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Jeu de Paume de Versailles

Charles Vatel (L.

Bernard, Versailles), 1883; Racquets, Tennis, and Squash, E. H. Miles, 1902.

TIGER (Felis tigris). - Habitat. The tiger is peculiar to Asia, but is not found in Ceylon, Afghanistan, Beluchistan, or Tibet.

It occurs in Northern Persia, Burma, Java, the Malay Peninsula, Central Asia, Siberia, Manchuria, and China, and is generally distributed throughout India in suitable localities. It has within living memory been shot in Sind, but is now extinct there, as well as in a great part of Western India, inlarger than the footprints of his twin sister. The period of gestation is stated to be fourteen or fifteen weeks, and I believe that more female cubs are born than males.

There is no particular season for breeding, but in India most cubs are born from December to June. Tigers are monogamous, in the sense that they consort with one female at a time, but it is doubtful whether they live with the same tigress for any lengthened period. Though tiger and tigress are often together in a beat, they are more usually found alone. While the cubs are young, the male is not with them, indeed it is said that he will devour them; but when well grown, an old male will frequently be found with the tigress and cubs, though whether he is their father, or the expectant father of the next batch, it is. difficult to say. A tigress seldom rears more than two cubs at a time. Occasionally they bring up three and still more rarely four. The late Major A. H. S. Neill, of the Central India Horse, told me he once cut out six unborn cubs from the body of a tigress that had been shot. The cubs stop with their mother till they are nearly, if not quite, full grown, and she is supposed not to breed again during this period, but I know of an instance of a tigress having cubs while her former family were still with her.

I once saw four old male tigers together, amongst the same mass of rocks, to which they had evidently been attracted by a tigress. When they were shot, it turned out, on a post-mortem examination of their stomachs, that two had the previous night killed and eaten a sambar, the third had eaten a bullock, while the fourth was quite empty: there were thus three different sets of tigers that had met. In the beat the two that had eaten the sambar came together, the others separately. The tigress was heard calling the same day, and was killed two days afterwards. I have several times seen fresh claw and tooth wounds on tigers, but this particular lot of four had not been fighting.

Dimensions.-Sportsmen are by no means agreed as to the length of tigers: [From a drawing by E. Caldwell.

TIGER. there are some who maintain that tigers attain the length of 12 feet or more; others, of whom the writer is one, say that Indian tigers over IO feet are very uncommon. In measuring, the tiger should be laid flat on its side and pulled out so as to lie as straight as possible. The tape should then be run from the tip of the nose over the head between the ears and along the backbone to the end of the tail, and it is allowable to follow any slight curve there may be of the body. It may confidently be asserted that the vast majority of tigers in the south of Bengal are under 9 feet 6 inches in length. Many are under 9 feet and not one in fifty is over IO feet. The tail usually measures a little less than a third of the total length. The skin of a IO-foot tiger will, when properly stretched and dried, measure 12 feet or thereabouts. The skin of a 12-foot tiger would be upwards [TIGER of 14 feet when stretched. Can any one produce the skin of an Indian tiger that measures so much, or even 13 feet? A very few inches in length makes a great difference in the bulk, weight, and general appearance of a tiger, and one of 9 feet 6 inches looks far larger than one of 9 feet.

The tigress measures from 8 feet 3 inches to 8 feet 9 inches; she is rarely over 9 feet, and occasionally a full-grown one may be a little under 8 feet. The skull of an old tiger is readily distinguishable from that of a young one. The older it gets, the more prominent is the ridge of bone that runs along the top of the brain-pan. In a young adult this is hardly noticeable; in a very old one it is prominent. In an old skull in my possession it is an inch in height.

The canine teeth are also a sure test of age. In the young adult they are hollow throughout and the base is open. In an aged animal the base gets completely closed, and the fang, so far as it protrudes from the gum, is almost solid.

The weight of tigers is not often taken, for the necessary appliances are too cumbrous to find a place in the equipment of most shikaris. The Maharaja of Cooch Behar, in a letter to the Asian in 1893, gave the weights of twelve tigers which varied from 445 lb. to 536 lb., the latter being the weight of a IO feet tiger. Another IO feet tiger weighed 453 lb.; a 10 feet 2 inches tiger weighed 445 lb.; two tigresses weighed 360 and 343 lb. respectively. No two tigers are marked alike; young tigers are handsomer than old ones; their colouring is more vivid and the stripes darker and closer together. A very old tiger has fewer stripes and these are more faintly marked. The rich tawny orange colour, too, becomes of a pale yellow.

Man-eaters.-Man-eaters are erroneously supposed to be old and worn-out tigers that are unable to catch their ordinary prey, and the legend runs that a human diet has the effect of making their skins mangy.

No doubt some old tigers, or those that have been partially disabled by a wound, take to man-eating, but many man-eaters are in the prime of life and have splendid coats. Man-eaters do not confine themselves entirely to human food, but prey on animals as well, and are not more dangerous than any other tiger to beat for. They develop wonderful cunning, and evade pursuit in an astonishing manner. The natives believe that the ghosts of his human victims ride on the man-eater's head, to point out danger; and in one instance where a shikari had been a victim they were convinced that it was useless to try to circumvent the animal, as the shikari's ghost was up to all the dodges.

TIGER] Methods of Seizing the Prey. - Opinions differ as to how a tiger seizes his prey, some alleging that he seizes by the throat, others by the back of the neck. My own view is that they usually seize by the throat, and occasionally by the nape of the neck. In the latter case the kill is of small height, such, for instance, as a pig. I only once remember seeing a bullock that had been seized by the back of the neck.

As might be expected, the throat is not always seized with mathematical accuracy.

The holes made by the fangs on one side may be found close under the ear, while on the other side the holes will be near the bottom of the jaw. of the carcase forty yards or more from where it lies, and eats most of all of what remains. He stops about in the neighbourhood for two or three more days, and does not trouble to hunt for some time, though, if he gets the chance, he will kill again.

Tigers will eat a dead animal they may find, although they have not killed it themselves.

Though this has been disputed, it is beyond doubt. They take readily to water, and are fond in hot weather of lying in shallow pools.

Trees will occasionally be seen clawed by a tiger to the height of ten feet or so. He rears himself against the tree, and draws his claws down through the bark, in order, A FINE SPECIMEN SHOT IN INDIA.

Tigers occasionally attack powerful animals. I know an instance of an old solitary bull bison (or gaur) killed by one, and I shot a solitary old bull buffalo that a few days previously had had a tiger on his hind-quarters; in this case the tiger's teeth had been fixed into the back near the tail; and the claws on each quarter. Tigers frequently kill the wild boar, and cases have occurred where both boar and tiger have been found dead together. A tiger, when he kills, seldom eats at the spot, but drags away the animal for some distance.

I do not think he ever lifts a heavy animal off the ground. He begins to eat at the hind quarters, and will often finish both hind legs of a bullock at one meal. The Indian bullock, however, is not a large animal. If there is good cover and water near, he will lie up all day close to the kill, but sometimes a tiger will go a long way from his kill to quite another jungle. The next night he returns and drags the remains it is said, to clean them, though I incline to think it is done in play.

Tiger-hunting.-When after tiger, it is usual to tie out bullocks or young buffaloes in several different directions within a radius of ten miles or so from camp.

These are visited in the early morning, and ne news of a kill (if there be one) should reach the camp by 9 a.m. The best time for the beat is in the heat of the day. If the kill is in cover, the vultures will not have found it; if visible to them they will have collected. If they are on the kill, the tiger is sure to have gone, for they do not venture to descend if the tiger is anywhere near, but patiently wait on the trees around.

The tiger sometimes kills a rash one that alights.

To arrange the beat properly is more than half the battle. The first thing to consider is the point for which the tiger is likely to make, for when moved he will not rush off aimlessly in any direction, but is sure to have some other resort, to which he will make his way, and he is more easily driven in this direction than in any other. The guns should therefore be placed on his presumed line of retreat. It is necessary to place stops on each side of the beat about seventy yards apart, so as to form a funnel, as it were, leading up to the gun. With a knowledge of the ground and the stops well placed, it is quite feasible to bring the tiger up to within twenty yards of a single gun, and that from a distance of half a mile or more. Of course, the more guns there are, the easier it becomes to bring the tiger within shot of one or other of them. The stops are men placed in trees, whose duty it is to remain silent as long as the tiger is taking the proper direction, but, should he attempt to pass through the line of stops, the stop he approaches gives two or three quiet taps with the back of his axe on the tree, which usually turn the tiger back; he may then try the other side, when, again hearing a tap, back he goes. Should, how ever, he persist in breaking out, the stops on the side through which he is going set up a perfect rattle of taps and shouts, which often sends him back with a roar. Sometimes he breaks through and escapes; but if all goes well he comes up to the gun, probably at a walk or a slow trot, stopping every now and again to listen to the beat, affording an easy shot. Should he have been turned by the stops nearest to the gun, he may pass at full gallop. The most difficult shot is when he comes full speed immediately under the tree in which the sportsman sits. As soon as the shot is fired, the shouts of the beaters redouble. They should then be quiet for a few minutes, so as to hear a whistle which the sportsman should blow, if the tiger is not dead, or has not passed him. If no whistle is sounded, they can safely come on and beat the jungle out. On no account should the beat be allowed to come on if the tiger has gone back, or is lying wounded between the gun and the beat. If the tiger is lying wounded beyond the gun, the beat should be stopped 150 yards from where one sits. No attempt should ever be made to beat out a wounded tiger, nor any beaters allowed to go near any jungle where he may be. Two or three men should have been placed in trees 200 yards behind, who will be able to give valuable information as to whether the tiger has gone on, or (as often happens when he is badly hit) laid down soon after passing the gun. When the beat is stopped, your head man will approach, and, standing far off, receive instructions in what direction he can safely come to you. Now comes the only dangerous part of tiger shootingtracking a wounded one on foot. One [TIGER a should wait half-an-hour before commencing to do so, as this gives the tiger an opportunity of expiring. Some advocate following up a wounded tiger with number of men in a close group immediately behind the gun, the idea being that a tiger will not charge home into a crowd. This is true enough, but at the first growl your group bolts. Personally I prefer three or four reliable men who will move on quietly with you. If a tiger has merely a flesh wound through the leg, or one that does not sicken nor partially disable him, he probably will not charge until he has been put up several times; he sees you long before you are near him, and moves quietly off, leaving a blood-stained patch where he has lain down. If shot through the stomach he is pretty sure to charge. As he sees you getting near where he is lying, he usually growls, the sound appearing to come from quite a different direction to the real spot.

He may move on, but if not he comes at you with a "wouf, wouf" at full speed, and it is then that accidents happen. Sometimes a tiger will charge from 100 yards, but more frequently he waits till one is quite close before he charges. It is very difficult to see a tiger in jungle before he moves.

Nine tigers out of ten are killed at the first shot, for they are usually fired at from a secure position at very close quarters.

When a tiger is shot at, he bolts forward in the direction in which his head points; and it is a safe rule, if on the ground, to let him pass you before firing, as he then goes straight on. If the shot knocks him down, he rolls about on the ground, and, if he is able to get up again, his head may be pointing in any direction and you may find yourself right in his path. This is one reason why the gun should always be posted on a tree or a rock if possible.

Another reason is that when one is ten feet or so off the ground, one has a much better view of the jungle and is also more out of the line of sight of the tiger. If one is on the ground in front of him, he will see the slightest movement and turn off. As a rule, they do not look upwards, but even in a tree a sudden motion may attract his attention, and I have seen a tiger that has been turned by stops standing and looking up into the trees before him as he came on.

Again, if two guns are posted on the ground the one that fires the shot is safe, but the other may be directly in the path of the wounded tiger bolting.

A comfortable seat in the tree is necessary for good shooting, as one may be an hour or more in position before the beat commences. A native charpoy or bedstead tied up makes a good one. Another, which is put up easily and with less noise, is a After E. Caldwell.

TIGER.

THE TATE LIBRARY, BRIXTON, S.W.

TIGER] piece of thick leather two feet square, in the middle of which is sewn a cushion of raw cotton covered with canvas. Eyelet holes are made in the edges, through which a rope is passed, leaving a long piece of rope four feet long at each corner, by which it can be tied to the branches. There is some art in tying it so as to be quite firm.

Here one can sit with the legs dangling until the beat commences, when the best attitude is to sit on the heels or kneel on one knee, so that one can wheel round to right or left as occasion may require. The beat itself is well supplied with tom-toms and other native musical instruments, and with the noise so made and with plenty of shouting and throwing of stones into the thick places as they advance, the tigerespecially if he is being beaten in the right direction-will come on a long way in front of the beaters. Sometimes it is advisable to have a silent beat, that is, the beaters do not shout, but merely tap the trees as they walk through the jungle. This plan is adopted for the first beat, if the jungle behind the guns is to be afterwards beaten.

One great secret of successful shooting is to remember that one is not bound to fire at a tiger the moment one sees him. If he is going so as to pass one within ten yards, it is a mistake to fire at him fifty yards off.

Should he be heading so as to pass closer to another gun, the rule is that you must leave him to the other gun. A shot through the lungs is fatal in a few seconds. A tiger so shot with a 500 Express, the weapon always used by the writer, seldom drops on the spot, but gallops 100 yards or so, stops, falls over, and expires with a growl or two. When shot through the liver, they go rather farther before dropping.

Tigers generally roar when hit, and often turn to bite the wound. Even when missed they often roar to the shot. If you are tracking a wounded tiger and take the track more than 300 yards you may be certain that the wound is not one that will be speedily fatal.

In hilly, rocky ground tigers are very fond of lying up in caves. A cave, however, is not a large opening that can be walked into, but consists of one or more narrow tunnels barely sufficient to let the tiger through into a mass of rocks piled over each other. Somewhere inside, no doubt, there is more room, and hither the tiger, panther, and bear retreat out of the heat.

The best way to start him out is to collect the beaters on the top of the rocks, usually at the summit of a hill. At a given signal tremendous yells, beating of tom-toms and other noises burst forth, and out darts the tiger with a roar. But sometimes he refuses to move, and in that case you can look into the different holes and crevices in the rocks; if he is to be seen, his two eyes glowing like lamps are plainly plainly visible in the darkness. A curious effect is produced by his winking, as the two shining eyes are for a moment extinguished. The bullet should be placed about an inch above the eyes. He is generally, however, out of sight, and as a last resource an attempt may be made to smoke him out by filling one of the entrances with grass and firing it, but I have never myself found this to answer.

