76 ON DYEING SALMON-FLY MATERIALS. 



excellent for the tags, bodies, and heads of large 

 and middle-sized flies. 



The best naturally- coloured cock's hackles are 

 duns of every shade, black, brown, and black red, 

 ginger, grizzled, grey, and dark red or " furnace " 

 hackle, which is black at the outside fibre-tips, 

 and also black at each side of the stem that runs 

 through it. Hackles should be plucked in winter 

 from old male birds in their full plumage. The 

 fibres of the feathers of chickens or hens resist 

 the action of the water badly. 



Ho^v Feathers, Wools, and Furs are 

 DYED. — The best yessel for dying is a Wedg- 

 wood-ware pipkin, and one that will hold a quart 

 of fluid will be large enough for all ordinary pur- 

 poses. Before dyeing pig's hair or wool, or mohair, 

 each must be scoured of its grease and dirt by 

 immersion and boiliniy for half an hour in strons; 

 soap-lees. Feathers, the chief ones used being 

 hackles, must be also cleansed by w^ashing them 

 with soap in warm water. The principal colours 

 to be obtained are black, brown, blue, red, and 

 yellow, and by combining, in the process of dyeing, 

 those colours, all other hues and shades can be 

 procured. The reader is requested to bear in 

 mind that the art of dyeing is a very delicate one, 

 requiring minute attention and no small expe- 



