SUBSTANCES FOR FLY-MAKING. 85 



MATERIALS USED IN FLY-DRESSING. 



The substances the fly-dresser wants wherewith 

 to make his flies are exceedingly various, chiefly 

 feathers, fur, hair, and silk. The colours he 

 requires are still more various than the materials, 

 and, therefore, some of the latter must be dyed. 

 There is scarcely a bird or quadruped, particularly 

 the smaller sorts, that does not contribute to the 

 fly-dresser's magazine. The fly-maker who is a 

 good judge of colour has an immense advantage 

 over him who is not ; he will find many suitably- 

 coloured materials where the bad judge would 

 never think of looking for them. 



Feathers are obtained, remarks Mr. Elaine, from 

 nearly every bird, from the gigantic ostrich down 

 to the Lilliputian wren. Nothing can well be com- 

 moner for making flies than the ostrich harl, or 

 the individual fibres of some of the plumes of that 

 bird, dyed variously. Peacock harls, or single 

 fibres of its largest feathers, are still more common 

 for the bodies of flies. The wings of small flies 

 are made of the wing-feathers of the starling, 

 lark, landrail, hen pheasant, partridge, woodcock, 

 plover, snipe, dotterel, sea-swallow, sea-gull, wild 

 duck, teal, water-hen, domestic hen, and many 

 other birds. The tomtit's tail affords an excellent 

 blue feather for wings and hackle. Foreign birds 