The gun should be placed at least 200 yards from the cave, to give the tiger time to subside into a walk, for he always comes SUMATRAN TIGER. out fast at first. Should a tiger go into a cave in the course of a beat he will never be driven out of it, if the cave is of any extent.

Sometimes accidents happen with an unwounded tiger; if he breaks back through the beat he may maul some one on the way.

The cause of his so doing is that he is being driven in a direction away from the point for which he wishes to make, or, if he is often turned by stops, he gets suspicious, lies up, and charges the beat when it gets near. a An elephant is sometimes used to follow up wounded tiger. In Bengal and Northern India tiger-shooting is always carried on with the aid of elephants, the long grass rendering their use a necessity.

The beat is composed of a line of elephants, on some of which the guns are seated in howdahs. One or more guns seated on elephants may be posted in advance of the general line of beat to intercept the tiger making off, but, as a rule, the shots are fired from the advancing line. A good shikari elephant will neither run away from, nor attack a tiger, but stand still even if the tiger charges it. It is dangerous to be on an elephant that bolts in a tree-jungle, as the howdah and its occupant may be swept off by the branch of a tree. An elephant that charges at the tiger is as bad.

Sitting up over a tiger's kill at night is very interesting, although frequently unsuccessful. As a tiger almost always returns to its kill when no one is there and often fails to turn up when you are waiting for him, the inference is that he finds you out and departs oftener than you suspect.

A native charpoy or bedstead should be tied up in a tree over the kill, and a screen of grass or branches made all round it.

This should be occupied about 4 p.m., for the tiger may return before sunset; the most usual time, however, for his return is about an hour after sunset, but he may not come till midnight or later, in fact it is quite uncertain when he will come. If there is no moon it is hopeless to try to shoot at night. Even if the tiger does not return, there is much to interest one before it gets dark. Sand-grouse and peacock come down to drink at the water near which the kill probably is. The call of a chital or sambar breaks the silence. Every rustle of the leaves brings the heart into your mouth with the expectation that it is the tiger's tread. Sometimes the tiger himself will speak, with quite a different sound from that which he makes when charging. If he comes to the kill, you hear his footfall among the leaves, or on the gravel of the stream. He is by no means certain to come at once to the kill-he often lies down near it for a long time, or walks round growling to himself. When he seizes it he gives a "wouf." Sometimes he comes so quietly that not a sound is heard before he seizes the kill. The best plan is to lie perfectly still until he begins to eat, as any little sound you may make when getting into position is then covered by the noise he makes crunching. Should the tiger observe you, he gives a roar and bolts. Instances have been known of a tiger returning to a kill the same night after being fired at on it, but, as a rule, the least thing which causes him suspicion will send him away for ever. Should you drag a kill a few yards to a more convenient place, if it is out of sight of its original position the tiger seldom comes to it; not finding it where he left it, he walks off. As a tiger always drags the kill away before eating, it should be securely tied by a stout rope to a tree, otherwise the tiger drags it off at once.

You may also have a chance at a tiger by stalking the kill at dawn, when he may be on it, or, more likely, sitting close to it. It is better, however, to trust to driving him out during the heat of the day, for if disturbed in the cool morning, he may go off [TIGER for miles instead of stopping near the kill.

Tracking tigers up to the very spot where they are sitting, and shooting them as they get up, is rarely possible; when it is possible, there is great satisfaction in getting a tiger in this manner, but the ground in most places is too hard for continuous tracking.

In April and May, the hot weather, the best time for big game shooting, a great deal can be done in locating tigers for a beat, by tracking. Year after year tigers occupy the same hill, the same ravine or other wellknown spots in the jungle. If there is a tiger about, his tracks are in the river bed, along the jungle roads, and in the sandy bottoms of the nullahs. When you lose the track, you make a cast forward to the next nullah-half a mile each way will show if the tiger has crossed it. If not, you must try in another direction. The best part of a day can be spent in this way, often without success, often losing the track altogether, but sometimes the track leads into a hill or thick jungle, out of which there is no track, and you know the tiger is there. Many tigers can be got without a kill by tracking them, and to my mind there is an additional charm in the sport where you have had to work for it. I am informed that in the Central Provinces, the authorities have made a rule by which one is prohibited from having a beat for tiger without a kill.

When beating for tiger, the rule is not to fire at panther, bear, or other animal that may be in the beat, for the tiger may be turned by hearing a shot in front of him, or, worse still, may break through the beat and perhaps maul a man on the way.

When the beat is over, the beaters should be paid at once on the ground; the usual rate of pay is 2 annas (2d.) a day, and double pay if a tiger is shot. They sit round according to their villages, and you should pay them yourself, for otherwise it is probable they will not get their due. A large supply of small coin should be taken.

When the tiger is skinned, the ground where the skin is to be pegged out should be covered with wood-ashes to the depth of half an inch or so, as this is a sure protection against white ants, which will destroy a skin in a few hours, if they can get at it.

The skin is placed on the wood-ashes, hairdownwards, always in the shade. Woodashes should be rubbed on the inner side, which should be left covered with the ash till the skin is quite dry. The ashes absorb the grease out of the skin. The whiskers become very brittle and are sure to break off. They should be pulled out and kept if it is desired to stuff the head. The lips and ears are the parts most difficult to clean; the ears especially should be skinned down as near to the tips as possible or the hair TIGER] will come off them. Near the shoulder, embedded in the flesh, will be found a small bone, which is a rudimentary clavicle, or collar-bone. 66 The Europeans at Amoy, China, have shot a good many tigers there. Mr. R. P.

Bruce has kindly furnished to me some information about the tigers in that neighbourhood. He writes: Tigers in the Amoy district lie up in rocky ravines, having long underground tunnels or caves, into which they penetrate even as far as 150 to 200 yards from the opening. There is no game; the tigers hunt round the farms and villages for any domestic animal. but we have got several this way. Howev ever, 75 per cent. of our tigers have been bagged since we discovered a party of Chinese hunters who would enter the caves behind a torch lashed to a IO foot bamboo; about six of them go in, all armed with three-pronged spears. They are in no danger while the passage is small, but if it opens into a chamber they are very careful to see that the beast is not there before they pass through to the exit passage. Any bifurcations of the passages are either carefully explored by half the force or built up before they move forward. The tiger retreats before the glare of this unusual in- THE METHOD OF PACKING A TROPHY ON AN ELEPHANT.

During these night hunts, they occasionally get men, cows, pigs, and goats, but much oftener dogs, for the more valuable beasts are carefully enclosed every evening.

Tigers are numerous. All the tigers are man-eaters in the sense that they readily go for men, and as they hunt so near the haunts of man they have no regard for human scent. They are bagged in many ways, up a tree, or rock, in moonlight with a fastened goat. This last mode is very unsuccessful; with a bright moon the tiger does not come, but if the moon goes down he has the goat at once and the shooter cannot see. Another way is to take up a position at 5 a.m. or sooner, commanding the entrance of a cave where a tiger is known to live. If he returns from his hunt after daybreak, you get a good chance. It is dangerous getting to the place in the dark, trusion, and, if there is a bolt-hole, he comes out to the guns and gives grand sport.

Unfortunately, however, it happens oftener than not, the tiger retreats to a cul-de-sac, and there stands at bay. When this is notified to the shooter, he crawls in, gets in front, manœuvres the torch till he gets a good view and kills at IO yards. The only thing calling for care is to kill dead by head or chest shot, for the concussions underground extinguish all lights, and a wounded tiger in the dark is no fun, however small the passage. As a novelty, this entering the cave business was very exciting, but as a matter of fact it is poor sport. The beast is completely cowed, and in a crawling hole can do nothing brilliant. I have known them show fight, but a couple of crossed spears with the butts jammed to the sides of the cave and the torch rammed into the tiger's face kept the men safe. The only accident was when the tiger rushed out before the men entered the cave. "We measure straight from peg to peg at head and tail. In this way we have never got a tiger of IO feet. I think 9 feet 6 inches is the biggest. The largest tiger I ever saw had a stump for a tail, and measured 9 feet 2 inches. They are said to be much larger in Northern China. I doubt if ours are bigger than, or as big as, some of the Indian tigers."

Mr. F. Leyburn of Amoy has sent me measurements of thirteen Amoy tigers.

They vary from 7 feet 9 inches to 9 feet 5 inches; of these five are 9 feet and upwards; also of fifteen tigresses which vary from 7 feet 6½ inches to 8 feet 4 inches; of these six are 8 feet and upwards. If measured in the Indian manner (by following the line of the body and not in a straight line from peg to peg, as seems to be the Amoy method), the measurements would be from 4 to 6 inches more. This brings out the size of the Amoy tiger to be very much the same as that of the Indian tiger.

Other Amoy measurements are, of the 9 feet 5 inches tiger, tail 3 feet 4 inches, shoulder-height 41 inches, chest-girth 45+ inches, skull-length 13½ inches, skull-breadth 93 inches, the skin II feet 7 inches. Of a 9 feet tiger, shoulder-height 43 inches, chestgirth 39 inches, skull-length 13 inches, skullbreadth 8 inches, skin to feet 10 inches. Of an 8 feet tigress, tail 2 feet 91 inches, shoulder-height 35 inches, chest-girth 35 inches, skin IO feet.

The Maharaja of Cooch Behar gives, in the letter to the Asian previously quoted, the height of fifteen Indian tigers which vary from 36 inches to 44 inches, and of two tigresses 34 inches and 384 inches. The girth of the fifteen tigers varies from 48+ inches to 54 inches, that of the two tigresses being 41 inches each. These measurements are on the whole larger than the Amoy ones.

J. D. INVERARITY. 2 TOBOGGANS AND TOBOGGAN- ING. -The word "toboggan" is a corruption of the American Indian "odabaggan," a sled. No country in particular can claim to have been the first to adapt a vehicle for the express purpose of carrying heavy weights over snow; but the peculiar form of flat-bottomed sled known as a "toboggan" owes its origin certainly to Canada. The North American Indians recognised the difficulties which attended the transport of their goods across large areas of snow, and placed these goods upon long strips of thin wood, turned up at the ends, the better to enable them to glide over the frozen [TOBOGGANING surface. On reaching a declivity the Indian allowed his toboggan to descend by means of its own gravity, and directed its course by sitting at one end and steering with sticks.

In recent years this gliding down hills has been indulged in as a pastime and sport.

The original rough birch-wood sleds of the Indians, which were bound together by deer thongs, have given place to light and elegantly made toboggans constructed of birch, maple, hickory, or bass wood, in strips bound together by metal rivets.

In Canada, the United States, and Russia, special slides have been built with the view of directing the course of the toboggan, increasing the pace, and avoiding the unforeseen leaps and drops, or "cahots" as they are called, which upon the natural course frequently caused injury to the toboggan and its occupants.

These slides, which were copied from those in Russia, commence on a raised scaffolding so as to afford a steeper incline at the start, and continue over more gentle and natural slopes to the finish. The scaffolding rises from the ground to a height of 40 or 50 feet and supports the slide, which starts from a platform at the summit and descends at an angle of about 45° to the ground. The platforms of the Tuque Bleue Club at Montreal, and that at Woodlawn Park, Saratoga, were raised 40 feet from the ground, the descent being 120 feet long.

The slides, for a considerable distance, are divided into two or more parallel courses or "chutes," which are separated from each other by low banks of snow, so that the toboggans can descend side by side without danger of collision. The breadth of each chute is only slightly greater than that of the toboggan, and very little skill in steering is required, except, perhaps, at the lower part of the course, which is not protected in the manner described. Now, whether these slides are constructed at more or less the same angle throughout as in Canada, or with alternate rises and falls, as in Russia, the ordinary type has a straight course with no corners. This, as we shall presently see, is the essential difference between these oldfashioned slides and the more recently constructed toboggan runs of Switzerland. The slides, or chutes, are sometimes made of snow beaten down hard and iced so as to give a glassy surface, and sometimes of blocks of ice laid side by side and planed.

The Canadian toboggan is from 4 to 8 feet long, and from 16 to 24 inches wide, and will accommodate from one to six persons. It generally presents the whole under surface to the snow over which it glides, but some toboggans are made with TOBOGGANING] low runners which raise them about an inch from the ground. Formerly two sticks were held, one in each hand, for the purpose of steering, but it was soon found that a recumbent position was the best for the steerer to adopt, and he now either kneels, sits low, or lies at the end of his toboggan and directs its course with the toe of one foot, trailing it behind upon the ice. It is remarkable how responsive the toboggan is to the slightest touch of the toe, and many riders are able to steer by merely swaying the leg from side to side without actually a much shorter sled than the Canadian type, and is raised about a foot from the ground upon flat wooden runners shod with iron.

When it became fashionable for persons suffering from pulmonary complaints to spend the winter months in Switzerland, the English and American visitors to St. Moritz and Davos introduced tobogganing as a sport, and set to work to construct both toboggans and runs. Not content with the Canadian or the Swiss type of machine, they adopted the best qualities of each, and after continual experiment and thought, the SECOND BANK OF SECOND BANK OF CHURCH LEAP," ST. MORITZ. coming in contact with the snow. The pace attained upon one of these straight courses is very great indeed, being limited only by the weight of the toboggan, and by the resistance due to friction against air and ice. It is probably owing to the fact that the sport, as it obtains in North America, does not admit of much opportunity for the exercise of skill, that tobogganing as a pastime is on the decline in the large cities of Canada and the United States. Within the last few years several of the chief runs have been closed, and the sport is in danger of extinction unless our cousins across the water introduce the same surmountable difficulties as, in the Engadine in Switzerland, have encouraged and improved the sport.

In Switzerland the sled most used by the country people is the "schlittli." This is present type of toboggan has been evolved.

The Swiss type was found to be too short for steering and too high for stability, while the Canadian type was too long to be guided successfully round corners, and too low to admit of what is known as "body steering” or balance. Above all, experience proved that the curved runner was the more resilient, and that the rounded runner was faster than the flat.

While the type of toboggan was being altered, the slide, or toboggan run, was at the same time undergoing a complete revolution, and there can be no doubt that the chief cause of the improvement in the sport is due to the substitution of a crooked run for a straight, and to the introduction of difficulties which call for an extra amount of skill on the part of the rider. The chief of these difficulties are the corners and the width of the course, for, with regard to this last, the chutes of the Canadian course have been discarded, and the rider is obliged to select for himself that particular route which affords him the highest rate of speed.

