The characters, chosen to support these Conversations, are—HALIEUS, who is supposed to be an accomplished fly fisher; ORNITHER, who is to be regarded as a gentleman generally fond of the sports of the field, though not a finished master of the art of angling; POIETES, who is to be considered as an enthusiastic lover of nature, and partially acquainted with the mysteries of fly fishing; and PHYSICUS, who is described uninitiated as an angler, but as a person fond of inquiries in natural history and philosophy. These personages are of course imaginary, though the sentiments attributed to them, the Author may sometimes have gained from recollections of real conversations with friends, from whose society much of the happiness of his early life has been derived; and in the portrait of the character of HALIEUS, given in the last dialogue, a likeness, he thinks, will not fail to be recognized to that of the character of a most estimable Physician, ardently beloved by his friends, and esteemed and venerated by the public. He has limited his description of fish to the varieties of the Salmo most usual in the fresh waters of Europe, and which may be defined as a genus having eight fins, the one above the tail fleshy, and without spines. It is to be hoped M. Cuvier’s new work on fishes will supply accurate information on this genus, which is still very imperfectly known. _Laybach, Illyria, Sep. 30, 1828._ CONTENTS. FIRST DAY. Vindication of fly-fishing—Poem in praise of Walton—Distinguished anglers—Fishing, a natural, philosophical, and scientific pursuit—Scenery—Fish possessed of little sensibility—Praise of fly-fishing—Field-sports related to natural history—Proposed fishing excursion—Comparison of a river to human life Page 13-29 SECOND DAY. Trout fishing—Flies—May-fly and gray drake—Alder fly—Object of fishing—Escape of a fish after being hooked—Sense of smelling in fish—Baits—The natural fly—Pricked trout—Local habits of animals—Trout of the Colne—Throwing the fly—Trout described—Spots on trout—Perch—Anecdote—Haunts of trout—Evening fishing—Management of a fish when hooked—Flies of different seasons—Fishing season—Difference of the gillaroo from trout—Diminution of flies in some rivers—Gillaroo trout found only in Ireland—Par or samlet—Other varieties of trout—Dr. Darwin—Experiment on trout by Mr. Tonkin of Polgaron—Cause of the varieties of trout—Mule fish—Crossing the breed—Impregnation of the ova of fish—Experiment of Mr. Jacobi on this point—Causes that hasten or retard the maturity of the ova—Why fish approach shallows to spawn—Admiration of the designs of Providence 30-91 THIRD DAY.