266 THE angler's guide. 





hold the hook, silk, and gut tight between the fore- 

 finger and thumb of your left hand, and, afterwards, 

 give that part of the silk, to your right hand, three 

 or four whips more over the hook and gut, till it 

 come nearly to the end of the shank ; make a loop 

 and fasten it tight -, then whip it neatly again over 

 silk, gut, and hook, till it come near the bend of it ; 

 after which, make another loop, and fasten it again j 

 then, if the gut reach farther than the bend, cut it 

 off, and your hook will be whipped on, and the parts 

 of the silk will hang from the bed of it : then wax 

 the longest ends of the silk again, and take three 

 or four strands of an ostrich's feather, and holding 

 them and the hook as in the first position, the feathers 

 to the left hand, and the roots of them in the bend 

 of the hook, with the silk you waxed last, whip 

 them three or four times round : make a loop, and 

 fasten them tight ; then, turning the strands to the 

 right hand, and twisting them and the silk together, 

 >vith the fore-finger and thumb of the right hand, 

 Wind them round the shank of the hook till you come 

 to the place where you fastened, then make a loop 

 and fasten them again. If the strands should not be 

 long enough to wind as far as it is necessary round 

 the shank, when the silk gets bare, you must twist 

 others on it ; after which, take a pair of small-pointed 

 sharp scissors, and cut the palmer's body to an oval 

 form, taking care not to cut away too much of the 

 dubbing. Both ends of the silk being separated at 

 the bend and shank end of the hook, wax them both 