The Buol run at Davos was the first attempt at carrying out the new principles; but owing to want of experience the engineers of this run constructed the corners too sharp and the banks too steep and high. A toboggan, if released from the top of this run, would, unless upset by the inequalities of the surface, find its way to the bottom.

The Buol run resembled an exaggerated Canadian chute with the addition of corners.

GROUND PLAN OF Battledore and Shuttlecock in February 1894.

Battledore HanBank Drop Break here Rise of 2½ feet Course of Toboggan End of Short Straight from Church Leap (Full Pace) Stream Corner Beginning of Long Straight , to Bulpett's Corner . (Full Pace) GROUND PLAN OF CRESTA COURSE.

Feet up (at latest) huttlecock Sh [TOBOGGANING most abrupt, there we find the steeper and higher bank, which is accentuated if at the same place the course descends with greater rapidity: and, conversely, where the corner is comparatively flat, and the gradient slight, there we find little or no bank. The run is made of snow well trodden down and packed, and is afterwards covered throughcut its entire length by a veneer of ice. This veneer is made by throwing water on the snow, and varies from an inch to several inches in thickness, being thinnest on the straighter sections of the run, where the friction is least, and thickest upon the banks at the corners. This run took six weeks and more to build, but this length of time was due in part to the want of skilled supervision, the scarcity of labourers, and to the very great perfection of detail which is given to it.

The engineers of the Cresta run at St.

Moritz have worked on a different principle.

It has been their aim to construct the banks at the corners in such a manner that, although a novice when travelling at a moderate pace will probably run off the course, yet a more skilled rider will negotiate the corners with safety, and the best riders will descend at a very high rate of speed.

The Cresta is a run of infinite variety.

Throughout its entire length of threequarters of a mile, in which it descends 500 feet, there are no two corners alike, no two consecutive gradients which are similar, and no section which is actually straight.

Of the corners, several are almost right angles, and one, at least, is hardly more than a prolonged curve. Where the corner is If these difficulties had not been overcome, the Cresta run itself might have become a thing of the past, and with it would have gone the perfection of tobogganing as a highly-skilled sport. The old Buol run erred in being under-constructed.

The Cresta proceeds in the opposite direction. Each consecutive winter sees the corners made more mathematically perfect, and the straighter sections approximating more to the actual straight. The truer the curves and the straighter the course the easier becomes tobogganing, and the writer believes that the time has now arrived to say "enough." If we continue to improve" we shall improve" to excess, and ultimately revert to the Canadian "chute." 66 Now, what are the qualities of a good tobogganer? To quote from the late Hon.

H. Gibson, "Tobogganing is a sport which appeals to all Englishmen, as it calls into play all those qualities for which England nation is famous. The decision quickly called for and instantaneously carried out, the opportunity of exercising pluck, nerve, resource, and activity, the quick eye for a curve, the necessity for hand and eye to work exactly together." as a Great bodily strength is not necessary, although no doubt an advantage if accompanied by agility: and it is this fact which renders the sport possible both to the weak and to strong, to ladies, youths, and men of mature years.

In racing on the Cresta, the winner is not necessarily he who makes the fastest course.

The prize goes to him who makes the shortest aggregate time on three heats.

Now, as each competitor is obliged to run three times, his place in each heat being drawn by lot, and as the course varies, not only day by day, but hour by hour, owing to variability of temperature and other TOBOGGANING] causes, a great deal of judgment is required on the part of the rider. Experience alone can teach him which of several toboggans to select on such and such a day, for a toboggan which will suit a very hard course will be useless upon a soft. Again, it must The selection of a toboggan is a thing of the greatest importance. It must suit the rider in every respect-in length, width, height, and weight.

For example, if too heavy, it will be unmanageable on the banks at the corners and A RUN. be remembered that the grooves which are necessary at the rear of the steel runners to enable the rider to get a grip upon a hard ice corner, and to prevent skidding or slipping down the banks, will be found to impede the pace when the course is soft. In order to give these grooves their full value, the rider should shift his position on his toboggan, getting back as far as he can, and thus transfer his weight to the rear of the machine. He will then be able also to jerk or swing the front part of the machine from side to side and force it to describe a different course from that which it would otherwise follow. This is known as headsteering, and is exceedingly difficult to do well.

As soon as a corner is turned and the course becomes somewhat straighter, the rider will distribute his weight the full length of his machine, or throw it perhaps into the bows in order to prevent the grooves, for which there is now no further use, from retarding the pace. In steering, the feet are seldom, if ever, used by the best riders, but they are of the greatest possible service in steadying the toboggan on the banks, and in diminishing the pace when approaching a difficult corner.

For this purpose a very strong iron toe furnished with sharp teeth is screwed on to each boot. In the judicious application of this power of breaking lies one of the chief differences between a good and a bad tobogganer, for we must remember that the winner seldom wins by more than a few fifths of a second, and that the loss of a fifth by over-breaking may prove fatal to the rider's success. run away down the straighter sections of the course. The runners, also, of the toboggan must be exactly parallel, and every part of the machine must be most carefully put together. The best rider upon a good machine ought to win his race; he will probably lose it if his toboggan does not suit him in every respect.

The type of toboggan now used upon the Cresta and other ice runs is known as the "steel skeleton." This will be best described by the engraving with its accompanying letterpress, which I borrow from Mr. T. A. Cook's book on tobogganing:- "Length over all on the top, including centre-board and 2 inches of counter-board C2 F F X' K C X X X F F K C D E B PLAN AND ELEVATION OF STEEL "SKELETON."

A A to B, 3 feet 6 inches; total length, 4 feet 1 inch; Cl to C2, 12 inches; F, wooden centreboard; K, counterboard; ✗ X1, bars holding F and riveting runners. at the back, is 4 feet I inch. Length of runner on the ground, 3 feet 6 inches, with a spring of about IO millimetres. Height of machine (without cushion on centreboard), 5 inches. Diameter of runners, 18 millimetres. These are the measurements which, after many trials, have produced the highest average of success, and are properly proportioned to a man of 5 feet II inches.

Narrower machines may certainly be said to have failed. Lower ones are very difficult to ride. Longer runners are very hard to steer."

The counter-board mentioned in this description is a device for the purpose of affording to the rider a greater power of leverage over his machine.

The toboggan is constructed entirely of English steel, with a board of seasoned wood on which the rider lies, the various parts being strongly riveted together.

Upon such a course as the Cresta run it is not only too dangerous, but also next to impossible, for more than one rider to descend at a time. The racing, therefore, is judged entirely by time. Each tobogganer breaks or connects an electrical circuit automatically as he passes the starting and winning posts. The timekeepers have therefore merely to read off the results as given by the clock upon the circuit.

A good average run down the Cresta course takes 75 seconds, but during the winter of 1896-97 the record was made of 692 seconds, and in the last few years the run has been so much easier that the pace has considerably increased.

Over the last 210 yards (and these contain at least two corners) the pace has been timed electrically at a fraction over 68 miles per hour. At St. Moritz in the last few years a "sliding seat" has been added to the old cushioned board on which the rider lay prone upon his chest. It is impossible to say whether the "slide" is really an improvement, but on the Cresta of some fifteen years ago it would hardly have been popular, for men were then able to move their bodies quite sufficiently fore or aft without such artificial aids.

The pace obtained upon a snow course or a road is necessarily not so great. The Klosters road, near Davos, winds down from an upper into a lower valley. That section of the road which is used for racing is two miles (less 160 yards) long, with a fall of 860 feet, and there is one bend at least which is at so sharp an angle as to compel the tobogganer to come nearly to a standstill to turn it. The record for this course is 4 minutes 34 seconds. The type of machine used for road-racing differs from that used upon an ice course, in being much longer, and in being without grooves.

To increase his pace, a strong rider will make use of his hands with which to thrust himself along, and will at times kneel upon his machine and punt with one foot. A weak rider is therefore at a disadvantage upon a road course, although his skill may be even superior to that of his more athletic [TOBOGGANING opponent. For this reason, and because the surface of a road cannot be controlled to the same extent as can that of an ice course, toboggan-racing on roads is not a satisfactory sport. Bobsleighing, another form of tobogganing, is a very much more sociable amusement. A bobsleigh consists of a plank resting upon two small toboggans placed one in front of the other. The front toboggan turns upon a pivot and is used for guiding.

From two to ten persons can sit upon the plank. The man in front steers, and the brake is applied by the man at the stern.

Bobsleighing is usually indulged in upon a road, as an ice corner is undesirable, but a great pace is obtainable, and much dexterity is therefore required. At St. Moritz there is now a special bobsleigh-run iced in all its length.

HAROLD W. TOPHAM. [For the illustration and revision of this article the Editors have to thank Mr.

Theodore A. Cook.] TROTTING. - As a sport, trotting has always occupied in Great Britain a very minor and subordinate place among the recognised pastimes of the people, it having been overwhelmingly overshadowed by thoroughbred racing. In America practically the positions are reversed, for, though the thoroughbred is popular, the national racehorse is the trotter. As all foreign countries which need thoroughbred blood for racing purposes send to England for it, and make English racing rules the foundation of their turf law, so all countries that desire to introduce trotting sport and blood go to America for their foundation stock and take its trotting rules for their guidance. The American trotter at all distances is the fastest horse at his gait, and, having been bred for half a century on well-established lines of blood and performance, has become a distinct breed with a stud-book which goes back to the foundations of the race.

As every incident in connection with trotting sport down to the minutest details receives the same attention that thoroughbred sport receives in England, trotting sport in America will occupy the principal space in this article.

To secure a high rate of speed, science has been brought to bear in the construction of the tracks or courses on which trotting races are held, so as to reduce to a minimum the friction and resistance to extreme speed. A modern trotting track requires not only a competent surveyor, but an experienced track builder. A regulation track must be either exactly a mile from wire to wire, measured three feet from TROTTING the inside fence, or exactly half a mile with the same measurement. A plot of ground as nearly level as possible is selected, and the natural ground is cut down a foot. The level is regained by packing ordinary grass sod 12+4 inches upright. On the top of this natural sponge and spring six inches of earth is placed, which, if of too loose a nature, is mixed with clay. The result is a track smooth and elastic, yet so porous that it quickly absorbs water, retaining it in the sod and thus preventing the upper bicycle sulky than he can with the old vehicle. The smaller bicycle wheel can hug the fence closer, has less resistance, and is therefore faster.

The American method of conducting trotting races is by heats, and, unless otherwise specified, a horse has to win three heats to win a race. In order to prevent a race from being too long, horses in a race who have not won one heat in five are out of the race. The winners of the heats then trot till one of them has won three, which 114 Pole 8 660 660 80017 80017 210.08 21008 210.08 210.08 210.08 80017 १००८ 21008 420.17 210.08 210.08 210.08 660 660 44.9 26566 210.08 50.9 १ 66 66 297.10 148.55 210.08 210.08 148:55 Judges' Stand. 170.ft.

Musre Stand 25 660 660 148.55 66 615 297-2 509 22 149 148.55 165 Grand Stand.

HALF MILE TRACK.

Left End: Method of Laying Out recommended to Amateurs. Right End: Method recommended to Surveyors. crust from getting hard. A careful track master sees, however, that by the aid of a track harrow, roller, and a leveller the surface is kept as smooth as a billiard table.

A half-mile track of the best class is constructed in the same manner. terminates the race. The following summaries of races illustrate the system. FRANK FEHR STAKE, value $1,000; 2.11 class, trotting. Elloree, chestnut mare, by Axtell, dam Flora McGregor, by Robert McGregor-Sanders Fred B., brown gelding-Whitney Grace Hastings, chestnut mare-Spears ... ... ... ...

Athanio, brown horse-Geers ... ... ...

Pilot Boy, grey gelding-Wells I I I ... 4 2 2 ... 2 ... 4 3 33 4 ... dis. ...

Dick Hubbard, grey gelding-Macey ... ... ... dis.

In many cases where an association cannot afford the expense, the surface is simply ploughed up and levelled, but in all cases the surface is earth. There are no grass tracks in America. The illustration, with measurements, shows a regulation American half-mile track. In all cases the track must conform to the imperative rule of being exactly one mile, or half a mile, measured three feet from the inside fence.

The modern sulky is the lightest and at the same time the strongest that modern mechanism can devise. The old high wheel sulky weighed in 1860 about 75 lb., but was gradually reduced in weight to 40 lb., while the wheel with steel tyre had a diameter of 54 inches. The modern bicycle-wheeled sulky weighs about 25 lb., and the wheel has a diameter of 28 inches. The general consensus of opinion is that a horse can go five seconds to the mile faster with a VOL. IV Time, 2.101-2.12-2.09.

NEW YORK, Oct. 21 and 22.-Purse $300; 2.30 class, trotting. Allie Tare, black gelding, by Alcantara- Devy Lucy M., chestnut mare, by Repetition- ...

Rathbun ... ... ... ... ... .. ...

Legend, chestnut mare, by Melville-Coates Harry P., black gelding-Hurd Lonely Girl, black mare-Whelpley Hazel, black mare-Wilkinson...

Hattie D., black mare-Miller...

Highland Girl, chestnut mare-Doncourt Formosa, black mare-McGuire ... .. ... ... ... 3 I 2 3 2 I I 2 2 I 5 I 4 2 I 3 3 2 2 I 44 3 4 3 3 rd. 4 9 6 7 rd 6 7 9 5 5 rd 7 5 6 dr. 8 6 8 8 dr. 9 8 7 9 dr.

Time, In the first race Elloree won in straight heats, and the four moneys in which a purse is usually divided, 50, 25, 15, and 10 per cent., go to the horses in the order in which they appear. In the second race it will be noted that at the close of the fifth heat no horse had won three heats, and three horses were retired, the other three having been U previously drawn. In this case, as only three horses were left to fight the race out to a finish, Harry P., though not allowed to compete further, got fourth money.

In all trotting and pacing races the time record of the horse is his handicap, and indicates the class for which he is eligible. A horse with a record of 2.30 can compete in any faster class, though he cannot be entered in a slower class, but all horses are allowed a margin of three-quarters of a second.

