426 AMERICAN ANGLER'S BOOK. 



fly-fishers, a " Hackle," or a " Palmer," though neither has 

 wings, is known as " a fly." 



I mention the " hackle" here as a material ; there are two 

 kinds. First, the hackles of the domestic fowl. Those of the 

 cock are the long brilliant feathers that droop gracefully on 

 each side of the tail ; they are known amongst ornithologists 

 as the " tail-coverts ;" the boys call them " shiners." There 

 are hackles also on the neck of the cock, which are shorter 

 and also stiffer towards the head. The neck-hackles in most 

 cases are of lighter color than the tail -coverts ; the latter may 

 be dark enough to make a good Soldier or Eed Hackle, while 

 those on the neck of the same cock may be light, and have 

 sufficient yellow tinge in them for Ginger Hackles. The 

 same cock may also furnish short, stiff hackles from between 

 the tail-coverts, just on the lower part of its back, which are 

 of a brownish red tint, and will make an excellent Brown 

 Hackle on a small hook. Hens furnish hackles only from 

 the neck, which are short and soft. A Furnace Hackle is a 

 commixture of fiery red and black ; a " Coch a bondu" has its 

 fibres black at the roots and red at the extremities. 



When other feathers than those of the domestic fowl are 

 used as hackles, they are taken indiscriminately from any 

 part of the bird's body, where the best feathers for the purpose 

 can be found ; such as the wing-coverts, or rump-feathers of 

 the pinnated grouse (prairie fowl) ; spruce grouse (Canadian) ; 

 partridge, snipe, woodcock, or wren's tail. Such feathers, 

 though, are not as suitable as those taken from a cock, for 

 the fibres do not set out so stiffly, and when used for drop- 

 pers and dapping along on the surface of the water, the 

 fibres close against the body and give it an unattractive 

 appearance. 



Cock's hackles, in all their variet}^, white, yellow, ginger, 

 red, brown, furnace, coch a bondu, and black, can be had of 



