AND MATERIALS FOR DRESSING IT 189 



In the Bihl. Pise. : 



" Round the hook they twist scarlet wool, and two wings 

 are secured on this wool from the feathers which grow under 

 the wattles of a cock, brought up to the proper colour with 

 wax." 



In Lambert : 



" They fasten red wool roimd a hook and fit on the wool 

 two feathers which grow under a cock's wattles, and which in 

 colour are like wax." 



It is asserted in the Bibl. Pise, that the whole passage is 

 therein " for the first time, accurately, translated," but this 

 proud boast must take a back seat, for Mr. Lambert trans- 

 lates with far nearer accuracy. One grave error springs from 

 mistranslation in the former of irpoaHKaafxiva as " brought 

 up to," instead of " hke," a meaning very common in Greek 

 writers of the second and third century. 



But, apart from the question which of the two be the 

 better rendering, no doubt whatever can exist which of the 

 flies described would be found the better, if not the only, 

 killer. Application of wax to the hackles of a cock would 

 certainly cause the fibre to stick together, entirely destroy 

 their free play in the water, and render them useless as wings. 



This passage, ever since its rediscovery by Oliver in 1834, 

 has been acclaimed by most writers on Fishing as (A) being 

 the first instance in literature, or for that matter in art, of the 

 Artificial Fly, and as (B) ascribing to the Macedonians the 

 credit of a " new invention " in Angling. 



It is undoubtedly the first and only express mention of a 

 specially made-up Artificial Fly down to 500 a.d., and probably 

 even down to Dame Juliana's Book (c. 1500). But I suggest 

 and believe that this passage is intended, not as a description 

 of a " new invention," or of a striking departure from old 

 methods ol Angling. It merely instances the Macedonian's 

 adaptability to his environment, and his imitative skill in 

 dressing from his wools and feathers a fly to resemble as closely 

 as possible the natural fly on which the fish were feeding, a 

 practice very common among anglers of the present day. 



So far from the Artificial Fly being a " new invention," it 