For instance, a horse with a record of 2294 is eligible for the 2.30 class. A horse with no record, who has not been started in a race, is naturally entered in what are called the slow classes, e.g., the 300, 250, or 2.40 classes. There are also classes where age determines the eligibility to enter, e.g., two, three, and four-year-old classes, but these are rare. Two-year-old races are usually decided in mile heats, the best two out of [TROTTING While to America belongs the credit of having made trotting a great national sport, the honour of providing the foundation blood of the breed belongs to England, and, strange to say, the pedigrees of the vast majority of the fast trotters and pacers may be traced directly up to the thoroughbred horse Messenger, who was imported to America in 1788. He appears in the English thoroughbred stud book as a grey, foaled in 1780 by Mambrino, dam by Turf, second dam by Regulus, etc., though many able writers have maintained that he was not strictly thoroughbred. One important fact strongly favours this contention. Messenger as a progenitor of thoroughbreds was a distinct failure, so much so that the line is extinct, while he is the founder of the greatest trotting family in the world.

A second fact is that contemporaneous with Messenger was a large number of thorough- "MISS BROWN," "PRETTY POLLY" AND "BESSIE K." three. The vast majority of races and matches against time for a distance of over a mile have been decided in one effort. bred sires in America, which had the same facilities as Messenger, yet not one of them has left any impress upon the trotting breed. In the male line Messenger is without a peer. He died in 1808. Like many of our own thoroughbreds, he traced back to the Byerly Turk.

The two great descendants of Messenger, from which the modern trotting family principally comes, are Hambletonian and Mambrino Chief, and an examination of their pedigrees will show how far the blood of Messenger predominates. Hambletonian's tabulated pedigree is as follows:- The government of the trotting turf is provided for by two organisations, respectively called the National and the American Trotting Associations, and under their control are many hundreds of trotting associations and driving clubs. Horses that are ruled off for fraud are not eligible to compete either in England or on the Continent, English and European expulsions being equally effective in America. Every reputable trotting club is affiliated to one of these associations, and is entitled to send a delegate to a biennial congress which makes such amendments of the rules regulating trotting races as it may deem advisable. The Congress also elects a Board of Review, of which the president of the association is the chairman. This board sits twice a year, in May and December, and decides on all questions in dispute which have been appealed from the trotting meetings. About $5,000,000 (£1,000,000) are It will be seen at a glance that Abdallah, competed for annually in purses and stakes. the sire of Hambletonian, was a grandson HAMBLETONIAN (Founder of the Hambletonian family).

LAH I.

CHARLES KENT ABDAL- MARE MAMBRINO Thoroughbred.

AMAZONIA... ...

IMP. BELLFOUNDER..

ONE EYE { { { MESSENGER.

Daughter of SOUR CROUT.

Son of MESSENGER.

Unknown.

BELLFOUNDER, an English Norfolk trotter.

Unknown.

Bishop's HAMBLETONIAN, thoroughbred son of Messenger.

SILVERTAIL, daughter Messenger. of TROTTING] of Messenger, and that his dam, Amazonia, was by a son of Messenger. The dam of Hambletonian was by Bellfounder, a Norfolk trotter whose name is found in the top crosses of many leading hackneys, both in England and America; but her dam was One Eye by Bishop's Hambletonian, a son of Messenger and Silvertail; the dam of One Eye was also by Messenger. It may be also pointed out that Bellfounder was a failure as a speed producer, when his blood did not mingle with that of Messenger.

The enormous influence which Hambletonian has exercised as a producer of trotting speed is shown in the following results. At the close of 1896, 148 of his sons had produced 1,398 trotters and 155 pacers, with records from 2'04 to 2'30, while 80 of his daughters produced 104 trotters and 8 pacers, who have taken records of 2.30 or better. Up to the close of 1896, 16,207 trotters and pacers have made records from 2.00 to 2'30, and at least 80 per cent. carry the blood of Hambletonian by from one to five crosses. Later on the Hambletonian blood in the trotting and pacing champions will be discussed.

Mambrino Chief, by Mambrino Paymaster, he by Mambrino, son of Messenger, is the founder of a great brood mare's family, the mares to the cover of the male descendants of Hambletonian producing the highest speed results. There are several descended from "LADY ROSE. other minor families, such as the Bashaws, horse called Grand Bashaw, imported from Tripoli early in the a century. American Star, Pilot Champion, and Norman, all native horses of obscure or unknown pedigree, had daughters who "LITTLE STAR. to Hambletonian or his male descendants produced notable trotters, but as they failed to produce any sires of note who in the male line founded families, the racing success of their offspring must be placed to the credit of the predominating virility of the Messenger family.

America for more than sixty years has devoted attention and capital to developing the trotter. In the early days of breeding, performance was the sole test, and only those trotters or pacers who obtained records of 2.30 or better, or horses or mares who had produced trotters who had made such records were declared standard. This test of performance is the condition for registration in the stud book, and its practical effect has been to make a distinct breed which has shown a continuous speed progress to the present time. By careful breeding, the type has been gradually developed, and by skilful and unremitting training the American trotter has attained to a speed greater than that of any other type of horse. Both trotters proper and pacers, as they are called, which shamble along at a great speed, moving the two legs on the same side at the same time elephantlike, are bred from the same strain, but though, as a rule, pacers are the faster, trotting is held in higher favour, and by the use of heavy toe plates not only are pacers converted into trotters, but the speed of natural trotters is improved. As the horse becomes used to the toe plates, they are gradually reduced in weight.

In this connection it will be interesting to note by decades the progress obtained by breeding and training. In 1845 the grey mare, Lady Suffolk, trotted in 2291, being the first trotter to get a record below 2.30.

She was by Engineer II., a grandson of U2 Messenger, while her dam was by Plato, a son of Messenger. In 1859, Flora Temple, by One Eyed Kentucky Hunter, dam by an Arabian horse, trotted in 2194, and was the first horse to trot below 2.20. In 1867 the brown gelding Dexter cut the record to 2 171. He was by Hambletonian.

Between 1870 and 1880 there was a notable reduction in the record. The bay mare, Goldsmith Maid, trotted in 2.14. She was by Alexander's Abdallah, a son of Hambletonian, her dam being a daughter of Abdallah, the sire of Hambletonian. This remarkable mare made her record when seventeen years old, and during her racing career had to her credit 332 heats of a mile each on 2.30 or better. Between 1880 MR. WINANS DRIVING "LITTLE TOBE." and 1890 St. Julien, by Volunteer, a son of Hambletonian, put the record down to 2111; Jay-Eye-See, a black gelding by Dictator, another son of Hambletonian, cut it to 210, and the chestnut mare, Maud S., by Harold, also by Hambletonian, placed the trotting record at 208. The record of Maud S. deserves special mention, as it was made to a high-wheel sulky over a regulation track, and has not been beaten under the same conditions. The dam of Maud S., Miss Russell, was by Nutwood, a great grandson of Hambletonian. of The bicycle-wheel sulky came into use in 1892, and a general reduction in records ensued. On September 28th, 1892, the brown mare Nancy Hanks put the trotting record at 2.04. This mare is inbred, for her sire is Happy Medium, and her dam Nancy Lee, by Dictator, both sons Hambletonian. This record has been only beaten by a quarter of a second, the present champion being Alix (203), by Patronage, dam Atlanta, by Attorney. This pedigree traces up to Mambrino Chief and Hambletonian. The American trotting record is under two minutes for I mile.

How do values compare between the trotter and the thoroughbred? An abso- [TROTTING lutely accurate solution of this question is impossible, but a few simple figures will give a good idea of the value of the high-class trotter. The two-year-old colt Arion, after he made his record of 210, was sold for $120,000, or a little over £25,000. The three-year-old colt Axtell, also a champion, was sold for $105,000, or £21,000. Bell Boy at three years old sold for £17,000; Stamboul (2071) for £10,000; Nancy Hanks for £9,000; Maud S. £8,000; Dexter £6,000; while £2,000 for a highclass performer or a brilliant prospective one was an average figure up to 1893, when the financial depression caused a heavy fall in all prices.

An article on the trotter would be incomplete without a reference to the pacer, for with many horses the gaits are interchangeable, and the vast majority of trotting sires begat a certain proportion of pacers. The pacers, with a few notable exceptions, are all trotter bred. Star Pointer, with a record of 1591, is the grand exception, as he is a member of a pacing saddler family long famous in Tennessee, but he is the one exception to a thousand pacers, who are by trotting sires out of trotting dams. John R. Gentry 2001, ex-champion, traces on both sides of the line to Hambletonian. Joe Patchen, 2014, is by George Wilkes, son of Hambletonian, while on the dam's side he is strongly inbred to Mambrino Chief.

It is also a common incident for a trotter, when he has got to the limit of his speed at the trot, to be put to pacing, and there are many horses who can go at either gait, as the following sample list will show :

Jay-Eye-See Heir-at-Law Ottinger...

Direct Connor ... ... ... ... ... ...

Trotting.

Pacing.

Average. 210 2.061 2.08 212 2007 2°095 ... 210 2.11 2.II 2*18 2.05 212 ... ... 213 211 2 12 2154 210 2*12 2145 2102 2*12 .. ... ... 2145 212 2132 2 194 2.08 2'14 2 2*16 2014 2*21 ... 2.07 2T43 George St. Clair San Pedro Red Bud Bert Oliver Monbars Vassar ... ... and there are scores of others.

Under the control of the Trotting Union of Great Britain, trotting meetings are held at Manchester, Liverpool, and many northern cities, in Scotland and Ireland, but with the immense hold which racing proper has upon the British public, trotting is not likely ever to become a leading sport in this country, and trotting races must become popular before it will be profitable to breed trotters on a large scale. Among the principal trotting tracks in this country are those at Imber Court, Thames Ditton, and the Nelson Ground, Glasgow, but although a good deal of interest is shown in the meet- TROTTING] ings by ardent votaries of the sport, the times are not very fast, and in some cases are not very correctly taken.

Breeding trotters and trotting races in France are fostered and encouraged by the Government, which contributes a certain sum of money annually for purses and stakes, to be competed for at the various meetings. The majority of the races take place on grass racecourses at various distances, and, as the tracks are not constructed for speed, fast time is out of the question. The French Government courages the sport, as it relies largely upon trotting-bred horses for the cavalry service.

In many purses which it offers it reserves the right to purchase the winner at a price enspring and autumn meetings are held, the purses ranging from £100 to £1,000 each.

In Europe the fastest time has been made in the international races, and the European record is now held by the brown horse, Colonel Kaser, who on October 3rd, 1897, at Vienna, Austria, won the Prix d'Automne, worth 10,000 crowns, his fastest heat being 2141 Colonel Kaser was bred in America, and is by Stranger, by General Washington, dam Goldsmith Maid by Alexander's Abdallah; second dam by Abdallah, sire of Hambletonian. In Europe the majority of races, as in England, are distance handicaps, the handicap being based on the records or the sizes of the contestants. The majority of the DISQUALIFIED "MARIE" AND "PIAPOT.' stipulated in the conditions of the purse or stake.

Russia is the only country in Europe which can claim that it has a distinct trotting breed. It is called the Orloff, after Count Orloff, who, after defeating the Turks in 1772, on his return home brought with him some Arab stallions and mares.

He also imported from England twenty thoroughbred stallions and thirty mares.

By breeding with native mares and applying the doctrine of selection, the Russians have developed a breed of trotters which has not the speed of the American, but is possessed of great endurance, and is a very superior carriage horse. The great season in Russia is in the winter, and the races take place on the ice. These races were originally on sleighs, but, as the rubber-tired wheel is faster, sulkies are now used.

Several of the famous Russian trotting horses have been recently shown in droshkis and troikas at the International Horse Show at Olympia.

Germany and Austria have taken kindly to trotting sport, and at Berlin and Vienna [Photograph by Sport and General. international races are decided in heats, best two in three, or three in five.

In the British colonies trotting flourishes in Canada, where there are numerous stock farms, the leading sires and dams being bred on the same blood lines as those which flourish in the United States. In justice to Canada, it must be said that, in the early days of breeding the trotter, it contributed more than its share of brood mares.

The best authority on trotting at the present time is the "Horse Review," published in Chicago. John Splan's "Life with the Trotters," though very much out of date in the matter of records, is one of the best works on the subject, and Hiram Woodroff's book, which is still older, is another authoritative publication.

E. B. ABERCROMBIE.

Revised by W. R. H. GARLAND.

Pacing. Four modes of progression are natural to the horse: the walk, the trot, the pace, and the gallop, the so-called "canter" being only a slow gallop. The pace, though known in some Welsh breeds, is, curiously enough, not distinguishable by the average Englishman from the trot, with the result that for some years American pacing horses were allowed to compete in English trotting races as trotters.

Yet the distinction is patent. A horse trots when his off fore and near hind legs strike the ground simultaneously, and it paces when the legs of a side move in unison, like those of two riders on a tandem bicycle.

Certain drawbacks attach to either action.

Thus, a trotting horse is apt to "overreach," that is to say, the hind heels may step on those in front, which is obviously impossible in pacing, where the fore foot moves out of the way as the hind foot of the same side advances.

Although, however, a pacer cannot "overreach," he is more apt than the trotter to "knee-bang," i.e., hit his knees or fetlocks (a proceeding against which he is protected by "booting"), as well as “ to cross fire," or hit the heel of his off fore with the toe of the near hind foot.

TROTTING. [TROTTING antiquity that rode without stirrups (examples may be seen in the casts of Egyptian sculptures, at the Crystal Palace), and is perhaps identical with the "ambling," so freely alluded to in the literature of the Middle Ages, while it is noticeable to-day in many of the Cossack horses. Of late years a great number of American pacers have been imported into England, and they may be seen any day in cabs and carts; indeed, the writer has even seen a pacer and trotter, both high steppers, in a phaeton in the Park, the coachman being under the impression that he had to handle a pair of trotters, and PACING. (From a sketch by Mr. W. Winans.) Pacing has two forms. In one, the whole animal rolls from side to side, after the fashion of a skater doing the Dutch roll: and such a pacer can be distinguished when in motion even with no more than the top of his body visible. The other kind of pacer (to which belonged Mr. L. W. Winans' Jack Bowers, with a record of 2 min. 91 secs. for the mile, trial 2 min. 7 secs.) keeps the body still, merely swinging the legs slightly from side to side. It is this sort of pacer that looks to the casual observer as if it were trotting. It should be sufficiently apparent from the tables appended to this article that the faster records have almost invariably been held by the pacers, and it may fairly be inferred that the trotters will never have their chance in English trotting races until a separate class altogether is made for pacers.

