fibres of brown mallard feathers. Vary the body with orange mohair ; and for a third change, with green floss- silk. Hook, 10 and 11. No. 36. Wren-hackle. — Body, cinnamon-brown mohair, dressed fine and carefully picked out; gold tip at tail ; wings and legs, wren's tail-feather. Hook, 11 and 12. FLIES FOR MAY. 107 No. 37. Grouse-hackle. — Body, gold-coloured floss-silk ; wings and legs, light-brown grouse hackle, from the neck of the bird. Hook, 10 and 11. The last three are general summer flies. No. 38. The little yellow Sally. — Body, light buff-coloured fur ; wings, the yellow feather under the thrush's wing, to stand erect ; legs, a very small yellow-dun hackle ; tail, two fibres of the same. Hook, No. 13. No. 39. The black gnat. — Body, black ostrich harl clipped close to the stem to shorten the fibres ; wings, starling's wing-feather ; legs, a turn or two of small black hackle at the shoulder ; tip, gold or silver tinsel. Hook, 12 or 13. No. 40. Hawthorn fly. — Body, black ostrich harl clipped in the fibre, and dressed long and spare, with two or three turns of a black hackle round the shoulder ; wings, pinion-feather of the jay's wing. Hook, 9 and 10. No. 41. Sky-blue. — This is one of Mr. Konalds" beauties, bred, he says, from a water-nymph. I have a high opinion of its attractions when the water is low and clear, and the weather propitious — breezy, warm, with alternate cloud and sunshine. Let it be dressed carefully on a small hook with fine gut, and it will kill when larger flies are of no use. It is made thus : — Body, pale ginger mohair mixed with light-blue fur ; wings, from a feather of the sea-swallow; legs, a pale-yellow 108 FLIES FOR MAT. hackle; tail, a couple of strands of the hackle. Hook, No. 11 and 12. No. 42. Fern-fly. — This is an admirable May and summer fly. It is very showy, and will answer best on gloomy, sultry days. Towards evening, I have been in my time very successful with it, particularly close under the banks. The proper-sized hook is No, 10; and when the water is very low, a size smaller. The body is to be made of deep brilliant-coloured orange silk, whipped sparingly with fine gold wire; wings, lying rather flat, to be made of the light mottled fibres of a young partridge's wing-feather ; legs, a turn or two of a small fiery-red hackle. Hook, 11 and 12. No. 43. The bluebottle. — Body, stone-blue floss- silk, tipped with gold ; wings, starling tied flat ; legs, black hackle. Hook, 8, 9, and 10. When trout and grayling are gorged with the May-fly and other day-flies, they often take freely, towards evening, an imitation of the house-fly and bluebottle. Such imitations kill all the summer through on dark windy days. They are more freely taken by chub and dace than by trout. No. 44. The wasp-fly. — I have a good opinion of this fly ; for its body is well-coloured, and it must prove a favourite with fish. Besides, the body is large and taper ; and with its alternate FLIES FOR MAT. 109 dark and yellow rings, fish must like its appear- ance. I have always had the best opinion of these regularly party-coloured flies, with some- what large bodies, ringed with either black and white, black and yellow, brown and yellow, or orange spiral stripes, and having large, reticulated, transparent wings, with dark heads, and darkish tails. Such are the March-brown, the oak-fly, the hare's-ear-and-yellow, the wasp-fly, and a few others. If these flies are tied very large, they will kill salmon, the largest species of trout, and the largest chub. Tied on 9 and 10 hooks, they are excellent general brook-flies for trout and grayling. The wasp-fly is dressed thus : — Body, light orange mohair, dubbed in very thin ribs, and alternated with black ostrich harl, neatly and finely. Form the head of bronze harl; legs, two turns of a light brown-red hackle. Hook, No. 7, 8, and 9 ; and make the wings of a par- tridge-hackle or mottled mallard's feather. Dress it large, and the fly will kill well in the Thames. There are evening and night flies which come into use towards the latter end of May, and last during the whole of the summer. They are imi- tations of those large moths that are seen towards nightfall flitting about the meadows in warm weather. The dark-coloured should be used early in the evening, those of a lighter colour after sunset, and those that are white after that. 110 FLIES FOK MAY. No. 45. The mealy-brown moth. — Body, any soft brown fur, as of the hare, brown hog's down, bear's fur, and the nearer the shade is to tan the better; upper wings, the dappled feather of a mallard dyed brown ; under wings, the soft fea- ther of a brown owl ; legs, a brown cock's hackle, wrapped four or five times behind the wings. Hook, No. 5, 6, and 7. No. 46. The mealy-cream moth. — Body, any soft fur of a cream colour; upper wings, the cream-coloured feather of the grey owl; under wings, a softer and lighter feather of the same bird; legs, a soft ginger hackle. Hook, the same size as before. No. 47. The mealy-white moth. — Body, white rabbit's fur, or white ostrich harl, dressed full and exhibiting a brown head; wings, any soft mealy-white feather ; legs, a white cock's hackle, wrapped round twice under the wings. Hook, as before. No. 48. The coachman. — Body, peacock's harl, full and short; wings, fibres of any small white feather; legs, a turn or two of a red hackle. Hook, No. 6, 7, 8, and 9. This fly kills only of evenings and in the rivers of the south, and in those within forty miles of the metropolis. Trout, chub, and large dace take it freely. If moth-flies are properly used, they will take the largest fish. A young angler should have but FLIES FOE MAT. Ill one at a time on his casting-line, which should be of stout gut, not longer than two yards. He should keep his fly on the surface of the water, and must judge of a rise, if fishing in the dark, more by hearing and feeling than by sight. He must strike promptly, and play his fish with a tight hand. No. 49. The May-fly, or green-drake. — This famous fly is the opprobrium of fly-makers. Try how they will, they cannot in my opinion imitate it well. The wings are their greatest foil. In making the body they succeed tolerably well. Still the best imitation is defective, and, except upon certain occasions, the artificial May-fly is not a deadly bait. The natural fly used in dib- bing far surpasses it. However, the imitation, faulty as it is, will kill when the natural fly is scarce on the water, as in cold, dark, windy days. The artificial fly kills in currents and pools that are moved to small waves and billows by a bluff west or south wind. The general feather used for the wings of this fly is a dappled one found by the sides under the wings of the mallard, and dyed a pale green- yellow colour. To hit the true colour is the great difficulty. To get over it I know not how. I must be content to cite the best authorities. First, I will take Mr. Blacker, a capital judge of colours, who dyes his feathers yellow according to 112 FLIES FOR MAY. the following recipe : — Boil two or three hand- fuls of yellow wood one hour in a quart of soft water ; wash the mallard hackles in soap and hot water; then boil them a short time, with a large spoonful of alum and tartar, in a little pipkin with a pint of water ; take them out and immerse them in your yellow decoction, and simmer them slowly for an hour or two. The shorter the simmering, the paler the yellow of the feathers ; take them out and wash them in clear hard water. When there is occasion for dyeing yellow-green, add a little blue, more or less, according to the shade of green you wish to give to the yellow. — Mr. Eon aids recommends another way for dye- ing mallard's feathers for the May-fly's wings. He tells us to make a mordant by dissolving about a quarter of an ounce of alum in a pint of water, and then to slightly boil the feathers in it to get the grease out of them, after which to boil them in an infusion of fustick to procure a yellow, and then to subdue the brightness of the yellow by adding a little copperas to the infusion. — Having now the wing-feathers dyed, I'll tell you how to make the fly: — Body, bright yellow mohair, or floss-silk, ribbed slightly with light bronze pea- cock's harl ; wings, mottled feather of the mallard dyed a pale yellow-green. They are to stand nearly erect, and to be slightly divided. Legs, a couple of turns of a red-ginger hackle; tail, FLIES FOE MAY. 113 three hairs from the rabbit's whisker. Hook, Nos. 5 , 6, and 7. Another way : — Body, yellow- green mohair; wings, mallard's feather dyed yel- low— a black head; legs, yellowish hackle; tail, three hairs from a black bear. A third way (Blacker's): — Body, yellow silk ribbed with brown silk, and a narrow strip of fine transparent gold-beater's skin wound over all, through which the yellow and brown ribbed body will appear naturally ; wings, as before ; legs, a yellow griz- zled dun-hackle ; tail as before. During the season of the May- fly, should the weather be gloomy, with a strong warm wind, I would angle with three flies of different sizes, and having the wings of colours slightly differing, and one made buzz without erect wings ; because doing so would afford me three different chances of success. No. 50. The grey-drake is said to be a metamor- phosis of the green-drake, or female changed to a male. This fly is seldom a good angling one, and never kills well except towards evening. Dress it thus: — Body, exactly like that of Blacker's last green-drake, but the wings are to be made of the light-grey mallard feather not dyed. Hook, Nos. 7 and 8. During the prevalence of the May-fly, trout fatten and grow into condition. They are never so before that fly appears, and when it has disap- I 114 FLIES FOR JUNE. peared they remain in good condition until the spawning season. When fish have gorged them- selves with this fly and leave off feeding, towards the evening they will be tempted by flies of very different sizes and colours. The best are, for mild weather, little dun-hackles of every shade, the grouse and wren-hackle, house-fly, and at dusk a moth-fly. Should you want trout very badly during the drake season, try a minnow morning and evening, and your wants will be soon supplied. $\it£ for Stun*. I need scarcely remind the reader that the May- fly prevails during the greater part of this month; and that during it, several of the duns mentioned for May will still catch fish. The following are considered proper June flies : — No. 51. Dark mackerel. — Body, dark mulberry floss-silk ribbed with gold twist ; wings, brown- mottled feather of the mallard, which hangs from the back over a part of the wing ; legs, a purple- dyed hackle ; tail, three rabbit's whiskers. Hook, Nos. 9 and 10. No. 52. Orl-fly. — Body, ribbed alternately with dark -brown and orange dubbing, adding two horns ; wings, landrail's ruddy feather, dressed long and rather flat ; legs, a grizzled hackle. FLIES FOR JULY. 115 Hook, Nos. 7 and 8. A good fly when the water is clearing after a flood. No. 53. House-fly. — Body, black ostrich harl dressed rather full ; wings, a lark's wing- feather to lie flat and extended ; legs, a dark dun-hackle. Hook, Nos. 9 and 10. In autumn, on windy days, this fly is often taken greedily by trout and gray- ling. It is a better fly for chub and dace. No. 54. Blue gnat. — Body, blue-dun mohair with a little orange-coloured mixed ; wings and legs, a small dan-hackle wound over the whole of the body. To be dressed with orange silk. Hook, Nos. 10, 11, and 12. An excellent fly throughout the summer and autumn, when the water is low and clear. jfltfg far 3 uli). Nearly all the flies mentioned in the list for last month will kill in this, but, generally speaking, they must be dressed smaller, and on finer hooks and gut. No. 55. Large black ant-fly. — Body, black ostrich harl dressed thick near the wings, then thin, and thick again at the tail, like the shape of the ant; wings, tomtit's tail, or any light-blue transparent feather ; legs, two twists of a deep brown hackle close under the wings. Hook, Nos. 7 and 8. I 2 116 FLIES FOR JULY. No. 56. Large red ant-fly. — Body, copper- coloured peacock's harl, full near the wings and tail; wings, a lark's wing-feather; legs, red cock's hackle. Hook, Nos. 7 arid 8. When the water is low and clear, these flies should be dressed smaller, on Nos. 9 and 10 hooks. They will kill well in the middle parts of the day in fine warm weather. They are good autumn-flies. No. 57. Pale dun. — Body, yellow martin's fur ; wings, a lark's wing-feather, stained a light yellow ; legs, a fine honey-dun hackle. To be dressed very neatly with pale straw-coloured silk on a No. 12 hook. An excellent summer-fly in low and clear water. No. 58. The little gosling. — Body, yellow- green mohair, or floss-silk ; wings, bunting's wing-feather; legs, cinnamon-hackle. Hook, No. 12 and 13. No. 59. The grey housewife. — Body, light- brown mohair, mixed with hare's ear fur ; wings, hen-pheasant's wing-feather ; legs, grey throat- feather of the partridge ; tail, two fibres of the mallard. Hook, Nos. 10 and 11. No. 60. The little ash dun.— Body, light ash- coloured fur ; wings, bunting's wing-feather ; legs, cinder-coloured dun-hackle ; and tail, two fibres of the same. Hook, No. 14. No. 61. Emerald fly. — Body, emerald-green mohair, or silk ; wings, bunting ; legs, black-red FLIES FOR AUGUST. 117 hackle ; tail, two fibres of a grizzled dun-hackle. Hook, Nos. 13 and 14. The wren and grouse hackles before mentioned should be always tried throughout this month and the next. $\it£ for Uttflutft. Small palmer-hackles, small ant-flies, will kill well this month, and in the evening the various moths. Small brown-bodied flies will kill well also, and so will the different duns and hackles recommended for July. No. 62. August dun. — This is one of the best flies that can be used for August and September. Mr. Eonalds dresses it thus: — Body, brown floss- silk ribbed with yellow silk thread ; wings, feather of a brown hen's wing ; legs, plain red hackle stained brown ; tail, two rabbit's whiskers. Hook, Nos. 9 and 10. No. 63. Cinnamon-fly. — Body, seal's fur not dyed ; wings, of a ruddy cream colour, from a feather of the landrail, to be dressed long, large, and flat ; legs, a red-brown hackle. Hook, Nos. 8 and 9. 