ARTIFICIAL FLIES, 297 



the construction of Trout and Salmon flies ; among the best 

 of which are Ronald's " Fly-Fisher's Entoinology," and 

 Pennell's " Modern Practical Anj^ler." 



I will merely state that tlie majority of artificial flies 

 are of two kinds, and are intended to represent the j)erfect 

 winged insects of certain orders, and the larvae of others; 

 thus, most Trout-flies are the pretended imitations of some 

 of the species of the orders Diptcra and Neuroptera, the 

 former comprising the two-winged insects, as the gnats, 

 mosquitoes, midges, etc., and the latter the four-winged 

 insects, as the May-flies, dragon-flies, etc. The larval 

 form of fly is supposed to represent a caterpillar, and is 

 called a " hackle," or, more correctly a "■ palmer." It must 

 be borne in mind in this connection that an artificial fly, 

 when wet, presents a much different appearance from the 

 same fly when dry, and our flies should be tied with refer- 

 ence to this contingency. 



The term "hackle" is likely to cause some confusion in 

 the mind of the new hand, if not explained; for it is sus- 

 ceptible of several meanings, as used by anglers and fly- 

 tyers. The proper meaning of the word is a "feather" 

 from the neck or saddle of the cock, and known as a 

 "neck-hackle," or a "saddle-hackle," as the case may be. 

 These hackle-feathers are used to imitate the legs or feet 

 of an artificial fly; and as one variety of fly consists only 

 of a body with a hackle wound spirally around this body, 

 from one end to the other, this form of fly has come to be 

 known, in this country, at least, as "a hackle," though, as 

 stated before, the proper name is " palmer," and it is de- 

 signed to imitate a caterpillar, for it is only a body bristling 

 with "legs." 



Then there is the "hackle-fly," which is a fly with body, 