Pacing is no modern artificial action, as some would have us believe, but may be traced in the horses of many nations of no marvelling doubt at the "rolling" of his near horse. It is important to bear in mind that many American horses are able to move with a either action, set of lighter shoes often sufficing to convert a trotter into a pacer; indeed, it is customary to force such a animals to keep to the pace by hobbling the legs of side with elastic cords.

Pacing is, in fact, less wearing to the animal's feet, as was proved in the case of Jay-Eye-See, which made a pacing record of 2 min. 61 secs. after its feet had given out in trying to beat its own trotting record of 2 min. IO secs. In the accompanying drawing of a trotter and pacer, it may be pointed out that in the pair coming towards the spectator the pacer is purposely made to incline rather more to one side than would actually be the case, in order to emphasise the difference between the two modes of action. The first pacing record which has been preserved is in 1835, when Oneida Chief, a chestnut gelding, by Kentucky Hunter, dam unknown, went a mile in 231. Year after year the record was gradually lowered, until in 1897 Star Pointer covered the distance in 1594.

W. WINANS.

Revised by W. R. H. GARLAND.

TROUT (Salmo fario). Omitting the roach, so dear to the artizans of London and the great midland towns, the trout is TROUT] beyond question the most popular and sportgiving of our fresh-water fish. It was a craze with the older naturalists to divide him into numerous species, but the modern, and without doubt the better, opinion is that all the different forms of trout found, at any rate, in fresh water, belong to one species; and high authorities now unhesitatingly assert not only that sea-trout and our common river and lake trout both sprang from one common ancestor, but that they are very closely allied to the salmon.

From the sportsman's point of view, which is, after all, the one with which we are more immediately concerned, these fish THE TATE LIBRARY, BRIXTON, S.W.. spots are often few and very large, with a kind of halo round them.

The colours on the scales of the fish depend very much on its surroundings. A trout taken off a muddy, weedy bottom will often have a general shade of rich yellow over its sides and belly, while even in the same lake a trout taken from the opposite shore which, let us say, is rocky and sandy, will be of a steely blue colour. A trout swimming in deep water over a peaty bottom will have a dark back, while fish which inhabit shallow, bright, gravelly streams, will have a light brown back, in fact almost gravel colour. This is without doubt a provision of nature to disguise the BROWN TROUT. divide themselves up into two large classes (I) Sea or salmon-trout (Salmo trutta), called white trout in Ireland, with their variety, the bull-trout (these fish are dealt with in a separate article), and (2) the brown-trout, called yellow-trout in Scotland (Salmo fario), which varies a good deal in its appearance and habits, according as it may be found in large rivers, brooks, large lakes, and small lakes. Food, age, sex, growth-rate, and the soil over which it swims also have their effect on its colouring, spots, and general markings. With age, for instance, the spots often become almost imperceptible, and the fish grows long, lank, and ugly. Many such a trout has been foolishly returned to the water by well-meaning anglers, who thought it was merely out of condition, and would grow into lusty, silvery-sided, big-spotted, small-headed fish later on in the season. a The variations in the size, number, and position of spots on trout are very remarkable. I have taken fish on the sides of which were two rows of spots placed at equal and regular distances, while the very next fish which found its way into my creel would be covered with spots as if they had been sprinkled over it out of a pepper pot.

In quickly grown, healthy, lake trout the fish as much as possible from the keen eyes of herons and other fish-eating birds.

The life history of the trout is now well known. It commences, of course, with the egg, which is deposited by the female on a gravelly shallow in a river or brook. Its size may equal that of a pea if deposited by a large, healthy, and not too old fish, while the eggs from small burn trout are a good deal smaller. As the female sheds her eggs, the male fish extrudes a few drops of milt in the water, which may, or may not, reach the eggs and fertilise them. The fish, with a vigorous sweep of the tail, then throw up some gravel behind them, which is intended to, but does not always, cover up the eggs which have just been laid. The waste, of course, is enormous. A trout yields roughly about 1,000 eggs for every pound avoirdupois of its weight, but of these probably not one-tenth hatch and ultimately produce adult fish. The fish culturist, on the other hand (see PISCICULTURE), hatches out ninety-five per cent. or more of the eggs which he takes from the hen fish, and with good luck will re rear fifty per cent. of the young fry. With him the great mortality is in the fry stage.

In due course the eggs deposited by the trout hatch. If the temperature of the stream is sixty degrees, the period of hatching will be about sixty days; but in lower temperatures longer. Out through a crack in the shell of the egg struggles the alevin, a little fish which has a preposterous bag of yellow-looking fluid attached to its stomach. This feeds it for some weeks, during which it lies hidden among the stones. Then by degrees it begins to feed itself, and at the end of a year may be a fish of any size between two and ten inches in length, the latter, I need hardly say, being an extremely large yearling. In a Devonshire brook or Highland burn, the little fish may never exceed four or five inches in BROWN TROUT ALEVINS. length, but in a large lake or river, and particularly if placed in a lake which has never before contained fish, and in which fish food has therefore increased to an enormous extent, it will grow in the course of a very few years to weigh four or five pounds, or even more.

Trout can now be bought so cheaply from half-a-dozen or more firms of pisciculturists, that almost any river, lake, or pond can be stocked with them at more or less expense, provided only that there is no pollution which will destroy the fish. But the advisability of turning rivers which produce quantities of excellent coarse fish into trout preserves is open to question. At the same time, it should be mentioned that many a river in which, owing to pollution, no trout can breed, can be made to afford sport by [TROUT re-stocking it from time to time with fish obtained from the fish-culturists. The Wandle in its lower reaches is an instance of what has been, and can be, done in this direction. The pollution in that stream is sufficient to destroy the eggs of trout, but not the fish.

Every fly-fisherman should have some general idea of the habits of trout, which vary somewhat according to the nature of the water and the size of the fish. Trout feed on the bottom, in mid-water, and take flies and insects from the surface; but generally speaking large trout are not ready feeders on, to them, such insignificant items of food as are found floating on the face of river or lake. To this rule, however, there are several exceptions. Where flies hatch out and come floating down stream in great numbers, large trout leave the bottom, and, poising themselves in the water, suck down hundreds of the insects which are passing over them, though the flies may be very small indeed. This is the case in the chalk-streams of Hampshire. In some other rivers which are very similar in character, the larger trout rise very badly to the fly, because there is not a sufficient quantity of flies to tempt them to the surface. Thus, while in the Test a flyfisher will stand a fair chance of hooking trout weighing three or more pounds on a minute imitation of the Blue Dun, on some portions of the Kennet he may fish a whole season without getting a fish of this size, unless he resorts to larger and more substantial baits, such as a small gudgeon or bleak. The second exception, which is a very similar one, occurs in the season of the May-fly, when on those rivers which produce this beautiful insect, large trout come to the surface during the Mayfly carnival, and become fly-takers then, but at no other period of the year. Sometimes, too, large trout may be caught at night close to the sedges by fishing with a very large imitation moth or sedge-fly.

In the smaller and shallower streams, unless food is exceptionally abundant, trout run small, and take the fly readily enough when in the humour. And that trout humour is a very strange thing. During a portion of the day the fish lie hidden in holes in the bank, under the shelter of rocks and stones, or under overhanging bunches of weeds, and the cleverest fly-fisher in the kingdom will fail to obtain any sport worthy of mention. But suddenly some mysterious change takes place; quantities of fish leave their hiding places and commence to feed, and for a time the sport may be fast and furious. These feeding times of trout may be owing in a large measure to changes of temperature. They may, too, be connected TROUT] with some subtle electrical or other atmospheric condition of which we know nothing. In fly-producing rivers, if the term may be allowed, the rise of fish very often commences with the rise of fly. The word seems to be passed round that there is a banquet being spread on the surface of the water, and up rise the trout to partake of it.

Generally speaking, the morning and the evening are the best times of the day for fishing; but here again much will depend on the weather. In early spring a sharp frost in the small hours of the morning may prevent the fish from feeding much before ten o'clock. On the other hand, I have often known a morning in spring when all the fish were caught between seven and eleven and no sport worthy of mention was had during the rest of the day, though the evening seemed suitable enough for it. In lakes, this uncertainty of feeding-times is much more pronounced than in rivers. It is least noticeable of all in small brooks or burns where the trout are small, numerous, and hungry. A cold mist spreading over the water in the evening usually causes the trout to stop rising.

Fly-fishing for trout is, broadly speaking, divided into two branches: fishing with the Wet Fly; and fishing with the Dry or Floating Fly. For both forms of fishing I should recommend a rod not more than ten feet in length, fairly powerful in the top joint, and not too stout in the butt, playing well down to the hand. The best tackle-makers have devoted such pains to improving the fly-rod of late years that the reader can safely place himself in their hands, but may, with advantage, take an experienced friend with him when making his purchase. One of the best and cheapest forms of fly-rod is made of green-heart. Still better, but very much more expensive, is a rod of solid pieces of cane built up in sections. But whole-cane rods are also a good deal used, and may be recommended to ladies for their lightness.

The rings should in every case be upright, and err, if anything, on the side of largeness.

The line is a matter of some considerable importance. It should invariably be tapered -at both ends for preference-and be of eight-plait silk, round, solid, and dressed with linseed oil which has been forced into it by placing the line in the oil under an air-pump, and exhausting the air. Several dressings are necessary, and many rubbings down to obtain that beautiful smooth surface which is so invaluable when shooting the line through the rings in order to make an extra long cast. A guinea is not an extravagant sum to pay for 45 yards so prepared. The stoutest part of the line should be nearly as stout as a salmon line. a This size is of course not necessary for the purpose of holding a fish, but to give the weight which ensures great precision in casting and enables the angler to get out a fly in the teeth of considerable breeze.

Where the line joins the gut it is, of course, tapered very fine, and there is nothing to alarm the fish. I have not much doubt, however, that these very heavy lines do have the effect of scaring other fish than the one the angler is intent on catching. In dryfly fishing the line is greased with kidney suet of the red deer or the sheep-the former for preference-vaseline, or other grease, and floats on the surface of the water; but in wet-fly fishing, where the line sinks slightly, there are not a few anglers PLAYING A TROUT. who use an undressed line which, on getting soaked with water, is sufficiently wet to enable satisfactory casting to be done with it, with the additional advantage of not flailing the water over much. With regard to the reel, or winch, I personally have a strong preference for one of the Nottingham type with what is termed a "Bickerdyke" guard, or one of Slater's guards, and fitted with a light check. It has all the advantages of the ordinary check brass winch, but, thanks to its large diameter, it enables the angler to wind up the line almost as fast as if he had a multiplying winch, which is often of immense importance when playing a difficult fish.

By placing a finger on the rim of the reel the check can be increased when needed.

At the end of the line comes the gut cast.

This should always be tapered from medium gut to a very fine point, and be made of long pieces of gut-fifteen inches or so between the knots. The usual length is three yards, and this is a good length for wet-fly fishing where two, and sometimes three flies are used; but for dry-fly fishing, where a single fly is used, two yards and a half is sufficiently long, and when it becomes necessary to cast against a strong wind it is sometimes desirable to reduce the length of the cast to as little as a yard.

With a proper rod and line the beginner will soon learn to cast a fly fairly well, but with a weak, whippy rod and a heavy line, or a very light line and a stiff rod, even the most experienced fly fisher will make bad practice. Perhaps the best way to commence is to omit the cast, and, standing in an open meadow or grass-plat, wave the line backwards and forwards over the head, fully extending it, or endeavouring to, at each backward and forward cast. The wrist then soon acquires the knack of making the rod do the work, which is a point of considerable importance. The length of line can be gradually increased, and, when eight or nine yards of line can be extended straight on the grass, then the gut cast with the fly at the end of it may be added.

A common mistake of beginners is to make the forward cast too quickly, with the result that the line behind snaps like a whip, and [TROUT pendicularly over the shoulder-in short, something like the Spey cast. But there is no cast by which the fly can be placed so accurately as the one I have first described.

The secret of allowing the fly to alight softly on the water is to aim at an imaginary point in the air about three feet immediately above the point on the water where it is desirable to place the fly. The fly will then reach this point, stop for a fraction of a second, and descend by its own weight.

Wet Fly-Fishing. -I personally never use more than two flies for this branch of fly-fishing, and when the water is low and bright find I have infinitely better sport with a single fly than with two. What is called the dropper-fly should be placed on the cast about three feet, or a little less, from the tail-fly (less in small streams, more in large streams or lakes). For stream fishing the following is a useful list of flies:-march brown, hare's ear, red spinner, alder, cochybondhu, red palmer, black palmer, black gnat, sedges, may-fly, spent gnat.

Special flies for Yorkshire :-Broughton's point, waterhen bloa, woodcock, dark snipe, THE FINISH OF A CAST. the fly is cracked off. In making a backward cast the rod should be pointing a little towards the right, and then be brought for ward almost perpendicularly over the shoulder. This causes the line to follow an abrupt curve, and the more abrupt this curve is, the longer it is necessary to give the backward cast. A common method of casting in Ireland is to make a very bold curve with the point of the rod, giving no time whatever for the backward cast. This is done by bringing the rod backwards almost horizontally with the earth, and without hesitation casting it forward permarch brown, iron blue dun, orange partridge, brown owl, poult bloa, knitted midge, yellow dun, dark needle, fog black. Devonshire flies:-blue upright, cowdung, silver twist, red upright, march brown without wings, &c. Derbyshire: -the cockwinged dun, darkwinged coachman, honey dun and other bumbles, and the flies recommended for dry fly-fishing.

Speaking generally, larger and brighter flies may be used at the commencement of the season than in July or August.

Hackled-flies with soft hackle obtained from the neck of the hen, are preferred for wet- TROUT] fly fishing, but many good trout are caught with winged flies sparsely hackled by cock's hackles.

Years ago controversy raged round the great question whether up-stream fishing or down-stream fishing leads to the best basket. the rise of the fish, and a very keen sense of touch. Fishing up-stream is best done with a short line, and, when the water gets low, by pitching a single fly into tiny pools and runs between rocks, good sport may sometimes be had when the angler of BRINGING A FISH TO THE NET.

