ble that the father
should be an ass than a horse. In my poultry yard I breed hybrids
between the musk duck and the common duck, and I find that I have
a much better progeny from the musk drake and the common duck than
from the common drake and the musk duck. In the latter cross,
although the males are fine birds, the females are not larger than
a widgeon, and fly about almost like wild ducks. This may not
always be the case, but it has proved so with me.

But to return to the fish. If any gentleman who is interested in
such matters will do me the honour to read this paper, and wishes
for further information on the subject, I shall be happy to give
it, so far as I am able. Very sure I am that the sportsman who
once fairly starts as a fly-fisher, and is so fortunate as to hook
a Salmon or a large Trout, will thenceforward despise or lightly
esteem corks and floats, ground-bait and trimmers, punts and Perch
fishing, and will fairly wish them all exchanged for a nice stream
well stocked with Trout--as a gentleman lately said to me, fly-
fishing is a perfect infatuation! He was quite right. The extreme
avidity with which it is followed by the thoroughly initiated, can
only be explained on that supposition; to the casual observer,
there does not appear to be any strong excitement in it. But that
is a great mistake. Let me get to the bank of a river well stocked
with Trout in a good humour, early in the morning, and I feel
neither hunger, thirst, nor fatigue if I fish until dark without
tasting of anything. And the excitement of hooking a ten or twelve
pound Salmon is not much inferior to that produced by a long run
after the hounds.

I cannot conclude without calling the attention of all interested,
and who are able to render assistance in remedying the evil, to
the great falling off in the quantity of fish there is in all the
Salmon rivers in England. With those in Scotland and Ireland I am
not acquainted, but believe that matters are not in a much better
state there. I believe that the unsatisfactory state of the laws
has a great deal to do with this decline in the value of the
fisheries, and I also believe that it is quite possible so to
alter the law as to very greatly improve them, and that without
improperly interfering with what is of far more importance--I mean
the manufactories of the country. As the law stands at present the
proprietors of the upper parts of rivers have not the slightest
interest in the preserv