118 SPRING FLIES KILL IN AUTUMN. for Still continue the palmer-hackles, with the grouse and wren hackles, golden and dark duns, alder-fly, Hofland's fancy, the cinnamon-fly, and the following : — No. 64. Harry long-legs. — Body, light dun fur, mixed with hare's ear and a very little yellow mohair, made taper, long, and thin ; wings, hen- pheasant's tail mixed with a few fibres of brown mallard feather ; legs, which are long and few, of a brown-red cock's saddle-feather. Hook, Nos. 7 and 8. This is an excellent evening fly when ribbed with gold. Many of the spring flies will kill in September, after which no angler should fish for trout until spring returns again. In October, and during the finest hours of very fine winter -days, grayling are to be caught with the artificial fly, and the best are unquestionably duns, blacks, and browns. That fish being, during the above season, in fine condition, will be caught with the gentle and, by sinking and drawing, with the artificial grass- hopper. It will also rise well in October at the red-palmer, the soldier-palmer, and house-fly. The seven following flies are exclusively Mr. Blacker's patterns : they will be found universal killers. The fly which is called the 'winged GOOD GENERAL FLIES. 119 larva' is a recent invention of that clever artist: it will be found the best general fly extant, and, when made by him of different sizes, will super- sede many trout and salmon flies hitherto favour- ites. I have the greatest faith in its virtues : — No. 64. The winged larva. — This fly is double- bodied, the first being very short and made of fiery brown mohair wound on the hook up to the wings ; the second body, from which the fly takes its name, is made of the shrivelled larva of the silkworm, found attached to the refuse ends of gut. It is to be placed beneath the mohair body, and to extend from the setting on of the wings to the bend of the hook which it hides. Its tail is formed of two fibres of the golden pheasant's neck-feather : its wings are mixed of hen-phea- sant's tail and grey tail-feather of the partridge, and when used for salmon there should be two * toppings ' in the wing. Legs, a woodcock's hackle, and for salmon a fiery brown cock's hackle ; head, bronze peacock's harl. This famous fly can be dressed on from a No. 4 and 5 salmon hook, to a No. 10 trout hook. No. 65. The amber-fly. — Body, cinnamon- brown mohair; wings, mixture of the red and grey tail-feathers of the partridge ; legs, an amber hackle struck on from the tail to the shoulder. Hook, Nos. 9 and 10. No. 66. The golden olive.- -Body, golden olive 120 GOOD GENERAL FLIES. mohair ; wings, starling's feather varied with fibres of the landrail's wing-feather ; legs, golden olive hackle. Hook, Nos. 8 and 9. An evening fly. No. 67. Autumn fly. — Body, bronze peacock harl, with tag of gold-coloured silk ; wings, starling's wing-feather and grey tail-feather of the partridge mixed ; legs, a black-red hackle. Hook, No. 10. Dressed large and ribbed with gold, this fly is called the f Governor.' No. 68. The fire-fly. — Body, bronze peacock harl ; wings, the top fibres of the ' moon' feather of the peacock; legs, a furnace hackle. Hook, Nos. 9 and 10. This fly should be varied with a black instead of a furnace hackle. ON DIBBING OR D APING. 121 CHAPTEE VI. FISHING WITH THE NATURAL FLY, OR DIBBING OE DAPING. ANGLING with the natural fly is an appropriate summer pastime, and would not be deemed too laborious by even lazzaroni. It fatigues no muscles, for all the action it requires from them is neat gentle motion. It abhors violence, and is totally suaviter in modo. It is a pastime for ladies ; for musing listless adolescents ; and for the corpulent middle-aged, whose former sharp gusto for active sports frequent pectoral lining with good capon has blunted. If it make no calls on the big muscles, it asks activity from the eye and watchfulness from the brain ; it requires from the fingers great delicacy of touch, and from the arm the gentlest sort of action. Your object in practising it is to drop a natural fly, fixed on your hook, so gently on the water that the de- scent will not differ from that of the free living insect. The fly with the hook in it must alight as naturally as if it were one fingers had never touched. To cause it to do so is not very easy ; it demands careful guiding and dropping, and sometimes the most finished casting. 122 WHY WE DIB OR DAPE. Let us see what induces us to have recourse to a sport less exciting than artificial fly-fishing, and more troublesome. Necessity is the mother of substitutes. When the artificial fly becomes next to useless, it is necessary to substitute the natural one, or something else. The weather is fine, hot, and breezeless ; the water placid ; the May-fly, or other insects, are abundant on its surface ; and fish of various sorts are stealthily rising, causing eddies — the Scylla, Charybdis, and Maelstrom of those reckless navigators, the ephemerae, and other water-loving tribes. You see what the fish are about : you guess that your artificial fly will not beguile them, and you therefore flee for help to the natural one, making it effective by an artificial sting you add to it. The addition of this sting requires attention; it must be so added as to harm as little as may be the living insect. The less it harms it, the more harmful it will be to fish. Besides, there are places, no matter how favour- able the weather may be, so opposed to facile throwing with the artificial fly, that you must substitute dropping or dipping with the natural insect. You will see large fish rising under bushes and branches of trees overhanging the water, from under shelving banks and rocks, and in divers difficult spots where the artificial fly cannot be safely cast ; and a moment's thought will tell you that the best way to reach these BAITING WITH THE LITE FLY. 123 sheltered fish will be by the cunning use of a living insect. The first thing you have to learn is the best way to insert your hook in the insect, so as to injure it and impede its natural motions as slightly as possible. There must be no roughness em- ployed in the operation. The insect must be handled tenderly, and the hook inserted so as not to puncture any mortal part of your frail bait. If you use but one fly, insert the hook under one of its wings, bringing it out between them at the back. If you use two flies, carry the hook through the upper part of the corset between both wings of one fly ; and then, taking another with its head reversed, let the hook enter under one of its wings, and come out at its back. This double head-to- tail bait is a very good one. If you are fishing in open water, with a breeze blowing, your winch- line must be of floss-silk, and your foot-line of about a yard of very fine gut, or of a couple of long links of horsehair. Without casting, and by keeping the breeze to your back, holding up your rod and letting out your blow-line, you can easily manage to make the wind carry it to the spots where you see fish rising. When you dip beneath bushes, your ordinary silk and hair winch- line will do, with a foot-line of gut. By twirling in your hand your rod, twist as much line about its top-pieces as you want ; and then, inserting its 124 BEST TIME FOR DIBBING. point through the branches, as far as requisite, twirl it round reversely so as to uncoil your line and to drop your natural bait gently on the water. You can cast or throw the natural fly, but not so well as the artificial one. Use a long rather stiff rod, with a long taper casting-line, long enough to use without having much of your winch-line out. Cast with a gentle motion of the forearm, bringing round your line softly ; avoid- ing anything like whipping-violence, and making your bait float on to the surface of the water. Where the river runs uniformly narrow, use no winch, but attach your casting-line to the top joint of your rod, and you will be able to throw, without whipping off your bait. The drake season, that is, the season of the May-fly, from the middle of May to the end of June, is« the best period for dibbing, and the May-fly is the best of all baits. We insert on the opposite page a cut of an angler intent on this sort of sport : you see how he hides himself, and how deftly he has dropped in his hook and line between the branches. At the period just mentioned, dibbing with the May-fly is quite a rage in the midland coun- ties. We have then seen the Dove, and other streams of Derbyshire and Staffordshire, swarm- ing with the May-fly, and their banks thronged with anglers of all ages and sexes, dibbing with DIBBING WITH THE MAY-FLY. 125 it. Trout and grayling will scarcely take any other bait. They gorge themselves with the May- fly, and thrive admirably on the nourishment it affords. "When towards evening fish are satiated with the May-fly, they will eagerly take, by way of change, house-flies and moths. In dibbing you must keep out of sight of the fish, and cause as little disturbance as possible. You will observe that trout do not jump briskly at the May-fly, but rise at it noiselessly, suck it in, and swallow it ; and that they take that fly generally as it is fluttering on the surface of the water, preparatory to flight. They take it so, but they frequently take other flies just as they 126 THE BEST INSECTS FOR DIBBING. drop on the water, and others as they sail along its surface. Large fish seldom jump at an insect which is on the water ; they rise up to it, and inhale it. if I may use the word, through the water. Observe this operation, and just as it is being completed strike at your fish. As your rod and other tackle are strong in dibbing, do not give your fish much play ; keep him on the top of the water, his head out of it if you can, and you will soon tire him. Several sorts of insects besides flies are used for dibbing, such as cockchafers, beetles, bees, ants, moths, grasshoppers, &c. Flies, however, are the best for trout. The May-fly, March- brown, stone-fly, oak-fly, house-flies, and moths towards evening, are those most eagerly taken by them. The grasshopper is a most deadly bait for grayling and chub. There is a little book, called the ' North Country Angler,' and written by a north-country- man, which contains much sound information upon dibbing. The writer seems to have been a sort of poaching angler, taking an especial delight in using the most killing baits, and caring very little whether the method he adopts or recom- mends be sportsrnan-like or not. He would no doubt estimate sport by the number or weight of fish killed, and not by the difficulty experienced in killing them. We will take him, however, as THE FITTEST ROD. 127 a guide to a certain extent. He is a practical man ; but, like the generality of local anglers, who have had no opportunity of measuring themselves with ubiquitous ones, he is full of conceit, and thinks himself an angling Admirable Crichton. He says : ; I generally begin fishing in the shade or under bushes in May, and continue it all the three following months, which we call the four hot months. Most anglers in those months fish only in the mornings and evenings, unless the sky is cloudy, and there is a brisk wind on the pools : for there one may have very good sport, and kill large fish. In these months, when there is no wind and the sun is shining, from about ten o'clock in the morning till four or five in the afternoon is the best time for shade-fishing.' The author then describes the fittest rod ; but on this point he is not so good a judge as Mr. Elaine, who rightly says : 4 A long and firm rod of twelve, thirteen, or fourteen feet, with a very stiff top (a light, long, minnow-spinning rod will be a good substitute), is necessary for dibbing or daping — the length to be suited to the situation ; if it be a very close and confined one, eleven or twelve feet are suffi- cient ; but we rather recommend that the rod be of the general length, and that the reel, instead of being attached to the butt, be fastened on the second joint, when, by taking off the butt-end, the rod can be shortened as occasion suits. A reel 128 A WINCH NECESSARY IN DIBBING. is not thought requisite by the North Country Angler; but it is evident that in no fishing is it more wanted than in this, where it is required to lengthen and shorten the line according to circumstances; as, for instance, where, from a length of seven or eight yards, it must be reduced to one, or even less, and sometimes even to be wound up altogether, that it may be insinuated through trees and bushes ; and in such cases how can it be so well done as by a reel ? ' The above question the Northern Angler answers thus : — ' Your line should not be above a yard long; and, where there is some difficulty in getting your rod-top through the bushes, not above half a yard, which, when baited, you may wrap loosely seven or eight times about the rod- top ; and when you have thrust it beyond the bush, turn your rod round as many times, and let your bait drop into the water. There is a great deal of caution necessary in managing your rod and line. Some pools are shaded only here and there with a bush or two ; in such places you may fish with a line a yard or more long; but you must be sure to make your approach to such open places cautiously, for the great fish lie very near the top of the water watching the fall of flies or other insects from the bushes where they are bred or harboured ; and though you do not see them, yet they will see you at your first AN ANGLER'S REVENGE. 