Without the least doubt up-stream fishing is best where the water is bright and the fish educated, but in a Scotch or Irish rivulet, or in Norway, or any places where the fish are very unsophisticated, and rise freely, most fish will be killed fishing down stream provided a sufficiently long line can be cast.

The difficulty in up-stream fishing is to strike the fish when it rises, and, indeed, to see or feel the rise, for the flies, as soon as they reach the water, are brought back by the current towards the angler, and the line sags. The experienced fly-fisher will keep one eye on the line and one eye on the water, and on the slightest check to the line or break of the surface, will strike.

Wet-fly fishing is by no means a "chuckand-chance-it" operation, as it has been somewhat foolishly described. The angler must have a considerable knowledge of the most likely places to find the fish before he will have much success, and even then must cast with considerable accuracy, behind rocks, in tiny runs, on the edges of eddies, under overhanging trees and bushes. He must in addition have a very sharp eye for average ability will declare it absolutely impossible to catch trout owing to the state of the water.

Wading is often necessary to enable the angler to keep sufficiently low. When standing on the bank he is probably in sight of the fish, while when he is knee-deep in water they hardly notice him. By entering the water the angler can also, of course, reach portions of the river which are beyond his casting powers so long as he remains on the bank.

The waterproofers now turn out such excellent goods that advice on waders is hardly required; but men of middle age and upwards, or those subject to rheumatism, should bear in mind that though waders made of light material are less fatiguing to carry than heavy ones, those of stout material, particularly if lined with tweed or some other woollen substance, afford very valuable protection from the cold, and are advisable in streams rising at considerable elevations. What I may term lowland streams often reach such a temperature in summer that very thin waders may be worn with impunity. Stockings are, generally speaking, better than boots, because they can be turned inside out, and they are all the better for being washed inside occasionally, and then dried, as the perspiration from the feet rots them very quickly. Thick woollen socks or stockings should always be worn inside the wading stockings, and another pair over the stockings to prevent any stones or grit which may enter the brogue, or shoe, from cutting into the indiarubber and causing a leak. When fishing down, or across the stream, the dropper-fly can be worked to great advantage. Unless the cast is a very long one the dropper-fly may be dribbled along the surface of the water, and will often catch fish when the tail-fly is useless. On other days the fish may show a preference for the tail-fly, which is sunk an inch or two below the surface.

Dry-Fly Fishing, or fishing with a floating fly, may be carried on successfully wherever the water is fairly smooth and the trout are rising. It will kill fish on calm days when the wet-fly is absolutely useless.

In those southern streams which are much fished, and where the trout feed mostly on flies such as duns, which float on the surface, a wet-fly is of little use except in the rapids below weirs and in mill tails, at night, during rain, or when the water is roughened by a strong breeze.

Dry-fly fishing is almost a cult in itself, and enthusiastic users of the floating fly are apt to condemn, and somewhat look down upon other methods; but a long experience of every kind of fly-fishing has taught me that the amount of skill and knowledge of the habits of the fish required is about equal whether the dry or wet fly be used.

In dry-fly fishing it is usual to mark down a rising fish before casting the fly on the water, and then approach him very cautiously. On arriving within casting distance, being careful to be somewhat below the fish, a few false casts are made in the air. When the angler is confident he has the right amount of line out, the fly is dropped lightly as thistledown about a yard in front of the fish, and allowed to float over him without the slightest drag. The water in our southern chalk streams is usually clear, and as likely as not the fish will be seen if the light is right, and immediately on his taking the fly he is struck and played. It is of great importance that the line should not drag, but float naturally down the stream; and in selecting a fish, one rising close to the bank should always be preferred to one rising in the centre.

Greasing the line to make it float I have already described and recommended. It is also the custom to touch the body and [TROUT hackles of the fly lightly with odourless paraffin, which is now kept in suitable bottles, fitted with cork and brush, at most tackle-shops. Any excess of paraffin on the fly should be removed with the pocket handkerchief.

Considerable difference of opinion exists among fly-fishers of experience as to whether a fish should be cast over repeatedly, or given up as hopeless after three or four casts. When fish are very numerous, and rising freely, if one is disinclined to take the artificial fly he may be regarded as shy, and best left alone (his mouth may be decorated with a fly or two), and it will be good policy not to waste time over him, but to seek another less sophisticated. But in the generality of rivers I have always observed that the fishermen who stick persistently to a rising trout, assuming that they can cast sufficiently well not to put him down-that is to say, frighten him and make him cease rising altogether-eventually get their fish. I remember spending the best part of two hot sunny days over a large trout in the Kennet. There was a great glut of May-flies, and he was rising freely all day long. I was rewarded for my patience by eventually catching him. He weighed between four and five pounds, so was worth the trouble.

There are many points of great importance to be borne in mind when fishing with the dry-fly. In the first place it is most important not to allow the gut attached to the fly to float over the fish. In other words, it is better to make an over-short than an over-long cast. In selecting a fish care should be taken to cast over one that is really feeding on flies, and not merely "tailing," that is, burrowing its head in the weeds searching for fresh-water shrimps and other insects, while the tail, its head being depressed, breaks the water and gives the appearance of a rise. “ "Bulging" is another term used by dryfly anglers, and means the commotion in the water caused by a fish as it swims after and seizes the larva of the fly on its way to the surface. When the fish are smutting," or rising at swarms of tiny black midges which are sometimes found on the river, they are often very difficult to catch with the artificial fly. Both on wet and dry-fly streams trout are usually caught in the late evening, and even at night, with big flies dressed to imitate sedges and night moths. There is also a well-tried artificial fly, the Coachman, which is not only useful at night, but often accounts for a good fish in the day time.

The following is a useful short list of flies for chalk streams :- Small flies: Gold ribbed hare's ear, dark olive dun, iron blue, TROUT] medium olive quill, red quill, blue quill, detached badger, Wickham's fancy, black gnat, little chap, and on some rivers the grannom.

Large flies: Orange sedge, silver sedge, alder, May-fly, spent gnat.

Loch Fishing.-In well-stocked lochs trout frequently swim in shoals, and are found mostly at the mouths of the streams, or at the outfall of the loch, over shallows and projecting rocky points, or spits of land, and in particular where the shallow water of the loch suddenly breaks into deep water.

All these places can be fished from a boat which drifts broadside with the wind, one angler being in the bows, the other in the stern; and the speed of the boat may be retarded if needful by a stone attached to a rope, which drags along the bottom.

Sometimes what is termed a floating anchor is used for the same purpose. If the best spots cannot be fished by drifting, the angler must of course be rowed to them, and the boat checked so long as appears desirable.

On very rough days I have had my boat worked from the bank by a gillie, letting it out by means of a rope, and have so obtained fishing when it was almost impossible for a man to row against the wind and waves. Where there is no boat, salmon waders are often extremely useful. A great variety of loch flies is not required, but the size varies in different lochs. Where the water is dark and peaty, strong contrasts of colour are desirable, nothing showing better in such cases than the fly called the zulu. I prefer those with seals' fur body (dyed various colours). On calm days the dry-fly may be used. It should be cast into ripples left by rising fish. Another method, when there is no ripple, is to cast out the fly, let it sink to the bottom, and then draw it slowly to the surface, in which process the trout will often take it. Some lake trout rise very well at night. I never used more than two flies myself, nor do I advise them, but three are very commonly used.

Spinning for Lake Trout. This is generally done by rowing the boat and trailing the spinning tackle after it. The best baits are minnows, gudgeon, loach-in fact, any fish which will spin well, and is not too large. Probably the best artificial bait is the well-known phantom minnow. The Devon minnow is also very successful. For mounting the natural bait there are many forms of spinning flights sold in the shops, most of which I have carefully tried, and have come to the conclusion that none is so useful as some form of the Chapman spinner which, for this purpose, should have no lead on its spike. It never fails to spin a bait, unless the bait is too large for the fans. The tail triangle should be at least level with the tail of the bait. The archer spinner, the Bedford spinner, and crocodile spinner are all good forms of this tackle.

About 36 inches from the spinning-bait should come a small double swivel-of brass for preference and then a small lead hung below the level of the line. Then 24 [Photograph by J. Turner Turner.

LANDING AN IRISH TROUT. inches more of gut, at the end of which the line is made fast. The spinning line, by the way, should be of solid, eight-plait silk, dressed, and as fine as can be used, having regard to the size of the trout likely to be caught.

Dapping the natural May-fly is carried on in some of the Irish lakes and elsewhere.

It only lasts a few weeks. The tackle consists of a light 18 foot rod, a long and very fine undressed silk line, about two yards of fine undrawn gut, and a single hook, on which one or two May-flies are impaled.

The angler sits in a drifting boat, the line is carried out by the wind, and success depends on keeping the May-fly just touching the water, without allowing any of the gut to alight on the surface. As the wind increases the rod must be lowered; as it decreases it has to be raised. Thames Trout Fishing is a thing of itself. The fish grow to a great size, very rarely rise to a fly, and are mainly got by live bait, or spinning bait. In the early part of the season success depends in a large measure on knowing where to find individual fish. Later on, the trout work up into weir-pools. The most successful trout fisher I know uses exactly the same spinning tackle as that I have described for loch trout-fishing, but in the Thames it is not trailed, but cast out some distance, and then drawn rapidly in with alternate draws of the line and pulls of the rod, so as to keep the bait continually moving. The spinning should be done far more rapidly than for pike. The comparatively quiet waters of a reach are soon spun over, but the rough waters of the weir may be worked for a long time without disturbing the fish, and with some chance of success. One of the best spinning baits on the Thames is a small bleak or dace, and gudgeon are also used with much success.

Live-baiting for Thames trout requires more skill than most people would imagine.

The line should be fine, and greased to make it float. At the end of it should be two yards of fine round gut, terminated with a small triangle. Above the triangle is the lip-hook. The lip-hook is put in the upper lip of a small bleak, gudgeon, or dace, and the triangle caught in its side not far from the tail. At the other end of the gut is a single shot, which keeps the tiny fragments of lead from slipping down the line, and a foot above this the line passes through a slit in a small cork, taken from a six-ounce medicine bottle.

In quiet reaches, the boat or punt is moored thirty or forty yards above the spot where the fish is supposed to be, and the live-bait is taken down over the fish by the stream. Then the angler waits patiently, reeling up slowly if he sees a fish feeding.

In the weir pools the live-bait is worked into every eddy and spot likely to contain a fish, and is kept for ever moving. In rather calm water two minnows on single hooks will sometimes succeed better than the bait mentioned, but very large fish usually show a preference for a very large bait. 66 Fly-tying" is dealt with in a separate article, and I would recommend those who seek to know further of this, the most delightful form of fishing which we can enjoy in British waters, to read the subjoined books on the subject.

JOHN BICKERDYKE.

Dry-fly Fishing, F. M. Halford; Angling, Francis Francis; Angling for Game Fish, [TROUT John Bickerdyke; Yorkshire Trout Flies, T. E. Pritt; Book of the Dry Fly, G. A. B.

Dewar.

TROUT.-MEASUREMENTS, &c.-Length of head 44 to 4 (in old breeding males 31), of caudal fin 7 to 71, height of body 41 to 5 in the total length.

Head much more pointed in some forms than in others. Eyes-diameter 4 to 6 in the length of the head, varying with the size and age of the specimen, 14 to 2 diameters from the end of the snout and the same apart. In old breeding males the eyes are comparatively smaller, and as much as 3 or 3 diameters from the end of the snout and also apart. Teeth in a double zigzag row along the body of the vomer, and in a transverse row across the anterior portion of that bone where it is joined with the palatine arch. Fins-the first dorsal (except in old breeding males), as a rule, commences somewhat nearer to the snout than to the base of the upper caudal ray; the height of the anterior ray usually exceeds the length of its base. Origin of adipose dorsal fin about midway between the anterior insertion of the base of the rayed dorsal and the posterior extremity of the upper caudal lobe. Pectoral as long as the postorbital portion of the head, or even of the entire head excluding the snout, in some examples it is more pointed than it is in others. Ventral inserted beneath the middle or last third of the base of the dorsal fin. Caudal forked in the very young, emarginate in those of a medium size, becoming square in large examples, or even rounded. Scales from 13 to 15 rows between the hind end of the adipose dorsal fin in a row passing downwards and towards the lateral-line. About 26 or 27 rows from the lateral-line to the base of the ventral fin. Cœcal appendages-these differ considerably, apparently being influenced to a great extent by the locality they inhabit and the food which they can obtain.

Colours-these vary, as has already been observed, not only with locality but also owing to changes of food. Those from Wales and along the S.W. coast are of a somewhat darker appearance than those from the Midland counties and towards the north, and have rather more black but less red spots. (Day's Fishes of Great Britain and Ireland.) :

TROUT, RAINBOW. - There are several varieties of the rainbow trout (Salmo irideus), but the rainbow of pisciculturists, which has been acclimatised in the Southern States of Eastern America, in the North Island of New Zealand, parts of Germany, and which is now being tried TROUT, RAINBOW] in England, is the S. irideus var. Shasta, which is found in the McCloud river.

It differs from our own trout principally in having smaller scales, a shorter head, a smaller mouth, and in being differently coloured. The gill covers are brilliantly coloured with carmine, and this colour extends along the middle of the side of the body in a broad line. The back is very dark, and is covered with black spots. abdomen is almost white and is also spotted with black, though these spots are very much smaller and less numerous than those on the back. The head, tail, and fins are The in some instances, as in the case of Lake Rotorva, they multiplied so fast and became so large that they practically destroyed the food supply, and then became diseased and worthless. At the present time (1911) the best rainbow trout fishing in the world is at Lake Taupo, New Zealand, where many tons of great fish are caught every season. From all I can hear, however, it seems likely that in a few years' time the glory of this fishing will also have departed.

It is probable that the rainbow trout has done better, on the whole, in New Zealand than anywhere, and it now breeds naturally RAINBOW TROUT.

Charles Walker, also spotted, and the ventral and anal fins are usually tipped with white, as are also sometimes the other fins. The eyes are larger than those of our own trout.

The same patterns of flies as are used for other trout should be used for the rainbow, and in the waters stocked with them in England they seem to rise freely and boldly.

CHARLES WALKER.

