necessarily confined to the bottom for their food, and that, no doubt, is the particular place at which it can be found — the different species being of course led by instinct to select the proper and peculiar materials for their habitations. "Professor Rennie," says a writer in the Saturday Magazine, "made repeated experiments with the larvæ of the phryganidæ, in order to ascertain their mode of building. He deprived them of their coverings, and furnished them with materials for constructing new ones. He found that they worked at first in a very clumsy manner-attaching with threads of silk a great number of chips to whatever materials were within their reach, and thus surrounding themselves with materials, many of which are never used in the perfect building. Unskilful as their efforts may at first appear, there is much wisdom in this aggregation of all the substances within their reach before their dwelling is actually commenced; for when these preparations are completed, they are able to devote their whole attention to the building, and to select the requisite materials from the heap close at hand."

The larvæ feed principally on tender aquatic plants, but some species are carnivorous—preying on smaller insects, even of their own kind. Taken

out of their cases, the larvæ are often used as bait For trout and other fish. Their cases are open at each extremity, and when feeding or crawling they expose their head and legs, which are instantly withdrawn on the slightest alarm, and their hinder parts are furnished with two hooklike appendages, with which they are attached to their cases, and thus can draw them along as a snail does its shell.

After having passed sufficient time in the larva state to arrive at the proper degree of maturity, the insect fastens its case to the stem of some water plant, or other substance, and, closing it at each extremity with a kind of grating, through which the water necessary for respiration flows, it turns to an inactive pupa, which is a further step towards its perfect state, the rudiments of which, indeed, now become clearly perceptible. In a few days it issues from its outer case, rises to the surface of the water, and, bursting its pupa skin, appears in its last and perfect form of a beautiful fly.

The time at which this class of flies appears on the water depends on the temperature of the season. If it be mild, the sand fly will be seen in the end of March. This fly is much more abundant on some rivers than on others, and its

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imitation is more or less used in these different localities.* Bainbridge, Ronalds, and some other writers, speak highly of its "killing" properties. As the season advances the phryganidæ appear only in the mornings and evenings; and in the height of summer, during the night only,— thus approximating to moths in their habits as well as conformation. The grannam, which is also called the green tail, from the colour of the bag of eggs in the female, first appears in April, and may be seen flitting, in infinite numbers, about the sides of the stream, and among the bushes on its banks. In warm weather during May and June, the angler should be at work by sunrise, for he will find the fish disposed for early breakfast on the grannams and other flies which sol's first beams bring into existence; and, as the summer advances, he may expect the fish to be more inclined for their winged feast at daybreak, and in the "shades of evening," than during the heat and lassitude of the day. The male grannam is called the hare's flax, and is not, of course, in possession of the green caudal appendage of the female.

Careful and complete instructions for dressing the various flies mentioned here and elsewhere in this work, and lists of the proper materials for the purpose, will be found in subsequent chapters.

The cinnamon fly, of which there are several varieties, comes on the water in August. It much resembles the sand fly of April.

The family Ephemerida comprises a tribe of insects very different in their appearance and habits from the phryganidæ already described. Their antennæ, or feelers, are very small, and their wings which, in the smaller species, are very delicate and nearly transparent stand erect on their backs, like those of the butterfly. They have two pairs of wings, the hindermost of which is very much smaller than the anterior pair. Their bodies are soft, small, and elongated, and from their extremity proceed two (in a few species three) long hair-like filaments, called Setæ, or, in less scientific language, tails, or whisks. The ephemeridæ, in their perfect state, are the most short lived of insects-hence their name. Their longest life extends but to a few hours; some species to only a few minutes. In the boxes of naturalists, however, they have been kept alive for more than ten days, but, as Mr. Westwood remarks, "there can be no doubt that had these individuals been at large and capable of pursuing their natural habits, their existence would have been as short as that of their companions."

The female lays her eggs on the surface of the

water, and, sinking to the bottom, they are soon hatched. Although the life of the insect, in its perfect state, is so very short, such is by no means the case in the larval stage of its existence. In some species two or three years elapse between the hatching of the egg and the appearance of the insect in the winged state. That time is passed at the bottom, where the insect undergoes various transmutations, each gradually fitting it for its brief existence in another element. Unlike the phryganidæ, these larvæ do not construct cases in which to take up their residence, but they hide themselves under stones and among the roots of plants sometimes collecting together in great numbers. Some excavate holes in the mud at the bottom and along the banks below the surface of the water. These retreats consist of two tunnels, each having an external opening, and connected inside at the extremity. The object of this contrivance is to allow free ingress and egress to the inmate. Were there but one straight perforation the insect would be obliged to turn itself quite round to effect its object, which would be attended with great inconvenience, from the diameter of the tunnel being little larger than that of its own body. The burrowing kinds seldom quit their retreats, but the others range about very actively,