129 coming, and scud away into the pool, and not return perhaps in an hour's time. I have often been agreeably amused sitting behind a bush that has hung over the water two yards or more, and observing the trout taking their rounds and patrolling in order, according to their quality. Sometimes I have seen three or four private men coming up together under the shade, and pre- sently an officer, or man of quality, twice as big, comes from his country-seat, under a bank or great stone, and rushes among them as furiously as I once saw a young justice of the peace do to three poor anglers ; and as I cannot approve of such proceedings, I have, with some extraordinary pleasure, revenged the weaker upon the stronger, by dropping in my bait half a yard before him. With what an air of authority and grandeur have I seen the qualified — what shall I call him ? — extend his jaws, and take in the delicious morsel, and then march slowly off' in quest of more, till stopped by a smart stroke which I have given him, though there is no occasion to do so in this way of fishing, for the great ones nearly always hook themselves ! ' All said by this authority generally refers to dibbing about and under bushes, and so far his advice is good. Do not follow him when you dib in open water. There use a winch and blow-line, and short foot -line, and with a slight wind you K 130 DIBBINa IN SHADED WATER. will be able to convey your bait to any spot you fancy. If the weather be too still for the use of the blow -line, try and cast your insect gently, as you would your artificial stretcher when you do not wish to make any — the slightest disturbance — in low, smooth, clear water. I must quote a few lines of the North-country- man again. He remarks justly that, ' Although the shade of trees and bushes is much longer and greater on the south side of the river than on the north, yet on this latter side I have always found the most and the largest trout. I suppose the sun being more intense and warm on the north side, with its southern aspect, may occasion more flies, erucas, and insects of various sorts to creep upon those bushes, and consequently the more fish will fre- quent them. Where the trees or bushes are very close, I advise the bush-angler to take a hedging- bill or hatchet, or in want of that his sporting knife, and cut off two or three branches here and there at proper places and distances, and so make little convenient openings, at which he may put in his rod and line ; but this is to be done some time before he comes to fish there. If you come to a woody place, where you have no such conveni- ences, and where, perhaps, there is a long pool, and no angling with the fly, or throwing the rod, there you may be sure of many and large fish. For that very reason I have chosen such places, DIBBING FOB CHUB. 131 though very troublesome, where I have been forced to creep under trees and bushes, dragging my rod after me, with the very top of it in my hand, to get near the water ; and I have been well paid for all my trouble. .Whilst you are getting in your rod, throw a brandling or grub, or what you fish with, into the place, which will make the fish take your bait the more boldly.' The grasshopper is a most valuable bait for dibbing for grayling and chub. The former fish will take an artificial grasshopper well, by sinking it in the water and drawing it up gently to the surface. The natural insect is the best, however, for chub. On the next page is a representation of an angler intent on dibbing for chub. You see that he is hiding himself as much as he can ; and thinking that there are fish peering from beneath the leaves on the surface of the water, he drops his bait first on one of those leaves, and then by a sliding motion causes it to slip off, and fall on the water. The fish, taking this fall for a natural one, is not scared, but seizes the bait boldly. Practise a similar ruse whenever you can — wherever there are branches hanging over the water, rocks, or other substances in it and above the surface. On them first drop your bait, and by a second motion cause it to descend on to the surface of the water. Do this whether your baits be grasshoppers, flies, caterpillars, beetles, or K 2 132 DIBBING FOR CHUB. any living thing liable to he hlown or fall from hanks, branches, leaves, rocks, roots, or piles into the water. I need not explain — it is apparent — the rationale of this practice. You must see that you are following nature. In fishing with the grasshopper, let your hook be whipped on with green silk on a link of fine gut, stained a light green colour. In dipping for trout and grayling with the May-fly or stone-fly, Cotton says : ' To bait with either a stone-fly, or a green or grey drake, put two or three on the hook together, which should be carried through the thick part of the fly's body DIPPING FOR TROUT AND GRAYLING. 133 under the wings, with their heads standing differ- ent ways : pass your hook through them under the wings, about the middle of the insect's body, and take care that your fingers are always dry when baiting, or you soon kill or spoil your bait.' The following bait I confidently recommend : — Make a pair of wings of the feather of a landrail, and on the bend of the hook put one or two caddies. The head of one caddis should go up close to the wings. Angle with a stiff rod about fourteen feet long, a foot-line eight feet, and a hook No. 5 or 6. Let the bait float down the stream just below the surface, then gently draw it up again, a little irregularly, 'by shaking the rod, and if there be a fish in the place it will be sure to take it. If you use two caddies with the wings, put the hook in at the head and out at the neck of the first, and quite through the other from head to tail. Two brandlings, or small red worms, may be fished with in the same way. Many are the precautions recommended to be adopted in dibbing. The chief are to keep beyond the sight of fish, and when you have hooked one to get it out of the water expeditiously with as little disturbance as possible. As dibbing is not always to be practised behind the friendly shade of bushes or trees, the angler is often forced to content himself with the resources of the bank he stands on, to which he should creep on his hands 134 CAUTIONS NECESSARY IN BIBBING. and knees. In some cases, it is true, he may procure the shelter of a hurdle interwoven with boughs, or he may adopt some similar artifice ; but many cases must occur where he can trust to concealment only by prostration, or stooping low. I place this chapter immediately after those connected with artificial fly-fishing, for which I consider it an occasional substitute, necessitated by locality and the state of the water and weather. He who has become accomplished in the practice of artificial fly-fishing, will quickly become an adept in the gentler exercise of angling with the natural fly and other living insects. ADVANTAGES OF TROLLING. 135 CHAPTER VII. TROLLING. — RODS, LINES, TACKLE, AND BAITS, AND METHODS OF USING THEM. IN ENGLAND proper trolling is practised to per- fection. It is somewhat depreciated, because as yet not well and generally understood, in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. In those countries fly- fishing is everything, and in them it is certainly better and more generally practised than in Eng- land. The English, however, are rapidly becoming good fly-fishers. Let me hope that the Irish, Scotch, and Welch are as rapidly growing good trollers and spinners. If they follow my instructions they have nothing to fear, and will find that trolling is occasionally productive of average angling plea- sure. When neither fty-fishing nor bottom-fishing can be practised, in consequence of certain for- bidding circumstances of water and season, trolling can be resorted to as a first-rate substitute. The largest-sized river-fish are killed by trolling, and I have no doubt that this mode of angling would prove very successful in the sea. A knowledge of it must be a great resource to the angler who visits foreign climes, and there dwells by large rivers and wide lakes. Numerous letters addressed 136 TROLLING IN THE OLD AND NEW WORLD. to me by Englishmen sojourning by the lakes in the North of Italy, as well as on the banks of the lakes and rivers of several parts of Germany, in which immense trout are found, have assured me of their success by means of trolling, and par- ticularly by practising that branch of it which is called ' spinning.' They have frequently killed from six to ten very large trout, as large as salmon, before noon, by spinning with the bleak, gudgeon, or some other small fish. Trolling is very successful in taking the gigantic trout of the New World. An angler finding himself without the delicate tackle necessary for fly-fishing, in some remote part of the world where fish abound, may, if he have a few hooks only and any- thing to make a line with, very soon cut a rod out of the next wood, ring it, adjust his hooks into a flight of spinning-tackle, and work away successfully with this rude gear. Towns are generally built by large rivers, and most of the latter, in this land of ours, breed pike, and some of them, like the Thames and Trent, very large trout. Such fish generally refuse the fly, are seldom taken by bottom-fishing, but commonly fall before the prowess of the troller. I have just mentioned a few of the inducements that ought to lead us to cultivate the art of trolling, particularly as it is not surrounded with difficulties, and as it is a smart exercise, requiring as much SINKING AND ROVING. 137 activity and vigour to be called into play as is conducive to hardy health. The fish most commonly killed by any sort of trolling in our rivers are pike, trout and perch — the best fish they produce ; and that is a sufficiently strong recommendation of it. I divide trolling into three parts, viz., sinking and roving, trolling with gorge and snap-hooks, and lastly spinning. SINKING AND ROVING is easily practised, and, at times, with capital success. It is done with a live bait : a minnow or a loach for the common trout and perch ; bleak, gudgeon, dace, or roach for pike or large trout. Small gudgeons are excellent for moderate-sized Thames trout and perch — large gudgeons for the monster trout and pike of that royal stream. The best general bait for all sorts of trolling is the gudgeon. It will be refused sometimes, and the preference give'n to small trout, dace, or roach ; but the caprice will not last, and pike will soon return to their favourite gudgeon repast. In practising sinking and roving, I would have a strong long bottom rod, with good winch, and prepared platted-silk trolling-line ; for foot- line, about a yard and a half of the best gut. The link to which the hook is tied should be of fine gimp, if you expect pike as visitors ; but gut, or three-twisted hairs, will do for trout and perch. You must plumb your water, so as to have a 138 SINKING THE LIVE BAIT. good notion of the average depth, and you must put on a heavy float accordingly. If you fish with a live minnow, the float need not be heavy ; but if you angle with a large gudgeon, &c., your float must be sufficiently large to prevent either your gudgeon, dace, or roach from lugging it beneath the surface of the water. The float is chiefly used to prevent whatever live-bait you may use from sinking deeper than you deem ad- visable, but neither it, nor the lead on the line, should be so heavy as to hinder your bait from swimming horizontally on any side. You lead your line also, but for a different object — viz., to keep down your bait, and to prevent it from swimming up to the surface of the water. Generally speak- ing, you so place your float on the foot-line that the length of the latter on the hook side will equal half the depth of the water you are fishing in. Observe this ratio in somewhat shallow waters — three feet deep, a foot more or less. In deep waters, where the largest fish roam, you must sink your bait more deeply, about two-thirds or more of the whole depth. You must angle with strong, lively baits, and put them on your hooks with as little injury to them as possible, that they may swim about ac- tively and for a long time, and appear unlike captives to the fish you wish them to captivate. Generally speaking, you will find a single hook COLOUK OF TROLLING-HOOKS. 