During the last few years we have had a good deal of experience with rainbow trout in this country, and, speaking generally, it has been very disappointing indeed so far as rivers in any parts of the country are concerned, as in almost every instance, unless he can be kept back by gratings, the fish will disappear down stream. In some ponds and lakes where food is abundant, rainbows grow well and rise well and give good sport for a year or two; afterwards they give up rising, become sluggish, and seem to pine away-often with malformation of the jaws. Those who have found in Blagdon do better than almost anywhere else in this country, and rainbows of 5 lb. and 6 lb. are caught there in fine condition in September. In New Zealand they are frequently caught over 20 lb. in weight, but in some of the rivers. It has been so disappointing in Great Britain that many of our fish-breeders no longer care to supply rainbow trout; in Germany, also, it has deteriorated so, in consequence of in-breeding for the market, that German fishbreeders are urging that entirely new imports of eggs from the best American native fish should alone be used for rearing. As regards the game qualities of the fish in our waters, I have caught a great many up to and over 3 lb., and I much prefer our own Salmo fario of a good strain in every way. Rainbows jump and run about in a lively way like sea trout-but they do not use their brains, as our fish do, and very rarely attempt to beat you by making for weeds or submerged piles or roots, as our fish so often do. They are no better than our fish to eat-not so good, in my opinion-growing very quickly; they seem to me to be coarser in the flesh, and also not to keep good so long after being killed as our fish. In a water in which there is abundance of food and where they cannot find any way out, yearling and two-year-old rainbows give good sport up to 2 lb. or 21 lb.; where they are caught out and the water re-stocked, lively sport for one's friends is always to be had, say, from July to October. Cases of rainbow breeding in our rivers in waters where they can be locked in are recorded, but even then disappointment has followed in a year or two. Before stocking with rainbows, get the advice of a practical fishbreeder, and, if possible, get him to see the [Photograph by J. Turner Turner.

A TEN POUND RAINBOW TROUT, HAMURANA RIVER, NEW ZEALAND. water-it may save a loss and disappointment. When in good condition, the rainbow is a handsome, lively, interesting fish. R. B. MARSTON. a FLY DRESSING FOR TROUT AND GRAY- LING. WET-FLY AND DRY-FLY. - The dressing of flies is not a modern invention.

Ælian, writing about the end of the second century of our era, describes fishing with the artificial fly as practised in Macedonia; and Oppian, writing about 176 A.D. refers to the practice of fly-fishing for a sea-fish called the scarus. And though the next reference to the subject in literature occurs in the book On Fysshynge with an Angle, published in 1496, and ascribed to the legendary Dame Juliana Berners, yet, judging from what was known of it in Izaak Walton's day, the art was even then encrusted with tradition. It had probably been introduced into England by the Romans, and had come down from mouth to mouth, or from manuscript to manuscript, largely, no doubt, through the monks.

On Fysshynge with an Angle gives certain particulars of dressings of flies, but no instruction in the methods of tying. Walton himself, in his first edition (1653), gives a transcript of the instructions in Barker's Delight (1651); and in his second edition (1655) he falls back Leonard Mascall's Booke of Fishinge with a Hooke and Line (1590), and copies Mascall's instructions verbatim. Walton was therefore no inventor or refiner. on The advance in the art during the succeeding centuries has been slow, many writers who pretended to authority contenting themselves with [TROUT, RAINBOW merely copying from previous authors. In the Compleat Fisherman of James Saunders (1724) there is the first mention of silkworm gut. Successively there followed Bowlker's work, The Universal Angler (1766), Best's Concise Treatise (1787), T. F. Salter's Angler's Guide (1814), Geo. C. Bainbridge's Flyfisher's Guide (1816), Ronald's Flyfisher's Entomology (1836), Hewett Wheatley's Rod and Line (1849), which advocates eyed hooks; and several other improvements much in advance of his time; John Jackson's Practical Flyfisher (1853), Blacker's Art of Flymaking (1855), Stewart's Practical Angler (1857), and Theakston's British Angling Flies (1862). In Francis Francis's Book of Angling, published first in 1867, the art of fishing with a dry-fly is first touched on by a standard author, though a century earlier the method had been suggested for casual use. Indeed, in the same century appeared eyed hooks and the Pennell jam knot. In 1876 appeared A Quaint Treatise of Flees and the Art of Artyfychall Flee Making, Mr. Aldam's reprint of an old Derbyshire manufive flies, with addenda by Mr. Aldam. The feature of this work was that a representation of every fly described was mounted in sunk panels, with examples of the materials from script describing the dressings of some twentywhich it was made. It is said that there are several old manuscript copies of the same original MS. transmitted from father to son in the midland and northern counties.

In 1885 appeared Mr. F. M. Halford's Floating Flies and How to Dress Them, a work in which the first serious and adequate attempt was ever made to describe the minute processes of fly haustive that the art of dressing sunk flies may dressing. And although it purports to be confined to giving instructions in dressing floating flies, yet it is so clear, so careful, and so exreadily be picked up from its pages. An extension of the subject, bringing it down to date, entitled Dry-fly Entomology, has also been published.

Though doubtless from the first some effort, more or less crude, was made to imitate natural insects, yet Ronald (Flyfisher's Entomology) was the first, in 1837, to set side by side upon the same page pictures of the natural flies and the dressings claiming to represent them, and to append to the descriptions the scientific names of the various insects depicted. Bainbridge's work in 1816 had given certain coloured pictures, more or less meritorious, of some of the natural insects, but not of the dressings representing them. Theakston's work gave minute verbal descriptions of some ninety different insects, with a careful black and white life-size drawing of LARGE AND SMALL PHRYGANIDS. (Two-thirds natural size.) each. These works gave a great stimulus to the study of angler's entomology, and led incidentally to a steady improvement in the dressing of flies.

The classes of natural flies imitated are:- I. The Ephemeridæ, comprising the Green Drakes, the March brown series, the blue, olive, TROUT FLY DRESSING] and yellow dun series, the blue winged olives and the iron blue series with their respective spinners. II. The Sialidæ, comprising the Alder fly.

III. The Phryganidæ, the caddis or case flies.

IV. The Perlidæ or stone flies.

V. The Tipulidæ or saw flies.

VI. The Cecropidæ, comprising only the Froghopper.

VII. The Empidæ, comprising only the Early Black Gnat.

VIII. The Tenthredinidæ, comprising only the Great Dark Drone.

IX. The Hemerobüdæ, comprising only the Gold-eyed Gauze-wing.

X. The Diptera, comprising house-flies, bluebottles, and the like. XI. The Coleoptera or beetles.

XII. The Hymenoptera, comprising ants, bees, and ichneumons.

In addition, anglers dress imitations of caterpillars and of some of the above insects in their larval and pupal stages, and flies typical of a class which we may call general flies, and flies feather are often employed. Derbyshire affects lightly built floating flies and bumbles; the Usk, big spare lightly dressed winged flies with a very knowing rake. There are, in fact, endless varieties in detail in the dressing of flies to suit the various rivers of these islands; and that is why it is well to get flies of a local dresser, or, better still, to be master of all modes of dressing them.

Above are seven styles of dressing the common blue dun.

Implements. It is only possible to few to make firm work on small eyed hooks without the assistance of a vice; and most amateurs will find a vice an advantage in dressing sunk as well as floating flies. The form is not very important, provided that the jaws are strong and well tempered, yet small enough to allow the forefinger and thumb to come down upon and grasp the hookshank in the operation of winging. The vice should be provided with a clamp for fixing it to a table. The most beautiful vice is Mr.

Hawksley's, made by Messrs. Holtzapfel, of Cockspur Street, price 35s. In addition, the 1 2 3 5 4 6 I. GREEN DRAKE. 6. ALDER. 2. MARCH BROWN. 7. FEBRUARY RED. 8 3. OLIVE DUN. 8. WILLOW FLY. (Two-thirds natural size.) 4. RED SPINNER. 9. STONE FLY. 9 5. IRON BLUE. 10. HAWTHORN FLY. 10 which may be termed fancy flies, resembling no insect except in shape; for even where no particular insect is imitated, the aim of the dresser is to suggest an insect of some sort. The cuts have given an idea of the shapes of the principal natural flies. The methods of imitating them are very various; and in deciding whether to adopt one method rather than another the dresser should ascertain the character of the water to be fished with it.

The aim being to suggest some living insect, the dresser must seek to present to the fish the colours, the shadings, the harmonies, the attitudes, and the motions of life. Thus, where the surface of the stream is smooth, so that the natural flies float down on it without danger of immersion, the best imitation the angler can offer to the fish is one as precise in colour, size, shape, and attitude on the water as can be contrived consistently with strength and durability. Motion must be omitted. Here what is known as dry-fly fishing comes into play. In tumbling, shallow mountain streams, the colour and action of life only can be suggested, as any attempt to portray the attitudes of the natural insect as it is when at rest would be thrown away; and the action of something struggling for life in a boiling torrent is much more likely to be attractive to the fish. Hence the Yorkshire school, addicted to the use of soft hackles and discarding wings, and the Devonshire school, which employs brilliant cock's hackles, again without wings. For big, heavy waters, such as Tweed and Clyde in spring, strongly built flies with divided wings of several thicknesses of VOL. IV operator needs a pair of straight, fine-pointed dissecting scissors, a pair of curved oculist's or manicure scissors, one or more pairs of hackle pliers, a watchmaker's pliers, a sharp penknife, and a dubbing needle. A stout needle, fixed in efficient dubbing a wooden shaft, makes an needle.

Materials. The dresser must have tying silks of various colours, wax, gut, hooks, varnish, floss silk, dubbings, herls, tinsels, wires, hackles, both from poultry and other birds, wings and other feathers of various birds, and dyes.

Tying Silks. Pearsall's gossamer silk, spun for the purpose, are the most convenient on the whole.

Naples silk and glover's silk are also used by many. The essential colours are cream, straw, primrose, yellow, orange (two shades), crimson, and (for north country streams) purple. It is well to have also green, ash, black, brown, and Mr. Aldam's Indian yellow. All these silks darken very much when waxed.

Wax. It is therefore desirable to have some transparent wax in addition to some ordinary harness maker's wax.

Gut will be required, if the flies are not dressed on eyed hooks, and of fineness appropriate to the work in hand.

Hooks. These are either eyed or ordinary, and are to be had blue, bronzed, or japanned.

The bends used are Limerick, Sneck, Kirby, and Round, and the sizes run from 000 new scale (the smallest) to No. 4, and very occasionally to a larger size for trout, grayling, and dace, but much larger sizes are used for chub. Eyed hooks have either upturned or downturned or straight eyes.

Sizes under No. 4 are not found to hook well in wet fly-fishing, and it is better for this purpose to dress flies on gut. On the other hand, for dry-fly fishing eyed hooks present enormous advantages. Mr. H. S. Hall's Snecky Limerick bend with upturned eye is probably the best bend for this style of fishing.

Varnish. A small bottle of ordinary spirit varnish, very thin, and stoppered with a cork rubbed with mutton fat to prevent it from sticking to the bottle, answers all purposes. The varnish is applied with a fine porcupine quill, or a needle mounted like the dubbing needle.

Floss Silks. These must be bought of tacklemakers, and a large variety of colours is of service. The essential colours are white, primrose, yellow, orange, and claret. All shades of green and olive, ash, red-brown, and purple are desirable.

Floss silks are used for wrapping round hooks to imitate the bodies of flies.

Dubbings are used for similar purposes, only they have to be spun on the tying silk to make them adhere. They consist of crewels, wools, baize, furs, of various animals (hare, rabbit, fox, squirrel, mole, water-rat, opossum, &c.), mohair, seal's fur, and pig's-wool. The function of dubbing is to represent the filmy, semi-transparent covering which modifies the base colour of the natural fly. Thus the mole's fur or water-rat's fur, with which the iron blue dun is dressed, serves to indicate the soft inky envelope which in the sub-imago covers the delicate claret spinner within within. So this fly is properly dressed with a claret-coloured silk, which shows through the envelope of dubbing. It should be noted that in a wet-fly, where the body is dubbed, it is of great importance that the tying silk should be of the right colour, for when the fly is wet, the silk will, especially in bright sunlight, show right through the dubbing in a most incomprehensible manner; and if the colour of the silk be wrong, the fly will not do. It is better to be wrong over the dubbing than over the base colour. or Waxing has a very modifying influence upon the colours of silk, greater or less according to colours of silk, greater or less according to the nature of the silk and the wax. With ordinary harness-maker's wax, white silk becomes dark leaden dun, cream a dark olive, primrose and yellow other and lighter shades of olive, olive nearly black, orange a dirty yellow brown, and crimson a deep red. Dubbings cannot, unless they be composed of one fur only (and even then not always), be successfully described on paper. The dresser should, if possible, match the dubbing with the natural fly, wetting the material and holding it to the light. If dubbing be made of more than one material, it should be well mixed by pulling and tearing until the colour is uniform throughout. This process is called "testing."

The dubbing is applied thus. A sufficient portion and a little over is taken in the hand and picked out so as to form a long fine taper.

This is rolled in the palm of the left hand with the two middle fingers of the right. The taper roll is then placed along the tying silk, with the fine end towards the fly, close up to the hook, and is rolled on to the silk with the forefinger and thumb . The silk is then twisted tightly from right to left (assuming that the dresser is winding over the hook and away from him), until it has taken hold of the dubbing for a sufficient length.

The silk with the adhering dubbing can now be wound on to the hook. The object of twisting the silk from right to left is to prevent the dubbing from working off the silk. If twisted in this way, each lap of the dubbed silk serves to fix the dubbing tighter. In some flies only fix the dubbing tighter. In some flies only a little dubbing is put under the breast or round [TROUT FLY DRESSING the shoulders. In other patterns the dubbing is used to represent the legs of the fly only. In dressing duns, it is well to pick over the dubbed body with the pliers to remove any inequalities. cluding the eye feathers, and black ostrich herls Herls. Green and bronze peacock herls, inare essential, with wing and tail feathers of Strips from the tails of golden pheasant, cockadjutant and condor for those who can get them. pheasant, turkey, blue macaw, magpie, and others, breast feathers of the common goose, wing and back feathers of the heron, lapwings' toppings, and many more, are useful at times. widths, fine gold wire, fine gold and silver twist Tinsels. Flat gold and silver tinsel of two thicknesses, and (for chub flies) stouter oval gold and silver twists should be procured.

