72 PRACTICAL LESSONS IN RIVER ANGLING. 



flies besides those of my own dressing ; and so far from 

 troubling myself to imitate the forms and colours of 

 any natuial fly, as Best and others advise, I have 

 always killed more fine trout with flies altogether 

 unlike nature. 



There are in artificial flies three different parts 

 to attend to ; the body, the wings, and what is 

 called the hackle, meant to represent the legs; and 

 according to the sort of materials used, and the colours 

 of these, the various flies are produced. A sharp pen- 

 knife and a fine pair of scissors are requisite. 



For the body, the materials are soft shoemaker's 

 wax, and silk of all colours and degrees of fineness, 

 for binding or whipping, with gold and silver fine 

 wire flattened or twisted. The long plumelets or 

 beards, called herk, of ostriches' and peacocks' feathers, 

 are also used in the same way for binding along with 

 silk or gold thread. 



Dubbing. 



The principal materials, however, for making the 

 body, and which go under the general term dubbing, 

 are various sorts of wool, fur, or hair, the finer sorts 