139 answer — its size to be proportioned to the bait : small for the minnow, large for the gudgeon, and still larger for the dace or deep-breasted roach ; and you must insert it by the root of the back fin, on the side of it towards the shoulder, between the skin and the flesh. Some insert the hook through the lips ; but I do not fancy that way, as it impedes the motions of the bait, and speedily exhausts its vitality. When the bait is hooked on near the fin, it would be advisable to penetrate a slight portion of the flesh with the hook, to prevent the bait escaping by its own efforts, or to be snatched off with impunity by hasty pike or perch. Hooks used in trolling should not be coloured blue ; they should be allowed to remain bright, like steel as they are. They should be whipped on the hook with white silk, the wax used being of the same colour. In sinking and roving, allow your bait to swim here and there, generally at mid-water, but in deep places, deeper, drawing it up gently to the surface now and then, letting it sink again, and guiding it to the best-looking spots of the locality. Your float will soon inform you of a run, and you must strike pretty promptly, unless when the run is that of a pike. Then you must allow the pike to swim away with the bait, and pouch it before you strike. From five to seven minutes is the pouching time allowed by me, and I find it quite 140 THE TIME FOR STRIKING PIKE. long enough: some excellent anglers allow ten, minutes. That length of time can only be neces- sary occasionally, when fish not voraciously hun- gry are but playing with the bait, and even then I frequently strike in a very short time, lest the fish should not pouch the bait at all, but blow it out of his mouth after having examined it by the sense of touch, and perceived something suspicious about it. For my own part, except in trolling with the dead bait, I seldom allow pouching time at all, but strike as soon as I find my hooks are within the fish's mouth. I very seldom miss, nor do I think any good striker would often fail to hook his fish by a stroke, simultaneous, but slowly so, with the bite of pike, perch, or trout. Pike is the only fish that should be allowed time. Trout and perch should be struck immediately — stopped by a smart check as they are darting off with their prey. Their run is quicker than that of pike, which frequently swim off very leisurely with the bait in their mouth, to pouch it in peace in some tranquil haunt. You can, therefore, ge- nerally distinguish what sort of a run you have ; if it be a trout-run, strike quickly — if a pike-run, give time. The question of time is important, and still remains doubted and discussed. When you have a pike-run, and the fish makes away for a convenient retreat wherein to swallow the bait, you must allow him to move off with ALLOW TIME FOR GORGING BAIT. 141 the least obstruction possible. Lower tbe point or' your rod, and uncoiling with your left hand the line from the winch, give it out freely as the fish moves, so that he may feel no check by a tightened line. Do nothing to disturb him whilst pouching the bait, and after you have struck him, play him according to the rules already given and by those mentioned hereafter. The following lines, embodying the opinions of more writers than one, touching the time of striking at pike, are worthy of attention. When you have a run, or, in other words, when a pike or jack has seized your bait, lower the point of the rod towards the water, and at the same time draw the line gradually from the reel with your left hand, so that nothing may impede or check the progress of the fish in carrying the bait to its hole in order to pouch it. Do not strike until the pike has had possession of the bait about seven minutes, or till the line shakes or moves in the water ; then wind up the slack line, and turn the rod, so that the reel may be uppermost instead of underneath, and strike, but not with violence. Mr. Taylor, in his (to a certain extent) useful book, says : ' The pike will, as soon as he has seized a bait, run to his hold to pouch or swallow it : allow him, therefore, five minutes to do so (unless the line slackens before that time, which is a signal that he has already done it), and then strike. 142 BEST ROVING TACKLE. But if after he has run off with the bait, he makes scarcely any stay with it at his hold, but goes off with it again, you should not strike him until he has rested a second time, allowing him still about five minutes; but if he should run off again a third time before the five minutes are expired, draw a tight line, and strike him instantly.' In fishing with snap-hooks or spinning-tackle you must strike immediately the fish has taken your bait. Of these tackle I shall write more fully by- and-by. There are many ways of baiting for sinking and roving, and several sorts of tackle sold for the purpose ; but the following cut represents the best. It is from Elaine's ' Encyclopaedia of Eural Sports :'— You will perceive by the preceding illustration that two hooks are used ; they are to be strong, yet small, though the size of the bait be large. Each is to be tied to a stout piece of gut three inches long, and looped at the upper end. The SNAP-BAITS. 143 lengths of the pieces, when looped, should be ex- actly equal, and each loop should be fastened in the hook of your swivel attached to your gut foot-line. One of the hooks is to be inserted in the back of the fish just before the dorsal fin, the other hook just behind it. The hooks are to point different ways ; and if they are properly inserted, and their gut links of equal length, the fish will hang in easy and just balance, and there will be no drag either way to prevent it from swimming freely. A live-bait so hooked cannot escape by its own struggles, and neither pike, trout, nor perch can snap it off with impunity. SNAP-BAITS, — These hooks and baits are mostly used at seasons when pike do not feed with suffi- cient voracity to pouch their baits promptly. Their merit lies in allowing the tr oiler to strike quickly, before the fastidious fish, suspecting something wrong, has time to eject the bait from his mouth. The rod used must be short and stiff, to enable you to strike promptly and firmly; and I know of no rod more suitable than that which is called the Thames punt barbel rod. Snap-baits are two-fold — one which does not spring when you strike a fish, and the other which does. I will give you representations of each, taken from Mr. Elaine's work. The first is called the live- bait snap, figured thus :— 144 SNAP-HOOKS. You see that it consists of three hooks, two large ones tied back to back, with their barbs pointing different ways, and one smaller hook tied on at the top of the shanks of the others, and pointing straight out from them. You can tie them your- self thus : — Take two strong hooks, of size No. 3 or 4, according to the strength of their wire, as well as the size of the bait. Tie each to about an inch and a quarter of fine twisted wire, and again tie these two wires together, including in the tie a hook, No. 8 or 9, and also eight or ten inches of gimp, which loop at the other end ; but in tying, place the large hooks contrariwise, so that one may point towards the head and the other towards the tail of the bait-fish, which will greatly increase your chance of success. To bait with it, enter the small hook under the back-fin, and allow the two large hooks to apply themselves close to the side of the bait, with the direction of their points reversed, as you see in the engraving. In good- sized roach, or dace, snap-hooks can be better con- cealed than in small fish of little pectoral depth. The Spring-snap is generally used with a dead bait, because it cannot be inserted properly in a THE SPRING SNAP-HOOK. 145 live bait without doing it disabling injury. It requires deep insertion in the bait, to allow the spring to act, which it will not do without some considerable resistance. The spring-snap, not baited and baited, is shown above. 146 DESCRIPTION OF SPRING SNAP-HOOK. If you examine the tackle prefigured, you will perceive that the two large hooks project from a double elastic shank, flat and split, and which slides up and down between two perpendicular wire pillars. They are attached, as well as a small hook, to a movable band above, and when sud- denly and sharply pulled downwards below the band beneath, the elastic shank separates with a strong spring ; and the result is the insertion of both hooks, or at least one, within the mouth of the fish that seizes it, and at which you sharply strike. In the spring, summer, and early autumn months, pike are shy, and fond of basking near the surface of the water ; and if, as Mr. Elaine says, ' one of them does seize the bait at these times, he is apt not to pouch or gorge it, but, after roving about with it in his mouth for some time, he ejects it or blows it out, as anglers term it.' Hence, then, the utility of snap-hooks, to meet by prompt striking the snapping, and not the gorging, of pike. Captain Williamson says : ' At such times they will seize a bait with great seeming eagerness, but for the most part relinquish it almost instan- taneously. When j ack are thus shy, the angler must take them at the snap — that is, he must be quick in striking so soon as the bait is seized. This requires a particular apparatus, whereby the fish GOOD PLAIN SNAP-HOOKS. 147 rarely escapes under proper management. The snap-tackle may consist of a single hook, large and stout, which, being fastened to strong gimp, is inserted at the mouth of a gudgeon or other small fish, and brought out either at the middle of its side, or just before the vent. The treble snap is by far the best, being made of three such hooks tied back to back fast together, and secured to a piece of gimp; which being inserted by means of a baiting-needle at the vent, and carried out at the mouth, which is closed by a lip-hook, the three hooks being spread into different di- rections, it is a thousand to one that the jack is hooked.' You can make a double snap in the same way. Tie two good-sized hooks back to back; have a sliding lip-hook on your trace. With a baiting- needle carry the trace in at the vent and out at the mouth, and draw until the bends of the hooks are arrested at the vent. Fasten the lips together by inserting through them the lip-hook. This tackle, with the others mentioned, except the spring-snap, is very easily made, and very fit for those parts of rivers in which there are obstruc- tions to the convenient practice of trolling with the gorge-hook, or spinning. Where there are confined holes, waters with piles, weeds, and roots, the snap-bait with short line and rod can be easily L 2 148 THE PATERNOSTER LINE. dropped in to tempt the fish that seek refuge in such localities. The Paternoster line is one containing several hooks whipped on short stiff pieces of stout gut or bristles, so as to project from the foot-line hori- zontally into the water, and to present divers baits of different sorts and sizes. A plummet is fixed to the bottom of the line, to sink it and keep it steady ; and the hooks and baits are placed from a foot to two feet apart, according to the depth of the water. Three or four hooks are quite sufficient for the paternosters used in most of our rivers. The hook nearest to the bottom may be baited with a worm, the one next to that with a live gudgeon or dace, and the highest hook with a live minnow. The paternoster is very successful in the rivers, canals, and docks near London ; it is very easily used, requiring little more than close watching. If you wish to fish moving onwards with the current, use a perforated bullet, in lieu of the plummet, at the bottom of your line. The Gorge-hook. — Until you employ this tackle, you can scarcely be said to troll. The preceding modes of taking fish with fish -baits, though I have placed them under the head of ' Trolling,' do not embrace pure trolling. To troll, you must cast your bait with a coiled line to any distance you propose ; and then, by drawing your line in with THE GORGE-HOOK. 149 the left hand, a certain portion at each draw, you cause your bait to troll, generally towards you, beneath the water. The rolling or rotatory mo- tion of your bait in the water attracts fish to it ; they run at it, swallow or gorge it, and then you strike, play, and kill them. Quite the contrary, however, may happen, to your great annoyance. Since it is by trolling with the gorge-hook that the largest pike are killed, I must be methodical and minute on the subject. Underneath is the figure of the common gorge-hook, and above it is a hook baited, both taken from Elaine's great Sporting Encyclopaedia : — Generally the hook is formed of two single eel- hooks, placed back to back, and joined together with a continuation from their shanks of a piece of twisted wire, looped at the end. The shanks of the hooks, and a portion of the wire, are im- bedded in a piece of lead rounded thickly at the shoulder, and tapering off towards the tail. Some persons make the lead of an octagonal or quadran- 150 BAITING THE GORGE-HOOK. gular shape, which is objectionable and not by any means so proper as lead roughly rounded. About a foot of gimp is to be neatly attached to the loop in the wire ; and when the gorge-hook is baited, the gimp is to be fastened to the hook of the first swivel on your trace. Two good swivels are sufficient for your trace. The gorge-hook is baited thus : — The loop of the gimp is placed in the eye of a baiting-needle, which is inserted through the mouth of the bait, and the point brought out at the middle of the fork of the tail. Draw the gimp towards you until you find yourself stopped by the bends of the hooks being arrested 1?y the mouth of the bait. The points of the hooks are to be in an upward direc- tion, as you see in the illustrated figure. A thread of white silk whipped round the bait close above the tail, will attach it firmly to the gimp within, and prevent the bait from having its tail-part injured, by being dragged backwards during its progress towards the water. Many persons do not allow the wire that is attached to the hooks to project beyond the fine end of the lead, where they attach the gimp and bait with it as above. They contend that gorge- hooks are too heavily wired, causing the bait, when cast, to sink too deeply in the water and make too large and loud a splash. The gorge- hooks, with little wire projecting beyond the r GORGE-HOOKS FOR WEEDS. ETC. 151 lead, are very fit for trolling amongst weeds, and in foul places; but they do not act so well in wide, clean waters, as they have not that necessary stiff and firm hold on the bait, which prevents it from being disfigured by crumpling up in the cast. For ponds and lakes the long-wired gorge- hooks are the best. Neither barb of the gorge-hook should project too widely from the sides of the mouth of the bait. If the points of the hook do project too widely, the fish may perceive them ; if not, at all events they will be likely to get foul of obstruc- tions in the water. Nobbs, the father of trolling, remarks: 4I commonly make use of a single gorge-hook, which strikes as sure as the other. The double hook hath one advantage above the other, that if it meets with such resistance in the water that