ordering.

February and March.

1. The Red Spinner.—Body, brown silk, ribbed with fine gold twist; tail, two fibres of a red cock's hackle; wings, of some transparent brown feather.

2. March Brown, or Brown Drake.—This, like the other drakes, is a great favourite with trout in its season, which is during March and April, and it may also be used in the autumn. Body, orange-coloured silk or deep straw colour, on which wind fur 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. Rib with gold twist for your tail fly, and let the droppers be without any twist.

The above is "Ephemera's" way of making it, but Mr. Ronalds says: "Body, fur of the hare's face ribbed over with olive silk and tied with brown silk; tail, two strands of a partridge's feather; wings, feather of the pheasant's wing; legs, a feather from the back of a partridge."

3. Blue Dun.—Body, of the hare's ear, dark and yellow part mixed with a little yellow mohair, the whole to be spun on yellow silk; wings, from a feather of the starling's wing stained in onion dye; tail, two whiskers of a rabbit; legs, to be picked out of the dubbing at the thick part near the wings.

4. Alder Fly.—Body, dark claret-coloured fur; upper wings, red fibre of the landrail's wing, or red tail feather of the partridge; lower wings, of the starling's wing feather; legs, dark red hackle; horns and tail, of fibres the colour of the legs, the horns to be shorter than the body of the fly, but the tail a little longer.

5. Hofland's Fancy.—Body, reddish dark brown silk; wings, woodcock's wing; legs, red hackle; tail, two strands of a red hackle.

April.

6. Stone Fly.—Body, fur from hare's ear mixed with yellow worsted and spun on yellow silk; tail, two strands of partridge feather; wings, pheasant's quill feather from wings; legs, greenish brown hackle.

7. Grannum, or Green-Tail.—"Ephemera" says: "The grannum is a four-winged fly, and as it swims down the water its wings lie flat on the back. It has a small bunch of eggs of a green colour at the tail end of the body, which gives it the name of the green-tail fly. As soon as it alights on the water it drops its eggs." It is dressed as follows:—

Body, fur of hare's face left rough and spun on brown silk. A little green floss silk may be worked in at the tail, to represent the bunch of eggs there. Wings, feather from that of the partridge, and made very full; legs, a pale ginger hen's hackle. Made buzz with a feather from the back of a partridge's neck, wound upon the above body.

8. Wickham's Fancy.—Wings, light starling; body, flat gold ribbed with fine gold wire; hackle and whisk, bright red gamecock. This is one of the best general flies, and is a standing favourite in the south of England; and I have it on the authority of the late John Hammond that he made it under the direction of Dr. Wickham, of Winchester—hence its name.

May and June.

9. Oak Fly, or Down-Looker.—It is generally found on the trunks of oak trees by the river-side, with its head pointing downwards, and is a very useful fly.

"Ephemera" recommends it to be dressed 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 to be made of the wing feather of a young partridge or hen pheasant. To be tipped with pale gold twist."

10. Sedge.—Wings, wing of landrail; body, white floss silk ribbed with silver wire; hackle, ginger cock's hackle down the body.

11. The May-fly, or Green Drake, is not only a very beautiful fly, but one of the most captivating that is used, and, as I have stated elsewhere, it requires special manipulation. On a windy dull day, in the middle of the May-fly season, when there are not many natural flies out, it will very soon fill the basket, particularly if the water is turbulent. "Ephemera" says: "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 rare occasions, the artificial May-fly is not a deadly bait." My experience has been the very contrary of this. Whether it is from the fly-tiers having succeeded in imitating the natural fly since "Ephemera" wrote, or not, I do not know, but I have before me two specimens tied by Mrs. Ogden that I make no doubt would bring me ten or a dozen brace of trout on a good day in the season. May-flies are often made with cork bodies, but I am not partial to them, for the same objection which applies generally to floating flies, viz.: that trout find they have something hard and unnatural in their mouths, and immediately reject it. On a dry bright day use it as a dry fly, but on a very wet or windy day fish with it a few inches under the surface, and, as Walton says, you will have "store of trouts." On one occasion last season I caught ten brace of trout with one May-fly obtained of Messrs. Alfred and Son, and have it by me now, but there is not a vestige of wing left, all having been bitten off. Mr. Ronalds recommends it to be dressed as follows: "Body, the middle part of a pale straw-coloured floss silk, ribbed with silver twist; extremities (head and tail), brown peacock's harl, tied with light brown silk thread; tail, three rabbit's whiskers; wings and legs, made buzz with a mottled feather of the mallard, stained olive." Instead of the bodies being made of straw-coloured silk they are now frequently made of strips of wheat straw.

12. Grey Drake.—This is said to be a metamorphosis of the green drake, or female changing to a male. Dress it thus: Body, the middle part of white floss silk, ribbed over neatly with silver twist; extremities, brown peacock's harl; wings and legs made buzz with a mottled feather of the mallard, stained a faint purple; legs, three rabbit's whiskers.

13. 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. Mr. Blaine remarks: "Throughout the summer months, as an early evening fly, and until twilight, it proves most valuable in the midland counties, and the bordering ones within eighty miles of London. On the Colne, and throughout its course, in the Hampshire, Dorsetshire, and Devonshire waters, where we have been for many years in the habit of using it, in our opinion there is no fly to at all equal it."

14. Black Palmer.—Body, black ostrich harl, ribbed with gold twist, black cock's hackle wound over the whole.

15. Red Palmer.—Body, dark red-coloured mohair, with a richly-tinted red fur intermixed, to be ribbed with gold or silver twist; legs, a blood-red cock's hackle. Or, body, a peacock harl with a red cock's hackle wrapped over it, and tied with dark brown silk thread.

I have used the Red Palmer in all weathers and seasons for nearly fifty years, and believe it to be the best general fly there is, although, strictly speaking, not a fly, but an imitation of the caterpillar, or larva of the tiger moth. Having had such success with it I have adopted its name as my nom de plume, and as the title of this little book.

July.

16. Coch-y-bonddhu.—Body, black