Hackles are the most important part of the fly-dresser's equipment. They are procured from the necks and saddles of poultry, and from the necks, breasts, backs, rumps, and wing coverts of numerous other birds. The following are the wing), most important : -Corncake (shoulder and under (shoulder), golden plover (shoulder and breast). young curlew (shoulder), dotterel red grouse, moorhen (under wing), brown owl pheasant, cock and hen (neck and breast), sea (shoulder), partridge (breast, back, and rump), gull and sea swallow (shoulder), snipe (shoulder and under wing), starling (neck, crest, back, shoulder, and under wing), thrush (under wing), and wren (tail). They are all easily procured, except the young curlew, the dotterel, and the books on fly-dressing, but are only of occasional sea swallow. Many others are mentioned in service.

Poultry hackles are had from the necks and The colours needed are badger (black centre and saddles of domestic fowls, both cock and hen. black, blue (the smoky dun colour known as blue cream-coloured points) to be had from Dorkings, by fishermen), and as many shades as possible be had from Andalusian and blue game fowls; from nearly black to the palest smoke-colour, to cinnamon, cochybondhu (a hackle with black centre and list, and red in the interval), cream rock), furnace (black centre and red points), cuckoo (a freckled hackle from the Plymouth ginger (a series of shades from cream to light red , including ginger cuckoo), grizzle (a freckled dun, yellow dun, and copper dun (blue duns of or spangled sandy or rusty blue dun), honey ginger or red of all shades), from cross-bred all shades edged or freckled with sandy or rusty Andalusians and blue game fowls, red of all mahogany, and white. shades, from a hot orange, ginger to deep in canary, onion dye, green olive, brown olive, In addition, white, ginger, or blue hackles dved and white and black hackles dyed claret. and medium olive (a good variety of shades), Blues, honey duns, sandy gingers, and badgers are the most difficult to procure good.

Few hackles approximate to perfection, but there are innumerable useful hackles falling short of that degree of excellence. Good hens' hackles indeed all birds' feathers (except rusty duns), are are easier to get than good cocks'. Hackles, and floating flies, cocks' hackles are immensely in best condition from December to March. For superior to hens'. Cocks of two years old and upwards vield the best hackles for that purpose.

For wet-fly work softer hackles are better than stiff ones. Poultry hackles should be fine and possible of the same colour back and front. clean and bright in the fibre, and as much as hackles, and the broad, glossy hackles on their The large saddle hackles of cocks, their beard shoulders are used for representing the whisks TROUT FLY DRESSING] or tails of upwinged flies (Ephemeridæ). These are also represented by the white and blue feathers from the neck and breast of a guinea fowl, dyed or plain as required.

Other Feathers. - Wings of the hen, blackbird, bullfinch, chaffinch, coot, corncrake, fieldfare, grouse, common gull, jay, lark, partridge, peahen, cock and hen pheasant, snipe, jacksnipe, starling (old and young), thrush, and woodcock should be had. Also tails of the great tit, partridge, pheasant (cock and hen), some broad, glossy feathers from under a cormorant's wing, and some loose-fibred feathers from a moorhen's breast.

Dyes. Crawshaw's dyes or the Diamond dyes in the following colours: magenta or wing, red spinner, orange, canary, gr green olive, brown olive, and medium olive, green drake, slate, and iron blue. how and when to fit these accessories to the best effect for the special purposes of the water for which the fly is required.

Processes in Outline.-A fly may be begun in four different ways, viz.:- (1) At the shoulder; (2) at the middle of the hook; (3) at the tail; and (4) in the case of an eyed hook only, at the head. And it can be finished in three places, viz.:- (1) At the head; (2) at the shoulder behind the hackle; and (3) at the tail.

Beginning at the shoulder one can work to the tail and back to the head and finish there, or return to the shoulder and finish there, or the process may be reversed. Beginning at the middle, one can work to the head and back to the tail and finish there, or return to shoulder or head and finish there. Beginning at the tail one can work to the head and finish there or at the shoulder. Beginning at the head of an eyed With the above equipment the amateur will be well set up. Few more feathers are required, but a piece of bottle rubber should be procured, some white horsehair, and some tawsy ends of gut for dyeing, some chaffinch quills, and some pike scales to wing black gnats.

General Principles. In spite of the numerous insects imitated and the innumerable patterns to be found described in books, there are structurally only two types of artificial fly, viz., (1) those hackled at the shoulder only, with or without wings, and (2) those hackled all down the body, or the palmer or bumble class, again with or without wings. These are the essential characteristics, and whether the hackle be soft and mobile, or stiff and glassy, whether the fly be winged or wingless, fat, thin, or medium, whether it be heavily or lightly dressed, whether it has quill or herl or dubbing for body, ribbing, tag, or whisk, are matters of detail. The tying silk is the structural basis or skeleton of the fly. The rest, wings, hackle, whisks, dubbing, quill, floss, and what not, are all accessories which are fitted into the silk at various stages according to the type of fly to be dressed. Experience only, and the study of good models, can teach the novice hook, one can work to the tail and finish there, or return to shoulder or head and finish there.

In any case these two rules should be observed. (I) That there should be no knot or hitch in the tying silk from the start until the finish, and (2) that that finish should be the whip finish here described. It is the only safe finish, and is executed as follows:- The Whip Finish. - The fly, being finished all except the fastening of the silk, take the silk between the forefinger and thumb of the right hand, about two inches from the hook, bring the loose end round the little finger of that hand, and over the backs of the fingers, and lay it along the hook so that it will be tied down by the next lap of the silk. Then go on winding the silk for three or four laps over the loose end, extricate the gut, if any, from the successive turns of the silk, and taking the loose end of the silk in the left hand, draw it towards the left till all the silk has been drawn through and the finish is quite firm. Then varnish the finish. The varnish may also be applied by putting a drop on the silk near the fly just before pulling through.

The dressing of flies upon eyed hooks is dealt with separately from dressing upon gut. The X 2 dressing of flies on gut is primarily for wet flies, and that of flies on eyed hook for dry flies. But if anyone desires to dress floating flies on gut or sunk flies on eyed hooks, he can do so from the following descriptions, the difference between wet and dry being largely a matter of the amount and quality of wings and hackle.

The Parts. Wings for Wet-flies. - Wings are of many types. They are either split, solid, or rolled; single, double, or treble, or even thicker; and they either show the upper or under surface of the feather on the outside. They can, within limits, be of any degree of fineness or breadth.

Rolled wings, reversed wings, Tweed upright wings (to coin a term), Irish wings, and Drake wings require special methods of tying. All other wings are here classed as ordinary. Wings are usually cut from the quill feathers (primary or secondary) of birds, but in some birds, where the primaries and secondaries are of too coarse a texture, smaller feathers of suitable quality are found.

Split wings, and indeed most wings, are best dressed from corresponding feathers taken from opposite sides of the same bird; but many dressers merely double the fibre cut from one feather, and coax it into shape when tied on.

Ordinary wings are tied in at the head, projecting over the bend of the hook; and where feathers from opposite sides of a bird are used, the part of the feather which was nearest the root of the stalk should be nearest the head of the fly.

In tying on ordinary wings the fibre used for the wing is grasped firmly in the forefinger and thumb of the left hand, and brought down on the hook so that the fibres are nearly as possible parallel with the shank. The silk is then brought up between the thumb and the hook, over the silk, and down between the hook and the forefinger; the fibre and the hook are again grasped firmly, and the silk is brought down with a firm pull, and round again and over the fibre lapping, three or four turns closely towards the head.

Rolled wings, reversed wings, and Irish wings are tied in, projecting over the head of the fly.

Rolled wings are made of two little rolls of fibre from the wing of a bird, and it is distinctive of this method that they must be tied on on a silk basis, all other wings being tied on the bare hook.

Reversed wings are merely ordinary or rolled wings tied on, projecting over the head of the fly.

What are here called Tweed upright wings are made of two or more thicknesses of feather laid one over another, doubled, and then tied on as ordinary wings. The fibre is then divided into two equal parts, and the silk passed between the two parts and round under head and shoulder to keep the wings apart. Rolled wings and reversed wings are kept apart in the same way.

Irish wings are made of a doubled slip of feather tied in, projecting over the head of the fly. The rest of the fly is then dressed and the wing feather is then brought back to slope over the tail, and bound down with the silk and secured by the whip finish.

The wings of May-flies or Drakes are from the breast feathers of mallard, Canadian wood duck, Rouen drake, or Egyptian goose, and are tied in by the stalks.

Wings for Dry-flies.-Wings for floating flies are of three kinds besides May-flies-all split and all put on more or less upright-ordinary, reversed, and rolled. They are also single or double (except the rolled, which are manifold), and they present either the upper or under side of the feather on the outside. The upper side is the more usual side to show, as the outward [TROUT FLY DRESSING curve of the feather thus tied makes the wings sit like a V, and they serve as a parachute to let the fly down cocked upon the water. The detailed manipulation of these wings is dealt with later in the section devoted to dressing floating-flies on eyed hooks.

Bodies. The bodies of flies are simulated either with plain tying silk waxed with dark or colourless wax, or with the same covered or partly covered with dubbing, floss silk, quill (socalled the strands from the eye or tail herl of a peacock stripped of its metallic flue or the enamel of the stalks of feathers), herl, and tinsel, and are ornamented with ribbings of silk, gold, or silver wire or tinsel, or with tags of gold or silver tinsel. The method of winding-on dubbing has been previously described. The material for. winding on for bodies is usually tied in at the tail projecting to the left, and is thence wound to the shoulder and secured. Herl is usually tied on three or four or more strips together, and then the strips are twisted from right to left round and so as to adhere to the tying silk, and SO wound up the body and secured at the shoulder.

Legs. These are simulated either with hackles, or by picking out dubbing. Poultry hackles require no preparation except the stripping of the down at the root. But the soft hackle of other birds must be stroked backwards to enable the fibres to separate freely as the hackle is being wound. Cock hackles are sometimes doubled by drawing all the fibres to one side of the stem, the stem being held by one end in the vice and by the other in the hackle pliers.

Soft hackles, if too thick or of irregular shape, are often stripped of the plume on that side which will be under when the hackle is wound.

Every hackle should be tied in so that it can be wound on its edge, and with the best side towards the head of the fly.

Hackles are tied in by either the stalk or the point. Most modern dressers tie in the stalk and wind the hackle by the point, which is seized in the pliers for the purpose. Every hackle should be wound in the same direction as the silk is wound. Thus, if the silk is whipped over the hook and away from the operator, the hackle should be wound in the same direction, and vice versa.

Whisks. Three or four fibres of saddle or beard hackle of a cock, soft and flexible for wet flies, stiff and glassy for floating flies, or two or three fibres of a gallina neck or breast feather dyed or plain for floaters, are taken in the left hand when the whipping approaches the bend of the hook, and the butt ends being passed under the hook the silk is brought over the hook and round underneath again; then under the whisk fibres, close, to make them sit up.

PROCESSES IN DETAIL. - DRESSING FLIES ON GUT.

First Series.

To Tie a Hackle Fly hackled at Shoulder Only. Process I.-Fix your hook firmly in the vice by the barb and the lower part of the bend, with the shank end projecting to the right.

Double 15 or 18 inches of tying silk round the hook and twist the ends lightly together, and then wax the silk by rubbing the wax up and down the doubled and twisted length two or three times. Then separate and untwist the silk at the eye and draw it apart against the hook. Take a length of gut and bite one end so as to make a few indentations for the silk to grip. So far the process is alike for all flies to be dressed on gut. Then, holding one end of the silk in the left hand, and taking the silk in the right 3 or 4 inches from the left, pass it over the hook, and TROUT FLY DRESSING] holding firmly by the left hand, whip under and round the hook, beginning where the shoulder of the fly should be (leaving about one-sixth of the shank bare to take the hackle and the head), and bind down the short length of the silk with three or four successive lappings, close together, but moving towards the bend of the hook. The short end may now be taken off by a smart twitch towards the head of the hook. Next pass the bitten end of the gut athwart under the hook, bring the silk firmly round it for the next turn, and it will lie straight under the hook. Pull it until the bitten end is under the middle of the hook, and then whip in close firm turns to near the bend. Bind on the whisks, if any, as described; then the silk, or floss, or quill, or herl for the body and the rib, if any, or roll on the dubbing as described, and lap firmly back to the shoulder. Then take the hackle, prepared as described, a little longer in fibre than the hook shank, and lay it face downwards on the hook with the stem towards the bend, and the plume projecting over the gut, and bind the stem down firmly with two or three turns of silk. Twitch off the stump of the stem, wind the body material or ribbing or both to the shoulder and secure them with two turns of silk, and cut away the waist. Then, taking the point of the hackle in the hackle pliers, and passing the middle finger of the right hand through the ring of the pliers, hold the stem of the hackle at right angles to the hook, and turn the hackle on its edge in the same direction as the silk is wound, two, three, or four times round the hook, each turn close in front of or behind the last. Wind the silk through the hackle so as to bind down each successive turn, and, having reached the head, either finish with the whip finish, or, after three or four turns to form the head, whip back through the hackle and finish with the whip finish behind the shoulder. Cut away the point of the hackle and varnish the finish, and the fly is complete. A variant of this method of finishing behind the shoulder is, after binding on the hackle to whip under the hackle up to the head, to take two turns back from the head, wind the hackle up to the silk, whip the silk through it, and finish behind the hackle.

Process II.-Commence as before, but in the middle of the hook, lay the gut under, whip in close turns to the head, binding down the hackle stem on the bare hook, pass the silk under the hackle and whip to the head. Thence whip to the hackle, turn it as before, and whip carefully through it. If the body is to be plain silk, the dresser may now either whip to the tail and finish there or return to the shoulder and finish there.

If the body is to be dubbed and finished at the tail, the dubbing can be rolled on immediately after the hackle has been wound, care being taken to have the dubbing thickest at the shoulder, and tapered to the tail. Or if the body is to be floss or quill, the material can be tied in at the shoulder, projecting over the head, and wound to the tail and secured, the waste end cut off, and the fly finished with a whip finish. But if the body will not be made too thick, it is better to whip the bare silk from the shoulder to the tail, and there bind in whisks and body materials as may be, and thence work back to the shoulder and finish behind the hackle. This method makes a strong and workmanlike fly, and is preferable to the finish at the tail because (1) the latter is liable to be torn by the trout's teeth, (2) the former is susceptible of more elaboration in the way of body materials than the other.