it loses one side of it, the other part, with a little filing, may be still as serviceable as it was before ; it is more troublesome than the single hook in the water, and more apt to stick and take hold of the weeds and roots ; it is best for a great bait, for if you put a small and slender bait on a double hook, it will hang out and bear off so much in the bending, that a pike may not only discover the delusion, but if he takes it, it may check him in his feeding, and so hinder him from gorging it.' Mr. Elaine says : ' Some anglers sew up the mouth of the bait after they 152 THE TROLLING-KOD. have introduced the gorge, which we consider as not very material : the lips certainly conceal the bends of the hook rather better when sewn up than when left open, which is all the advantage gained.' The gorge-hooks should be of different sizes, according to the baits you use, and the size of the baits should be regulated according to the size of the fish likely to frequent the waters you angle in. A rod twelve feet long is considered sufficiently lengthy for trolling with the gorge-hook. It should be strong, yet light, and made of mottled cane, or of ash for butt, hickory for middle pieces, and bamboo for top. 1 he rings should not be made of wire, but of strong brass or steel. They should be wide, far apart on the rod, and their base should be polished so as to let the line run most freely through them. Trolling-rods are made to per- fection by all the chief tackle-manufacturers in London. The trolling-line should be of strong- prepared platted silk, but the line itself should not be too thick. Those of hair, or silk and hair, or mere hemp, are bad, liable to kink, and there- fore to run heavily out in casting. Hemp-lines, though oiled or varnished, will imbibe moisture, run out clumsily, and soon rot. A large London- made check -winch is the best to troll with. To cast your gorge-bait, you must unroll off your winch as much line as you want to reach the CASTING THE GOUGE-BAIT. 153 distance you intend to cast to. The line must fall in free coils by your feet on your left side. Take the upper part of your line in your left hand, drawing the bait to within a yard or less of the point of your rod, which lifting, the butt being propped against your right flank, throw to your right or left just as occasion may require ; and letting free the line in your left hand, the bait will be carried, the coiled portion of the line run* ning through the rings freely, the length of the line out. The bait having entered the water, keep it about a distance of one-third the whole depth, if the water be deep, from the bottom, but generally speaking at mid- water ; and drawing your line towards you by short and gentle pulls, moving your rod in the same direction, try and give to the bait a natural and attractive motion. Do not, unless in case of emergency, lift your bait out of the water, until you have drawn in your line. Then repeat your cast, and go on casting, moving with each cast until you have left no part of the water untried. Your first cast should be into those parts of the water nearest to you, then farther out, and lastly, as far to the other side of the water as you can throw. When you have a run, let the fish move off with your bait, and strike as before directed. Very various are the methods of handling the gorge-bait. Generally speaking, they are anti- 154 INUTILITY OF LONG CASTS. quated and slovenly. The tackle I have just mentioned will answer admirably, but you may troll in wide waters with a larger rod than the one I have described. Your salmon-rod will do when you have no other, and find yourself amongst the pike-lochs or lakes of our own country or amidst those of any other. The bait with a ten or twelve feet troll ing-rod can be thrown sixty yards or farther. But these long casts or throws are of no use generally, and in making them, as trollers do for parade sake, the bait is injured, and after it has fallen into the water it cannot be put into anything like natural motion for some time. Shorter casts are more effective. Indeed, unless when you wish to reach some far-off spot having some especial attraction, do not cast farther at any time than from twenty to thirty yards. That distance you can handily manage by casting your bait skew-ways to it, causing it to enter the water slantingly ; and you can gather up your line before your bait has sunk to the bottom of the water, or got injured by hitching in any obstruction there. The truth is, a trolling-rod can be very easily made. One of those long tapering canes, sixteen or eighteen feet long, specimens of which you see as signs, shooting upwards and over the streets, at fishing- tackle makers' shops, will, by adding to it half a dozen large rings, make an efficient trolling or SWIVEL-TRACES. 155 spinning rod, by means of which you can cast any reasonable distance, and gather up your line the moment your bait enters the water. Osier and hazel nurseries will afford you long stout saplings or shoots, which, if you cut them in winter, will make useful trolling-rods. I advise the use of a moderate portion of lead only on any part of the swivel-trace. If the gorge- hook is properly leaded, it will be sufficient to carry and sink the bait without any additional weight more than that given by the swivels. The generality of trollers use too much lead, and troll with too much rapidity. The following trolling axioms are selections from good authorities : — Siviv el-traces are necessary in trolling, for by their means it is that the bait revolves quickly, and has communicated to it a troll or rolling mo- tion, which assists greatly in attracting the notice of predaceous fish. Some troll wholly without swivel-traces ; but we are certain that so doing is a manifest impediment to the spinning of the bait, and we therefore strongly recommend these traces. By means of the swivel-hook the great convenience of readily disengaging the tackle is obtained ; but it is to be noted that, in releasing it, the ardent angler sometimes is violent and snaps his swivel, which is a reason why he should never be without spare swivels, or indeed without duplicates of all the minor articles of fishing apparatus. 156 GORGE-HOOKS THINLY LEADED. Gorge-hooks of all sizes and figures are kept in the shops. The necessity of having different sizes of the gorge apparatus is apparent, from the fact that you use it, in trolling for large and small pike, with baits from the size of the min- now to that of a roach of from two to eight ounces. Not only should gorge-hooks be kept of various sizes, but their shape, particularly the leaden part of them, should be adapted to the shape of the fish you use as a bait. The minnow and gudgeon are round enough in shape to con- ceal a round leaded gorge -hook, corresponding with their size ; but for the bleak and roach and dace, which are more flat-sided, I recommend that the lead be somewhat flattened, and be rather of a compressed oval shape than round. Mr. Sal ter judiciously observes : ' I generally re- move about a third of the lead from the brass of those hooks which I find kept ready for sale in the fishing-tackle shops, because I have found when the lead lies nearly the whole of the length of the bait-fish, and especially of a bleak or thin roach, that when the jack strikes it, his teeth pierce through the flesh and touch the lead ; he then immediately drops the bait. Now, by re- moving a part of the lead, as above directed, the angler will find the remainder to be sufficient for sinking, &c. his bait, and that it will lie at the bottom of the bait's throat, or only a little lower ; HOW TO LAND YOUR PRIZE. 157 and as jack generally seize their prey by or across the middle, in such case their teeth seldom come in contact with the lead, and they then retire without fear to their haunts, and soon pouch the whole.' Mr. Salter and other authorities recommend that when a large pike is struck in open water, you should give him more line, and not pull hard at any time, unless your tackle should be in danger of entangling among weeds or bushes ; and when this is the case, the utmost caution is necessary, lest the rod, line, hook, or hold should break. When completely exhausted and brought to the side, take the pike up with a net or landing-hook, or, if in want of either of these, put your thumb and finger into its eyes, which is the safest hold with the hand. When you have hooked a jack or pike, and played him till he is quite exhausted, and are drawing him ashore, make it a rule to float him on his side, and keep the head a little raised above the surface of the water, that the nose or gills may not hang to, or catch hold of, weeds, &c., while you are thus engaged bringing your prize to the shore ; for sometimes you cannot avoid draw- ing it over or among weeds ; and we have seen a pike touch and get entangled in this way, and, before it could be disentangled, it recovered from its exhaustion or stupor, and occasioned much trouble and hazard before it could be a. and Dr. CARL MARTIN FRIEDLANDEII. Post 8vo. 7s. Qd. The MASTERY of LANGUAGES; or, the Art of Speaking Foreign Tongues Idiomatically. By THOMAS PEE^DERGAST, late of the Civil Service at Madras. Second Edition. Svo. 6s. Miscellaneous Works and Popular Metaphysics. The ESSAYS and CONTRIBUTIONS of A. K, H. B., Author of ' The Recreations of a Country Parson.' Uniform Editions : — Recreations of a Country Parson. By A. K. H. B. FIRST and SECOND SERIES, crown Svo. Jis. Qd. each. NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS AND CO. 9 The Common-place Philosopher in Town and Country. By A. K. H. B. Crown 8vo. price 3s. Gd. Leisure Hours in Town ; Essays Consolatory, JEsthetic^i, Moral, Social, and Domestic. By A. K. II. B. Crown Svo. 3s. Gd. The Autumn Holidays of a Country Parson ; Essays contributed to Fraser's Magazine and to Good Words. By A.K. H. B. Crown Svo. 3s. Gd, The Graver Thoughts of a Country Parson. By A. K. H. B. FIRST and SECOND SERIES, crown Svo. 3s. Gd. each. Critical Essays of a Country Parson, selected from Essays con- tributed to Fraser's Magazine. By A. K. II. B. Crown Svo. 3*. Gd. Sunday Afternoons at the Parish Church of a Scottish University City. By A. K. H. B. Crown Svo. 3s. Gd. Lessons of Middle Age ; -with some Account of various Cities and Men. By A. K. H. B. Crown Svo. 3s. Gd. Counsel and Comfort spoken from a City Pulpit. By A. K. H. B. Crown Svo. price 3s. Gd. Changed Aspects of Unchanged Truths ; Memorials of St. Andrews Sundays. By A. K. H.B. Crown Svo. 3s. Gd. SHORT STUDIES on GREAT SUBJECTS. By JAMES ANTHONY FROUDE, M.A. late Fellow of Exeter Coll. Oxford. Third Edition. Svo. 12,9. LORD MACAULAY'S MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS :—• LIBRARY EDITION". 2 vols. Svo. Portrait, 21s. PEOPLE'S EDITION. 1 vol. crown Svo. 4s. Gd. The REV. SYDNEY SMITH'S MISCELLANEOUS WORKS ; includ- ing his Contributions to the Edinburgh Review. Crown Svo. 6s. The Wit and Wisdom of the Rev. Sydney Smith: a Selection of the most memorable Passages in his Writings and Conversation. 16mo. 3s. Gd. TRACES of HISTORY in the NAMES of PLACES; with a Vocabulary of the Roots out of which Names of Places in England and Wales are formed. By FLAVELL EDMUNDS. Ci own Svo. 7s. Gd. ESSAYS selected from CONTRIBUTIONS to the Edinburgh Review. By HENRY ROGERS. Second Edition. 3 vols. fcp. 2ls. Reason and Faith, their Claims and Conflicts. By the same Author. New Edition, accompanied by several other Essays. Crown Svo. 6s. Gd. The Eclipse of Faith ; or. a Visit to a Keligious Sceptic. By the same Author. Twelfth Edition. Fcp. 5s. Defence of the Eclipse of Faith, by its Author ; a rejoinder to Dr. Newman's Reply. Third Edition. Fcp. 3s. Gd. Selections from the Correspondence of R. E. H. Greyson. By the same Author. Third Edition. Crown Svo. 7s. Gd. FAMILIES of SPEECH, Four Lectures delivered at the Royal Institution of Oreat Britain. By the Rev. F. W. FARRAR, M.A. F.R.S. late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Post Svo. with Two Maps, 5s. Gd. B 10 NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS A.TSV CO. CHIPS from a GERMAN WORKSHOP ; being Essays on the Science of Religion, and on Mythology, Traditions, and Customs. By MAX MULLER, M.A. Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Second Edition, revised with an Index. 2 vols. 8vo. 24s. ANALYSIS of the PHENOMENA of the HUMAN MIND. By JAMES MILL. A New Edition, with Notes, Illustrative and Critical, by ALEXANDER BAIN, ANDREW FINDLATER, and GEORGE GROTE. Edited, with additional Notes, by JOHN STUART MILL. 2 vols. Svo. price 28s. An INTRODUCTION to MENTAL PHILOSOPHY, on the Inductive Method. By J. D. MoRELL,M.A. LL.D. Svo. 12.s. ELEMENTS of PSYCHOLOGY, containing the Analysis of the Intellectual Powers. By the same Author. Post Svo. 7s. 6d. The SECRET of HEGEL: being the Hegelian System in Origin, Principle, Form, and Matter. By J. H. STIRLING. 2 vols. Svo. 28s. The SENSES and the INTELLECT. By ALEXANDER BAIN, M.D. Professor of Logic in the University of Aberdeen. Third Edition. Svo. 15s. The EMOTIONS and the WILL, By the same Author. Second Edition. Svo. 15s. On the STUDY of CHARACTER, including an Estimate of Phrenology. By the same Author. Svo. 9s. MENTAL and MORAL SCIENCE: a Compendium of Psychology and Ethics. By the same Author. Second Edition. Crown Svo. 10s. Qd. LOGIC, DEDUCTIVE and INDUCTIVE. By the same Author. In Two PARTS, crown Svo. 10s. 6d. Each Part may be had separately :— PART I. Deduction, 4s. PART II. Induction, 6s. 6d. TIME and SPACE; a Metaphysical Essay. By SHADWORTH H. HODGSON". (This work covers the whole ground of Speculative Philosophy.) Svo. price 16s. The Theory of Practice ; an Ethical Inquiry. By the same Author. (This work, in conjunction with the foregomg, completes a system of Philo- sophy.) 