The North Country Angler. 19 



wings, hackles and dubbing, in the little box. 

 There is one convenience in this box, that the 

 flies are not pressed, or any way crushed in it, 

 as they may be, perhaps, in the pocket-book. 



CHAP. V. 

 Of Dubbings. 



INSTEAD of a great bag full of dubbings, I 

 would rather advise the angler to get a quan- 

 tity of fine swine's down, dyed by a silk- 

 dyer, of several colours, viz. three degrees of 

 yellow, two of green, two of brown, &c. and 

 feathers for wings and hackles of the same colours. 

 No more of the feathers need be dyed than what 

 may be used ; all the rest stripped off the quill 

 before. 



I have seen white ostrich's feathers, which if 

 dyed of several colours, would make the bodies 

 of larger flies exceeding well ; over which silver 

 and gold twist, and cock's hackles, would make 

 all kinds of palmers for large fish. I would not 

 however, totally disuse dubbings, because some 

 flies may be imitated by them better than any 

 other thing ; and some dubbings may be of such 

 orient colours as cannot be dyed, There are 

 such inimitable gildings in some insects, in the 

 head, the eye, and other parts, as no man can 

 conceive, who has not seen them through a mi- 

 croscope ; and the legs, horns or whisks, at their 