2 vols. Svb. price 24s. STRONG AND FREE; or, First Steps towards Social Science. By the Author of * My Life, and What shall I do with it ? ' Svo. price 10s. 6d. The PHILOSOPHY of NECESSITY ; or, Natural Law as applicable to Mental, Moral, and Social Science. By CHARLES BRAY. Second Edition Svo. 9s. The Education of the Feelings and Affections. By the same Author. Third Edition. Svo. 3s. Qd. On Force, its Mental and Moral Correlates. By the same Author. Svo. 5s. CHARACTERISTICS of MEN, MANNERS, OPINIONS, TIMES Fellow of New College, Oxford. 3 vols. Svo. VOL. I. price 14s. A TREATISE on HUMAN NATURE ; being an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning into Moral Subjects. By I>fvn> HUME. Edited, with a Preliminary Dissertation and Notes, by T. H. . GREEN, Fellow, and T. H. GROSE, late Scholar, of Balliol Col lego, Oxford. [In the press. ESSAYS MORAL, POLITICAL, and LITERARY. By DAVID HUME. By the same Editors. NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS AND CO. ll Astronomy r, Meteorology r, Popular Geography, &c. OUTLINES of ASTRONOMY. By Sir J. F. W. HERSCHKL, Bart. M.A. Tenth Edition, revised ; with 9 Plates and many Woodcuts. 8vo. 18s. OTHER WORLDS THAN OURS ; the Plurality of Worlds Studied under the Light of Recent Scientific Researches. By RICHARD A. PROCTOR , B.A. F.R.A.S. With 13 Illustrations (6 of them coloured). Crown 8vo. 10s. Qd. SATURN and its SYSTEM. By the same Author. 8 vo. with 14 Plates, 14s. CELESTIAL OBJECTS for COMMON TELESCOPES. By the Rev. T. W. WEBB, M.A. F.R.A.S. Second Edition, revised, with a large Map of the Moon, and several Woodcuts. 16mo. 7s. Qd. NAVIGATION and NAUTICAL ASTRONOMY (Practical, Theoretical, Scientific) for the use of Students and Practical Men. By J. MERRIFIELD, F.R.A.S and H. EVERS. Svo. 145. LOVE'S LAW of STORMS, considered in connexion with the Ordinary Movements of the Atmosphere. Translated by R. H. SCOTT, M.A. T.C.D. Svo. 105. Qd. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY for SCHOOLS and GENERAL READERS. By M. F. MAURT, LL.D. Fcp. with 2 Charts," 2*. Qd. M'CULLOCIfS DICTIONARY, Geographical, Statistical, and Historical, of the various Countries, Places, and Principal Natural Objects in the World. New Edition, with the Statistical Information brought up to the latest returns by F. MARTIN. 4 vols. Svo. with coloured Maps, £4 45. A GENERAL DICTIONARY of GEOGRAPHY, Descriptive, Physical, Statistical, and Historical : forming a complete Gazetteer of the World. By A. KEITH JOHNSTON, LL.D. F.R.G.S. Revised Edition. Svo. 31s. Qd. A MANUAL of GEOGRAPHY, Physical, Industrial, and Political. By W. HUGHES, F.R.G.S. With 6 Maps. Fcp. 7s. Qd. The STATES of the RIVER PLATE : their Industries and Commerce. By WILFRID LATHAM, Buenos Ayres. Second Edition, .revised. Svo. 125. MAUNDER' S TREASURY of GEOGRAPHY, Physical, Historical, Descriptive, and Political. Edited by W. HUGHES, F.R.G.S. Revised Edition, with 7 Maps and 16 Plates. Fcp. 65. cloth, or 95. Qd. bound in calf. Natural History and Popular Science. ELEMENTARY TREATISE on PHYSICS, Experimental and Applied. Translated and edited from GANOT'S Elements de Physique (with the Au- thor's sanction) by E. ATKINSON, Ph.D. F.C.S. New Edition, revised and enlarged ; with a Coloured Plate and 620 Woodcuts. Post Svo. 15*. The ELEMENTS of PHYSICS or NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. By NEIL ARNOTT, M.D. F.R.S. Physician Extraordinary to the Queen. Sixth Edition, rewritten and completed. Two Parts, Svo. 21s. SOUND : a Course of Eight Lectures delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. By JOHN TYNDALL, LL.D. F.R.S. New Edition, crown Svo. with Portrait of Jf. Cliladni and 169 Woodcuts, price 9*. 12 NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS A*D CO. HEAT a MODE of MOTION. By Professor JOHN TYNDALL, LL.D. F.R.S. Fourth Edition. Crown Svo. with Woodcuts, 10*. 6rf. RESEARCHES on DIAMAGNETISM and MAGNE-CRYSTALLIC ACTION ; including the Question of Diamagnetic Polarity. By the same Author. With 6 Plates and many Woodcut*. 8vo. price 14s. NOTES of a COURSE of NINE LECTURES on LIGHT delivered at the Royal Institution of Groat Britain in April-June 1869. By the same Author. Crown 8vo. price Is. sewed, or Is. 6d. cloth. LIGHT : Its Influence on Life and Health. By FORBES WINSLOW, M.D. D.C.L. Oxon. (Hon.). Fcp. 8vo. 65. A TREATISE on ELECTRICITY, in Theory and Practice. By A. DE LA RIVE, Prof, in the Academy of Geneva. Translated by C. V.WALKEB . F.R.8. 3 vols. 8vo. with Woodcuts, £3 13,?. The CORRELATION of PHYSICAL FORCES. By W. R. GROVE, Q.C. V.P.R.S. Fifth Edition, revised, and followed by a Discourse on Con- tinuity. 8vo. 10.9. s. TUSCAN SCULPTORS, their Lives, Works, and Times. With 45 Etchings and 28 Woodcuts from Original Drawings and Photographs. By the same Author. 2 vols. imperial Svo. (J3s. HINTS on HOUSEHOLD TASTE in FURNITURE, UPHOLSTERY, and other Details. By CHARLES L. EASTLAKE, Architect. Second Edition, with about 90 Illustrations. Square crown Svo. 13s. The ENGINEER'S HANDBOOK; explaining the Principles which should guide the Young Engineer in the Construction of Machinery. By C. S. LOWNDES. Post Svo. 5s. PRINCIPLES of MECHANISM, designed for the Use of Students in the Universities, and for Engineering Students generally. By R. WILLIS, M.A. F.R.S. &c. Jacksonian Professor in the University of Cam- bridge. A new and enlarged Edition. Svo. [Nearly ready. LATHES and TURNING, Simple, Mechanical, and ORNAMENTAL. By W. HENRY NGKTHCOTT. With about 240 Illustrations on Steel and Wood. Svo. 18,9. URE'S DICTIONARY of ARTS, MANUFACTURES, and MINES. Sixth Edition, chiefly rewritten and greatly enlarged by ROBEUT HUNT, F.R.S. assisted by numerous Contributors eminent in Science and the Arts, and familiar with Manufactures. With above 2,000 Woodcuts. 3 vols. me- dium Svo. i rice £4 14s. Qd. HANDBOOK of PRACTICAL TELEGRAPHY, published vith the sanction of the Chairman and Directors of the Electric and International Telegraph Cownany, and adopted by the Department of Telegraphs for India. By H. b. CULLEY. Third Edition, Svo. 3 '2s. Qd.t , to Mines, Mills, Steam Navigation, Railways and Agriculture. By J. BOURNE, C.E. Eighth Edition ; with Portrait, 37 Plates, and 646 Wo 18 NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS AND CO. ENCYCLOPAEDIA of CIVIL ENGINEERING, Historical, Theoretical, and Practical. By E. CREST, C.E. With above 3,000 Woodcuts. 8vo. 42s. TREATISE on MILLS and MILLWORK. By Sir W. FAIRBAIRN, F.R.S. Second Edition, with 18 Plates and 322 Woodcuts. 2 vols. 8vo. 325. USEFUL INFORMATION for ENGINEERS. By the same Author. FIRST, SECOND, and THIRD SERIES, with many Plates and Woodcuts. 3 vols. crown 8vo. 105. Qd. each. The APPLICATION of CAST and WROUGHT IRON to Building Purposes. By the same Author. Fourth Edition, enlarged; with 6 Plates and 118 Woodcuts. 8vo. price 165 IRON SHIP BUILDING, its History and Progress, as comprised in a Series of Experimental Researches, By the same Author. With 4 Plates and 130 Woodcuts. 8vo. 185. A TREATISE on the STEAM ENGINE, in its various Applications d Agriculture. By J. BOURNE, , and 646 Woodcuts. 4to. 425. CATECHISM of the STEAM ENGINE, in its various Applications to Mines, Mills, Steam Navigation, Railways, and Agriculture. By the same Author. With 89 Woodcuts. Fcp. 65. HANDBOOK of the STEAM ENGINE. By the same Author, forming a KEY to the Catechism of the Steam Engine, with 67 Woodcuts. Fcp. 95. BOURNE'S RECENT IMPROVEMENTS in the STEAM ENGINE in its various applications to Mines, Mills, Steam Navigation, Railways, and Agri- culture. Being a Supplement to the Author's ' Catechism of the Steam Engine.' By JOHN BOURNE, C.E. New Edition, including many New Examples ; with 124 Woodcuts. Fcp. 8vo. 65. A TREATISE on the SCREW PROPELLER, SCREW VESSELS, and Screw Engines, as adapted for purposes of Peace and War ; with Notices of other Methods of Propulsion, Tables of the Dimensions and Performance of Screw Steamers, and detailed Specifications of Ships and Engines. By J. BOURNE, C.E. New Edition, with 54 Plates and 287 Woodcuts. 4to. 635. , EXAMPLES of MODERN STEAM, AIR, and GAS ENGINES of the most Approved Types, as employed for Pumping, for Driving Machinery, for Locomotion, and for Agriculture, minutely and practically described. By JOHN BOURNE, C.E. In course of publication in 24 Parts, price 25. Qd. each, forming One volume 4to. with about 50 Plates and 400 Woodcuts.; A HISTORY of the MACHINE- WROUGHT HOSIERY and LACE Manufactures. By WILLIAM FELKIN, P.L.S. F.S.S. Royal 8vo. 215. PRACTICAL TREATISE on METALLURGY, adapted from the last German Edition of Professor KERL'S Metallurgy by W. CROOKES, F.R.S. &c. and E. ROHRIG-, Ph.D. M.E. In Three Volumes, 8vo. with 625 Wood- cuts. VOL. I. price 315. 6d. VOL. II. price 365. VOL. III. price 315. Qd. MITCHELL'S MANUAL of PRACTICAL ASSAYING. Third Edi- tion, for the most part re-written, with all the recent Discoveries incor- porated, by W. CROOKES, F.R.S. With 188 Woodcuts. 8vo. 285. The ART of PERFUMERY ; the History and Theory of Odours, and the Methods of Extracting the Aromas of Plants. By Dr. PIESSB, F.C.S. Third Edition, with 53 Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. 105. Qd. Chemical, Natural, and Physical Magic, for Juveniles during the Holidays. By the same Author. Third Edition, with 38 Woodcuts. Fcp. 65. NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS AND CO. 19 LOUDON'S ENCYCLOPAEDIA of AGRICULTURE: comprising the Laying-out, Improvement, and Management of Landed Property, and the Cultivation and Economy of the Productions of Agriculture. With 1,100 Woodcuts. 8vo. 215. London's Encyclopaedia of Gardening : comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and landscape Gar- dening. With 1,000 Woodcuts. 8vo. 21s. BAYLDON'S ART of VALUING RENTS and TILLAGES, and Claims of Tenants upon Quitting Farms, both at Michaelmas and Lady-Day. Eighth Edition, revised by J. C. MORTON. 8vo. 10s. Qd. Religious and Moral Works. CONSIDERATIONS on the REVISION of the ENGLISH NEW TESTAMENT. By C. J. EILICOTT, D.D. Lord Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. Post 8vo. price 5s. Qd. An EXPOSITION of the 39 ARTICLES, Historical and Doctrinal. By E. HAROLD BROWNE, D.D. Lord Bishop of Ely. Seventh Edit. 8vo. 16s. BISHOP COTTON'S INSTRUCTIONS in the PRINCIPLES and Practice of Christianity, intended chiefly as an introduction to Confirmation. Sixth Edition, 18mo. 2s. Gd. The ACTS of the APOSTLES ; with a Commentary, and Practical and Devotional Suggestions for Readers and Students of the English Bible. By the Rev. F. C. COOK, M.A. Canon of Exeter, &c. New Edition. 8vo. 12s. Qd. The LIFE and EPISTLES of ST. PAUL. By the Rev. W. J. CONYBEARE, M.A., and the Very Rev. J. S. HOWSON, D.D. Dean cf Chester :— LIBRARY EDITION, with all the Original Illustrations, Maps, Landscapes on Steel, Woodcuts, &c. 2 vols. 4to. 48s. INTERMEDIATE EDITION, with a Selection of Maps, Plates, and Woodcuts. 2 vols. square crown 8vo. 31s. Qd. STUDENT'S EDITION, revised and condensed, with 46 Illustrations and Maps. 1 vol. crown 8vo. price 9s. The VOYAGE and SHIPWRECK of ST. PAUL; with Dissertations on the Life and Writings of St. Luke and the Ships and Navigation of the Ancients. By JAMES SMITH, E.R.S. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. 10s. 6d. A CRITICAL and GRAMMATICAL COMMENTARY on ST. PAUL'S Epistles. By C. J. ELLICOTT, D.D. Lord Bishop of Gloucester & Bristol. Svo. Galatians, Fourth Edition, 8s. 6d. Ephesians, Fourth Edition, 8s. 6d. Pastoral Epistles, Fourth Edition, 10s. 6d. Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, Third Edition, 10s. 6d. Thessalonians, Third Edition, 7s. Qd. HISTORICAL LECTURES en the LIFE of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST : being the Hulsean Lectures for 1S59. By C.; J. ELLICOTT, D.D. Lord Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. Fifth Edition. ' Svo. price l'2s. 20 NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS AND CO. EVIDENCE of the TRUTH of the CHRISTIAN RELIGION derived fro'ii the Literal Fulfilment of Prophecy. By ALEXANDER KEITH, D.D. t37th Edition, with mmierous Plates, in square 8vo. 12s. tid. ; also the 39th Edition, in post 8vo. with 5 Piatcs, 6.v. History and Destiny of the "World and Church, according to Scripture. By the same Author. Square 8vo. with 40 Illustrations, 10s. An INTRODUCTION to the STUDY of the HEW TESTAMENT, Critical, Exegetical, and] Theological. By the Rev. 8. DAVIDSON, D.D. LL.D. 2 vuls. Svo. 306-. Rev. T. K. HOSNE'S INTRODUCTION to the CRITICAL STUDY and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. Twelfth Edition, as last revised throughout. With 4 Maps and 22 Woodcuts and Facsimiles. 4 vols. 8vo.42s. Rev. T, H. Home's Compendious Introduction to the Study of the Bible, being an Analysis of the larger work by the same Author. Re-edited by the Rev. JOHN AYRE, M.A. With Maps, &c. Post 8vo. 6,v. HISTORY of the KARAITE JEWS. By WILLIAM HARRIS RULE, D.D. Po^t 8vo. price 7.9. 6rf. EWALD'S HISTORY of ISRAEL to the DEATH of MOSES. Trans- lated from the German. Edited, with a Preface and nn Appendix, by RUSSELL MARTINEAU, M.A. Second Edition. 2 vols. Svo. 24s. FIVE YEARS in a PROTESTANT SISTERHOOD and TEN YEARS in a Catholic Convent ; an Autobiography. Post 8vo. 7s. Gd. The LIFE of MARGARET MARY HALLAHAN, belter known in the religious world by the name of Mother Margaret. By her RELIGIOUS CHILDREN. Second Edition. 8vo. with Portrait, 10s. The SEE of ROME in the MIDDLE AGES. By the Rev. OSWALD J. REICHEL, B.C.L. and M.A. Svo. {Nearly ready. The EVIDENCE for the PAPACY, as derived from the Holy Scrip- tures avid from Primitive Antiquity; with an Introductory Epistle. By the Bon. COLIN LINDSAY. Svo. price \ts. Qd. The TREASURY of BIBLE KNOWLEDGE ; being a Dictionary of the Books, Persons, Places, Events, and other matters of which mention is made in Holy Scripture. By Rev. J. AYRE. M.A. With Maps. IK Plates, and. numerous Woodcuts. Pep. Svo price 6*. cloth, or 9s. Gd. neatly bound in calf. The GREEK TESTAMENT; with Notes, Grammatical and Exegctical. By the Rev. W. WEBSTEB, M.A. and the Rev. W. P. WILKINSON, M.A. 2 Vols. 8vo. £'2 45. EVERY-DAY SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES explained and illustrated. By J. E. PRESCOTT, M.A. VOL. I. Naltlieiv and Mark\ VOL. II. Luke and John. 2 vols. 8vo. 9,s. each. The PENTATEUCH and EOOK of JOSHUA CRITICALLY EXAMINED. 13y the Right Rev. J. W. COLENSO, D.I). Lord Bishop of Natal. People's Edition, in 1 vol. crown &vo. 6.v. or in 5 Parts, Is. each. The CHURCH and the WORLD ; Three Series of Essays on Questions of the T)-iy. By Various Writers. Edited by the Rev/ORBY SHIPLEY, M.A. Three Volumes, Svo. price 15s. each. The FORMATION of CHRISTENDOM. By T. W. ALLIES. PARTS I. and II. Svo. price 12s, each Part. NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS AND CO. 21 ENGLAND and CHRISTENDOM. By ARCHBISHOP MANNING, D.D. Post 8vo. price 10s. Qd. CHRISTENDOM'S DIVISIONS, PAUT L, a Philosophical Sketch of the Divisions of the Christian Family in East and West. By EDMUND S. FFOULKES. Post 8vo. price 7s. Qd. Christendom's Divisions, PART II. Greeks and Latins, being a His- tory of their Dissensions and Overtures for Peace down to the Reformation. By the same Author. Post Svo. 15s. The HIDDEN WISDOM of CHRIST and the KEY of KNOWLEDGE ; or, History of the Apocrypha. By ERNEST DE BUNSEN. 2 vols. Svo. 28s. The KEYS of ST. PETER ; or, the House of Rechab, connected with the History of Symbolism and Idolatry. By the same Author. Svo. 145. The TYPES of GENESIS, briefly considered as Revealing the Development of Human Nature. By ANDREW . JUKES. Second Edition. Crown Svo. 75. Qd. The Second Death and the Restitution of All Things, with some Preliminary Remarks on the Nature and Inspiration of Holy Scripture. By the same Author. Second Edition. Crown Svo. 8s. Qd. A VIEW of the SCRIPTURE REVELATIONS CONCERNING a FUTURE STATE. By RICHARD WHATELY, D.D. late Archbishop of Dublin. Ninth Edition. Fcp. Svo. 55. The POWER of the SOUL over the BODY. By GEORGE MOOIIE, M.D. M.R.C.P.L. &c. Sixth Edition. Crown Svo. 85. Qd. THOUGHTS for the AGE, By ELIZABETH M. SEWELL, Author of 'Amy Herbert ' &c. Fcp. Svo. price 5s. Passing Thoughts on Religion. By the same Author. Fcp. Svo. 5s, Solf-Exaraiiiation before Confirmation, By the same Author. 32mo. price Is. Qd. Readings for a Month Preparatory to Confirmation, from Writers of the Early and English Church. By the same Author. Fcp. 45. Headings for Every Day in Lent, compiled from the Writings cf Bishop JEREMY TAYLOR. By the same Author, Fcp. 55. Preparation for the Holy Communion ; the Devotions chiefly from the works of JEREMY TAYLOR. By the same Author. 32mo. 3s. THOUGHTS for the HOLY WEEK for Young Persons, By the Author of ' Amy Herbert.' New Edition. Fcp. Svo. 2s. PRINCIPLES of EDUCATION Brawn from Nature and Revelation, and applied to Female Education in the Upper Classes. By the Author of ' Amy Herbert/ 2 vols. fcp. 12s. Qd. The WIFE'S MANUAL; or, Prayers, Thoughts, and Songs on Several Occasions of a Matron's Life. By the Rev. W. CALVERT, M.A. Crown Svo. price 10s. Qd. "SINGERS and SONGS of the CHURCH: beinff Biographical Sketches of the Hymn-Writers in all the principal Collections; with Notes on their Psalms and Hymns. By JOSIAH MILLER, M.A. Second Edition, enlarged. Post Svo. price 10s. Qd. LYRA GERMANICA, translated from the German by Miss C. WINK- WORTH. FIRST SERIES, Hymns for the Sundays and Chief Festivals. SECOND SERIES, the Christian Life. Fcp. 3s. Qd. each SERIES. NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS AND CO. « SPIRITUAL SONGS ' for the SUNDAYS and HOLIDAYS through- out the Year. By J. S. B. MONSELL, LL.D. Vicar of Egham and Rural Dean. Fourth Edition, Sixth Thousand. Fcp. 4s. Gd. The BEATITUDES : Abasement before God ; Sorrow for Sin ; Meekness of Spirit ; Desire for Holiness ; Gentleness ; Purity of Heart ; the Peace- makers ; Sufferings for Christ. By the same. Third Edition. Fcp. 8s. 6d.\ His PRESENCE— not his MEMORY, 1855. By the same Author, in Memory of his Soff. Sixth Edition. 16mo. Is. LYRA EUCHARISTICA ; Hymns and Verses on the Holy Communion, Ancient and Modern : with other Poems. Edited by the Rev. OEBT SHIP- LEY, M.A. Second Edition. Fcp. 55. ' Lyra Messianica ; Hymns and Verses on the Life of Christ, Ancient and Modern; with other Poems. By the same Editor. Second Edition, altered and enlarged. Fcp. 5s. Lyra Mystica ; Hymns and Verses on Sacred Subjects, Ancient and Modern. By the same Editor. Fcp. 5s. ENDEAVOURS after the CHRISTIAN LIFE: Discourses. By JAMES MAETINEAU. Fourth and cheaper Edition, carefully revised; the Two Series complete in One Volume. Post 8vo. 7s. Gd. INVOCATION of SAINTS and ANGELS, for the use of Members of the English Church. Edited by the Rev. OKBY SHIPLEY. 24mo. 3s. Gd. WHATELY'S INTRODUCTORY LESSONS on the CHRISTIAN Evidences. 18mo. Gd. WHATELY'S INTRODUCTORY LESSONS on the HISTORY of Religious Worship. New Edition. 18mo. 2s. Gd. BISHOP JEREMY TAYLOR'S ENTIRE WORKS. With Life by BISHOP HEBEB. Revised and corrected by the Rev, C. P. EDEST, 10 vols. price £5 5s. Travels, Voyages, &c. NARRATIVE of a SPRING TOUR in PORTUGAL. By A. C. SMITH, M.A. Ch. Ch . Oxon. Rector of Yatesbury. Post 8vo. price 6s. Gd. ENGLAND to DELHI ; a Narrative of Indian Travel. By JOHN MATHESON, Glasgow. With Map and 82 Woodcut Illustrations. 4to. 31s. Gd. CADORE ; or, TITIAN'S COUNTRY. By JOSIAH GILBERT, one of the Authors of 'The Dolomite Mountains.' With Map, Facsimile, and 40 Illustrations. Imperial 8vo. 31s. Gd. NARRATIVE of the EUPHRATES EXPEDITION carried on by Order of the British Government during the years 1835-1837. By General F. R. CHESNEY, F.R.S. With Maps, Plates, and Woodcuts. 8vo. 24s. TRAVELS in the CENTRAL CAUCASUS and BASHAN. Including Visits to Ararat and Tabreez and Ascents of Kazbek and Elbruz. By D. W. FKESHFIELD. Square crown 8vo. with Maps, &c. 18s. PICTURES in TYROL and Elsewhere. From a Family Sketch-Book. By the Authoress of ' A Voyage en Zigzag,' &c. Second Edition. Small 4to. with numerous Illustrations, 21s. HOW WE SPENT the SUMMER ; or, a Voyage en Zigzag in Switzer- land and Tyrol with some Members of the ALPINE CLUB. From the Sketch- Book of one of the Party. In oblong 4to. with 300 Illustrations, 15s. NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS AND CO. 23 BEATEN TRACKS ; or, Pen and Pencil Sketches in Italy. By the Authoress of ' A Voyage en Zigzag.' With 42 Plates, containing about 200 Sketches from Drawings made on the Spot. 8vo. 16s. MAP of the CHAIN of MONT BLANC, from an actual Survey in 1863—1864. By A. ADAMS-REILLY, F.R.G.S. M.A.C. Published under the Authority of the Alpine Club. In Chromolitnography on extra stout drawing-paper 28in. x 17in. price 105. or mounted on canvas in a folding case, 1 2s. Qd. PIONEERING in THE PAMPAS ; or, the First Four Years of a Settler's Experience in the La Plata Camps. By R. A. SETMOUE. Second Edition, with Map. Post Svo. price 65. The PARAGUAYAN WAR : with Sketches of the History of Paraguay, and of the Manners and Customs of the People ; and Notes on the Military Engineering of the War. By GEORGE THOMPSON, C.E. With 8 Maps and Plans, and a Portrait of Lopez. Post Svo. 12s. Qd. HISTORY of DISCOVERY in our AUSTRALASIAN COLONIES, Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, from the Earliest Date to the Present Day. By WILLIAM HOWITT. 2 vols. Svo. with 3 Maps, 20s. NOTES on BURGUNDY. By CHARLES RICHARD WELD. Edited by his Widow ; with Portrait and Memoir. Post Svo. 8s. Qd. The CAPITAL of the TYCOON ; a Narrative of a Three Years' Resi- dence in Japan. By Sir RUTHERFORD ALCOCZ, K.C.B. 2 vols. Svo, with numerous Illustrations, 42s. The DOLOMITE MOUNTAINS ; Excursions through Tyrol, Carinthia, Carniola, and Friuli, 1861-1863. By J. GILBERT and G. C. CHURCHILL, F.R.G.S. With numerous Illustrations. Square crown 8ro. 21s. GUIDE to the PYRENEES, for the use of Mountaineers. By CHARLES PACKE. 2nd Edition, with Map and Illustrations. Cr. Svo. 7s. Gd. The ALPINE GUIDE. By JOHN BALL, M.R.I.A. late President of the Alpine Club. Thoroughly Revised Editions, in Three Volumes, post Svo. with Maps and other Illustrations:— GUIDE to the WESTERN ALPS, including Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa, Zermatt, &c. Price 6s. Qd. GUIDE to the CENTRAL ALPS, including all the Oberland District. 7s. Qd. GUIDE to the EASTERN ALPS, price 10s, 6d Introduction on Alpine Travelling in General, and on the Geology of the Alps, price Is. Each of the Three Volumes or Parts of the Alpine Guide may be had with this INTRODUCTION prefixed, price Is. extra. The HIGH ALPS WITHOUT GUIDES, By the Rev. A. G. GIRDLE- STONE, M.A. late Demy in Natural Science, Magdalen College, Oxford. With Frontispiece and 2 Maps. Square crown Svo. price 7s. Gd. MEMORIALS of LONDON and LONDON LIFE in the 13th, 14th, an d 15th Centuries ; being a Series of Extracts, Local, Social, and Political, from the Archives of the City of London, A.D. 1276-1419. Selected, translated, and edited by H. T. RILEY, M.A. Royal Svo. 21s. COMMENTARIES on the HISTORY, CONSTITUTION, and CHAR- TERED FRANCHISES of the CITY of LONDON. By GEOEGE NORTON, formerly one of the Common Pleaders of the City of London. Third Edition. Svo. 14s. «ji NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS AND CO. The NORTHERN HEIGHTS of LONDON ; or, Historical Associations of Hampstearl, Highjrate, Muswcll Hill, Hornsey, and Islington. By WILLIAM HOWITT. With ab'»ut 40 Woodcuts. Square crown Svo. 21*. VISITS to REMARKABLE PLACES: Old Halls, Battle- Fields, and Stones Illustrative of Striking Passages in English History and Poetry. By WILLIAM HOWITT. 2 vols. square crown Svo. with Woodcuts, 25s. The RURAL LIFE of ENGLAND. By the same Author. With Wooflo.nls by Bewick and Williams. Medium Svo. 12s. Gd. ROMA SOTTERRANEA ; or, an Account of the Roman Catacombs, especially of the Cemetery of San Callisto. Compiled fr>m the Works of Comwudatore &• fi- DE Rossi by the llev. T. S. NORTHCOTE, D.D. and the Rov. W. B. BROWNLOW. With numerous Illustrations. Svo. 31s. 6d. PILGRIMAGES in the PYRENEES and LANDES. By DENYSSIIYNE LAWLOR. Crown Svo. with Frontispiece and Vignette, price 15s. The GERMAN WORKING MAN; being an Account of the Daily Life Amusements, and Umons for Culture and Material Progress of the Artisans of North and S >uth Germany and Switzerland. By JAMEB SAMUELSON. Crown Svo. with Frontispiece, 3s. Cd. Works of Fiction. LOTHAIR. By the Right Hon. B. DISRAELI, M.P. Fourth Edition. 3 vols. post Svo. price 31s. Gd. Ndsse omnia hsec, salus est adolescentulis.— TEEENTIUS. NO APPEAL; a Novel. By the Author of < Cut down like Grass.' 3 vols. post Svo. price 31s. Gd. The MODERN NOVELIST'S LIBRARY. Each Work, in crown Svo. complete in a Single Volume :— MELVfLLE's GLADIATORS. 2s. boards; 2s. Gd. cloth. HOLMBY HOUSE. 2s. boards ; 2*. Gd. cloth. INTERPRETER. 2s. boards; 2-s. Gd. cloth. TROLLOPR'S WARDEN, is. Qd. hoards; 2s. cloth. BARCHESTER TOWERS, 2s. boards • 2s. Gd. rloth. BRAMLEY-MOORE'S Six SISTERS OP THE VALLEYS, 2s. boards ; 2s. Gd. cloth. THREE WEDDINGS. By the Author of * Dorothy,' « De Cressy/ &c. Pep. Svo. price 5s. STORIES and TALES by ELIZABETH M SEWELL, Author of * Amy Herbert,' uniform Edition, each Story or Tale complete in a single Volume : AMY HERBERT, 2s.6cZ. GERTRUDE, 2s. 6c/. KARL'S DAUGHTER, 2s. Gd. EXPERIENCE OF LIFE, 2s. Gd. CLEVE HALL, 3s. Gd. IVORS, 3s. Gd. KATHARINE ASTTTON, 3s. Qd. MAROARET PERCIVAL, 5s. LANETON PA RSONAGE, 4s. Gd. URSULA, 4s. Gd. A Glimpse of the World. By the Author of 'Am) Herbert.' Fcp. 7*. 6rf. The Journal of a Home Life. By the same Author. Post 8vo. 9s. Qd. After Life ; a Sequel to < The Journal of a Home Life/ Price 10s. Qd. UNCLE PETER'S FAIRY TALE for the XIX CENTURY. Edited by E. M. SEWELL, Author of ' Amy Herbert,' &o. Fcp. Svo. 7s. Gd. VIKRAM and the VAMPIRE; or, Talcs of Hindu Devilry. Adapted by RICHARD F. BURTOIT, F.R.G.S. &c. With 33 Illustrations by Ernest Griset. Crown Svo. Os. NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS AND CO. 25 THROUGH the NIGHT ; a Tale of the Times. To which is added ' Onward, or a Summer Sketch.' By WALTER SWEETMAN, B.A. 2 vols. post 8vo. 21s. BECKER'S GALLUS ; or, Roman Scenes of the Time of Augustus : with Notes and Excursuses. New Edition. Post 8vo. 7s. Gd. BECKER'S CHARICLES; a Tale illustrative of Private Life among the Ancient Greeks : with Notes and Excursuses. New Edition. Post 8vo. 7s. Gd, NOVELS and TALES by G. J. WHTTB MELVILLE :— The GLADIATORS, £s. DTGBY GRAND, 5s. KATE COVENTRY, 5s. GENERAL BOUNCE, 5s. HOLMBY HOUSE, 5s. GOOD for NOTHING, 6s. The QUEEN'S MARIES, 6s. The INTERPRETER, 5s. TALES of ANCIENT GREECE, By GEORGE W. Cox, M.A. late Scholar of Trin. Coll. Oxon. Being H Collective Edition of the Author's Classical Stories and Tales, complete in One Volume. Crown 8vo. 6s. Gd. A MANUAL of MYTHOLOGY, in the form of Question and Answer, By the same Author. Pep. 3s. OUR CHILDREN'S STORY, by one of their Gossips. Bv- the Author of 'Voyage en Zigzag,' 'Pictures in Tyrol/ &c. Small 4to. with^Sixtv. Illus- trations by the Author, price 10s, Gd. Poetry and The Drama. THOMAS MOORE'S POETICAL WORKS, the only Editions contain- ing the Author's last Copyright Additions :— CABINET EDITION, 10 vols. fcp. 8vo. price 35s. SHAMROCK EDITION, crown 8vo. price 3s. Gd. RUBY EDITION, crown 8vo. with Portrait, price 6s. LIBRARY EDITION, medium 8vo. Portrait and Vignette, 14s. PEOPLE'S EDITION, square crown Svo. with Portrait, &c. 10s. Gd. MOORE'S IRISH MELODIES, Maclise's Edition, with 161 Steel Plates from Original Drawings. Super-royal Svo. 31s. Gd. Miniature Edition of Moore's Irish Melodies with Maclise's De- signs (as above) reduced in Lithography. Imp. 16mo. 10s. Gd. MOORE'S LALLA ROOKH. Tenniel's Edition, with 68 Wood Engravings from original Drawings and other Illustrations. Pep. 4to. 21s. SOTJTHEY'S POETICAL WORKS, with the Author's last Corrections and copyright Additions. Library Edition, in 1 vol. medium Svo. with Portrait and Vignette, 14s. LAYS of ANCIENT ROME ; with Ivry and the Armada. By the Right Hon. LORD MACAULAY. 16mo. 4s. Gd. Lord Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome. With 90 Illustrations on- Wood, from the Antique, from Drawings by G. SCHARF. Pep. 4to. 21s. Miniature Edition of Lord Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome, with the Illustrations (as above) reduced in Lithography. Imp. 16mo.lOs.6ha , Peter., 21 BURKE'S Vicissitudes of Families 5 BURTON'S Christian Church 4 Vikram and the Vampire 21 Cabinet Lawyer ........................... CAL VERT'S "Wife's Manual .................. CATES'S Biographical Dictionary .......... CATS' and FARLIE'S Moral Emblems ...... Changed Aspects of Unchanged Truths .... CHESNEY'S Euphrates Expedition .......... --- Indian Polity .................. - --- Waterloo Campaign ............ CHILD'S Physiologic- 1 K>s:1ys .............. Chorale Book for England .................. CLOUGH'S Lives from Plutarch ............ COBBE'S Norman Kings of England ........ COLENSO (Bishop) on Pentateuch and Book of Joshua .................................. Commonplace Philosopher in Town and Country .................................. CONINGTON'S Chemical Analysis .......... --- Translation of VIRGIL'S ...................... CONTANSEAU'sFrench-English Dictionaries CONYBEARE and HOWSON'S Work on St. Paul ...................................... COOK on the Acts .......................... COOK'S Voyages ............................ COOPER'S Surgical Dictionary .............. COPLAND'S Dictionary of Practical Medicine COTTON'S Introduction to Confirmation ---- COULTHART'S Decimal Interest Tables ____ Counsel and Comfort from a City Pulpit. . . . Cox'S Aryan Mythology .................... - Manual of Mythology ........ ........ - Tale of the Great Persian War ...... - Tales of Ancient Greece .............. CRESY'S Encyclopaedia of Civil Engineering Critical Essays of a Country Parson ........ CROWE'S History of France ................ CULLEY'S Handbook of Telegraphy ........ CUSACK'S History of Ireland ................ D'AUBI ONE'S History of the Reformation in the time of CALVIN .................... DAVIDSON'S Introduction to New Testament Dead Shot ( The), by MARKSMAN .......... DE LA RIVE'S Treatise on Electricity ...... DENTSON'B Vice-Regal Life ................ DE TOCQUEVILLK'S Democracy in America DISRAELI'S Lothair ........................ DOKELL'S Reports on the Progress of Medi- cine ........................................ DOB.SON on the Ox .......................... DOVE on Storms ............................ DOYLE'S Fairyland ........................ DYER'S City of Rome ...................... EASTLAKE'S Life of Gibson 16 Hints on Household Taste .... 17 History of Oil Painting. 16 30 NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS AND CO. EDMUNDS'S Names of Places EDWARDS'S Shipmaster's Guide Elements of Botany ELLICOTT on the Revision of the English New Testament „ 's Commentary on Ephesians .... Commentary on Galatians .... . Pastoral Epist. Philippians,&c. - Thessalonians - Lectures on the Life of Christ. . 19 Essays and Contributions of A. K. H. B E WARD'S History of Israel FAIRBAIRN on Iron Shipbuilding 'S Applications of Iron Information for Engineers . . Mills and Millwork FARADAY'S Life and Letters FARRAR'S Families of Speech Chapters on Language FELKIN on Hosiery and Lace Manufactures FENNELL'S Book of the Roach FFOULKES'S Christendom's Divisions FlTZV.'YGRAM on Horses and Stables Five Years in a Protestant Sisterhood ...... FORBES'S Earls of Granard FOWLER'S Collieries and Colliers FRANCIS'S Fishing Book FRESHFIELD'S Travels in the Caucasus FEOUDE'S History of England Short Studies on Great Subjects GANOT'S Elementary Physics GILBERT'S Cadore, or Titian's Country .... GILBERT and CHURCHILL'S Dolomites — GlRDLESTONE's High Alps without Guides GOLDSMITH'S Poems, Illustrated GOULD'S Silver Store GRAHAM'S Book about Words GRANT'S Home Politics Ethics of Aristotle Graver Thoughts of a Country Parson GRAY'S Anatomy GREENHOW on Bronchitis GROVE on Correlation of Physical Forces .. GURNEY'S Chapters of French History .... GWILT'S Encyclopaedia of Architecture 17 HARE on Election of Representatives 7 HABTWIG'S Harmonies of Nature 13 Polar World 13 Sea and its Living Wonders . . 13 Tropical World 13 HAUGHTON'S Manual of Geology 12 HAWKER'S In struct ion s to Young Sportsmen 26 HERSCHEL'S Outlines of Astronomy 11 HEWITT on Diseases of Women 14 HODGSON'S Theory of Practice 10 Time and Space 10 HOLMES'S System of Surgery 14 — Surgical Diseases of Infancy .... 14 HOOKER and WALKER-ARNOTT'S British Flora 13 HOBNE'8 Introduction to the Scriptures. . . . 20 Compendium of ditto 20 How we Spent the Summer 22 HOWARD'S Gymnastic Exercises 15 HOWITT'S Australian Discovery 23 Northern Heights of London. . . . 24 Rural Life of England 24 Visits to Remarkable Places. ... 24 Ilri'.M it's Memoir of Sixtus V 2 11 ri.ii i.s's (W.) Manual of Geography .... 11 HUME'S Essays 10 Treatise on Human Nature 10 HUMPHREY'S Sentiments of Shakspeare. ... 16 IHNE'S Roman History 3 INGELOW'S Poems 25 Story of Doom 26 Mopsa 26 JAMESON'S Saints and Martyrs 17 Legends of the Madonna 17 Monastic Orders 17 JAMESON and EASTLAKE'S History of Our Lord 17 JOHNSTON'S Geographical Dictionary 11 JUKES on Second Death 21 on Types of Genesis 21 KALISCH'S Commentary on the Bible 7 Hebrew Grammar 8 KEITH on Fulfilment of Prophecy 20 Destiny of the World 20 KERL'S Metallurgy by CROOKES and ROHRIG 18 KESTEVEN'S Domestic Medicine 15 KIRBY and SPENCE'S Entomology 13 LANDON'S (L.E.L.) Poetical Works LATHAM'S English Dictionary River Plate , LAWLOR'S Pilgrimages in the Pyrenees LECKY'S History of European Morals Rationalism Leisure Hours in Town LESLIE on Land Systems Lessons of Middle Age LETHEBY on Food LEWES' History of Philosophy LEWIS'S Letters LIDDELL and SCOTT'S Greek-English Lexi- con and Abridgment Life of Man Symbolised Life of Margaret M. Hallahan LlNDLEY and MOORE'S Treasury of Botany LINDSAY'S Evidence for the Papacy LONGMAN'S Edward the Third Lectures on the History of Eng- land Chess Openings Lord's Prayer Illustrated LOUDON'S Agriculture Gardening . Plants LOWNDES'S Engineer's Handbook LUBBOCK on Origin of Civilisation Lyra Eucharistica Germanica 16, Messianica Mystica MACAULAY'S (Lord) Essays 3 History of England .. 1 Lays of Ancient Rome 25 • MiscellaneousWritings 9 Speeches 7 -Complete Works 1 MACFARREN'S Lectures on Harmony 18 MACLEOD'S Elements of Political Economy 7 - Dictionary of Political Eco- nomy 7 Elements of Banking 27 — : Theory and Practice of Banking 27 McCULLOCH's Dictionary of Commerce. ... 27 Geographical Dictionary .. II MAGUIRE'S Life of Father Mathew 5 MANNING'S England and Christendom .... 21 MARCET on the Larynx . NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS AND CO/, 31 MARSHALL'S Physiology MARSHMAN'S Life of Havelock History of India MARTINEAU'S Endeavours after the Chris- tian Life MASSEY'S History of England MASSIXGRERD'S History of the Reformation MATHESON'S England to Delhi MAUNDER'S Biographical Treasury Geographical Treasury Historical Treasury Scientific and Literary Trea- sury — Treasury of Knowledge Treasury of Natural History MAURY'S Physical Geography MAY'S Constitutional History of England.. MELVILLE'S Digby Grand General Bounce Gladiators Good for Nothing Holmby House Interpreter Kate Coventry . - Queen's Maries Memoir of Bishop COTTON MENDELSSOHN'S Letters MERIVALE'S (H.) Historical Studies (C.) Fall of the Roman Re- public Romans under the Empire MERRIFIEL D and E VER'S Navigation MILES on Horse's Foot and Horseshoeing . . Horses' Teeth and Stables MILL (J.) on the Mind MlLL(J. S.) on Liberty on Representative Government on Utilitarianism MILL'S (J. S.) Dissertations and Discussions Political Economy SystemofLogic — . Hamilton's Philosophy Inaugural Address England and Ireland Subjection of Women MILLER'S Elements of Chemistry Hymn- Writers MITCHELL'S Manual of Assaying MONSELL'S Beatitudes:.., His Presence not his Memory 4 Spiritual Songs ' MOORE'S Irish Melodies , Lalla Rookh Poetical Works Power of the Soul over the Body MORELL'S Elements of Psychology Mental Philosophy MULLER'S (MAX) Chips from a German Workshop Lectures on the Science of Language (K. O.) Literature of Ancient Greece MURCHISON on Liver Complaints MURE'S Language and Literature of Greece New Testament, Illustrated Edition 16 NEWMAN'S History of his Religious Opinions 5 NIGHTINGALE'S Notes on Hospitals 28 NILSSON'S Scandinavia 12 No Appeal 24 NORTHCOTE'S Sanctuaries of the Madonna 20 NORTHCOTT'S Lathes and Turning 17 NORTON'S City of London 23 ODLING'S Animal Chemistry 14 Course of Practical Chemistry.. 14 ODLING'S Manual of Chemistry 13 Lectures on Carbon 14 Outlines of Chemistry 14 Our Children's Story 25 OWEN'S Lectures on the Invertebrate Ani- mals 12 Comparative Anatomy and Physio- logy of Vertebrated Animals 12 PACKE'S Guide to the Pyrenees 23 PAGET'S Lectures on Surgical Pathology . . 14 PEREIRA'S Manual of Materia Medica .... 15 PERKIN'S Italian and Tuscan Sculptors.... 17 PEWTNER'S Comprehensive Specifier 28 PHILLIPS'S Guide to Geology 12 Pictures in Tyrol 22 PlESSE'S Art of Perfumery 18 Natural Magic 18 PRATT'S Law of Building Societies 28 PRENDERGAST'S Mastery of Languages. . . . 8 PRESCOTT'S Scripture Difficulties 20 PROCTOR on Plurality of Worlds 11 Saturn and its System 11 Recreations of a Country Parson 8 REICHEL'S Seeof Rome 20 REILY'S Map of Mont Blanc 23 REIMANN on Aniline Dyes 15 REYNOLDS' Glaphyra, and other Poems . . 26 RILEY'S Memorials of London 23 RIVERS' Rose Amateur's Guide 13 ROBBIN'S Cavalry Catechism 27 ROGER'S Correspondence of Greyson 9 Eclipse of Faith 9 Defence of ditto 9 E ssays from the Edinburgh Review 9 Reason and Faith 9 ROGET'S English Words and Phrases 7 Roma Sotteranea 24 RONALD'S Fly-Fisher's Entomology 26 ROSE'S Ignatius Loyola 2 ROWTON'S Debater 7 RULE'S Karaite Jews 20 RUSSELL'S (Earl) Speeches and Despatches 1 on Government and Constitution 1 SANDAR'S Justinian's Institutes 6 SAMUELSON'S German Working Man 24 SCHEFFLER on Ocular Defects and Spectacles 15 SCOTT'S Lectures on the Fine Arts 16 AlbertDurer 16 SEEBOHM'S Oxford Reformers of 1498 2 SEWELL'S After Life 24 Amy Herbert 24 CleveHall 24 Earl's Daughter 24 Examination for Confirmation . . 21 Experience of Life 24 Gertrude 24 Glimpse of the World 24 History of the Early Church.... 24 Ivors 24 Journal of a Home Life 24 Katharine Ashton 24 Laneton Parsonage 24 Margaret Percival 24 Passing Thoughts on Religion . . 21 Preparations for Communion .... 21 Principles of Education. 21 Readings for Confirmation 21 SEWELL'S Readings for Lent 21 Tales and Stories 24 Thoughts for the Age 21 Ursula 34 Thoughts for the Holy Week. ... 21 SEYMOUR'S Pioneering in the Pampas 23 SHAFTESBURY'S Characteristics 10 32 NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS AND CO. SHAKESPEARE'S Midsummer Night'sDream illustrated with Silhouttcs SHIPLEY'S Church and the World Invocation of Saints SHORT'S Church History SMART'S WALKER'S Pronouncing Diction- ary 8 SMITH'S (A. C.) Tour in Portugal 22 (Southwood) Philosophy uf Health "3 (J.) Paul's Voyage and Shipwreck 19 (SYDNEY) Miscellaneous Works.. 9 Wit and Wisdom 9 Life and Letters 4 SOUTHEY'S Doctor i Poetical Works 25 STANLEY'S History of British Birds 12 STEBWNG'S Analysis of MILL'S Logic ...... 6 STEPHEN'S Essays in Ecclesiastical Bio- graphy 5 STIRLING'S Secret of Hegel 10 STONEHENGE on the Dog 27 on the Greyhound 27 STRICKLAND'S Tudor Princesses 5 Queens of England 5 Strong and Free 10 Sunday Afternoons at the Parish Church of a Scottish University City (St. Andrews). . 9 SWEETMAN'S Through the Night, and Onward 24 TAYLOR'S History of India 3 (Jeremy) Works, edited by EDEN 22 THIRL WALL'S History of Greece 2 THOMPSON'S ( Archbishop) Laws of Thought 7 (A. T.) Conspectus : 15 Paraguayan War 23 Three Weddings 24 TODD (A.) on Parliamentary Government 1 TODD and BOWMAN'S Anatomy and Phy- siology of Man 15 TRENCH'S Polities of Irish Life 3 TBOLLOPE'S Barcheater Towers 24 Warden 24 TwiSS's Law of Nations 27 TYNDALLon Diamairnetism 12 Heat.:. 11 Round 12 Faraday as a Discoverer 4 TYNDALL'S Lectures on Light 12 UNCLE PETER'S Fairy Tale 2i URE'S Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines 17 VAN DER HOEVEN'S Handbook of Zoology 1 2 WARBTJRTON'S Hunting Songs WATSON'S Principles and Practice of Physic W.VITS'S Dictionary of Chemistry WEEK'S Objects for Common Telescopes . . WEBSTER and WILKINSON'S Greek Testa- ment WELD'S Notes on Burgundy WELLINGTON'S Life, by the Rev. G. R. GLEIG WEST on Children's Diseases WIIATELY'S English Synonymes Logic Rhetoric WHATELY on a Future State .............. --- Religious Worship .......... ___ Truth of Christianity ........ Whist, what to lead, by CAM ................ WHITE and RIDDLE'S Latin-English Dic- tionaries .................................. WILCOCK'S Sea Fisherman .................. WiLLlAMS'S Aristotle's Ethics ............ ___ History of Wales ............ WILLIAMS on Climate of South of France --- Consumption ................ WILLIS'S Principles of Mechanism ........ WlNSLOW on Light ........................ WOOD'S Bible Animals .................... - Homes without Hands ..... ., ..... WOODWARD'S Historical and Chronological Encyclopaedia ............................ 4 YEO'S Manual of Zoology .................. YONGE'S English-Greek Lexicons .......... -- Editions of Horace ................ YOU ATT on the Dog ........................ -- on the Horse ...................... ZELLER'S Socrates .......................... 6 - Stoics, Epicureans, and Sceptics.. & LONDON: PRINTED BY 8POTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE AND PARLIAMENT STREET UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. LD 21-95m-ll,'50 (2877sl 0)476 YA 01347