THE ART OF FLY FISHING. 587 



linseed oil by a proceiss that will neutralize or destroy the gelatine which all oil 

 contains a small portion of, and which unless removed will leave the lines stiff and 

 hard, which is of course to be avoided. J. Babcock, 21 Magazine street, Cam- 

 bridgeport, Mass., prepares lines in this way. C. Tappan, of Greenwood, Mass., 

 uses the first process. 



To Color Fish Lines. — Soak them in green tea, coffee or a solution of indigo. 

 Warm fluids prefnrred. 



To Keep Trout Fresh. — Trout carefully dressed may be preserved several days 

 fresh and sweet without ice or salt, by wrapping them in the long white moss found 

 in the swamps in the vicinity of lakes and streams where trout are caught, and 

 placing them in a cool shady place ; a hole in the ground covered over with a foot 

 or more of earth is a good place. 



To Preserve ./^/V;.— Take your fish and split it open <if large, say three pounds 

 and upwards, on the back) ; wipe it clean, but don't wash it ; lay it in your keg or 

 barrel, skin down, then sprinkle over each layer of fish a mixture composed of one- 

 half salt and one-half Muscovado sugar, putting on about one-half the quantity 

 usually used in salting fish. On arrival home repack, using a very small quantity 

 of the same mi.\ture. They do not get so salt as to require freshening before cook- 

 ing, merely requiring rinsing in fresh water ; neither do they lose their flavor, nor 

 become dry, as trout always do when salted in the usual way. They can be kept 

 for three months. 



Lotions and Preventives for Mosgjiito Bites. — Olive oil, two ounces ; camphor 

 two drachms ; carbolic acid, one drachm ; acetic, one-half drachm ; oil cedar one 

 drachm ; oil pennyroyal, one drachm. Mix. 



2. Oil of pennyroyal, four ounces ; olive oil, eight ounces ; tar, two ounces. 



3. Camphor dissolved in sweet oil, adding one-eighth part of glycerine oil to the 

 mixture is as good a protection against flies as the tar and oil, and much more 

 cleanly. 



4. Essence oil verbena, one drachm ; cologne spirits, not cologne water, ninety- 

 five per cent., one pint ; mix and agitate for twenty-four hours, then add distilled 

 water four ounces, and filter. Bathe the face, neck and hands well. 



5. Use carbolic acid soap. 



Giue. — Glue is prepared for use by a gentle heat in a water bath ; when thus 

 prepared it may be kept in a liquid state by the addition of a fluid ounce of strong 

 nitric acid for every pound of dry glue. Or take the dry glue and add three times 

 as much commercial acid ; this will dissolve the glue without the hot bath. The 

 ordinary " prepared glue " which is kept in an imputrescible liquid state, is com- 

 posed of six parts glue, sixteen parts water, one part hydrochloric acid, and one- 

 half part of sulphate of zinc. 



THE ART OF FLY-MAKING. 



BY THADDEUS NORRIS, ESQ. 



If the learner's fingers are delicate and he has good use of them, 

 it is better to dispense with some of the mechanical appliances 

 used ; but for one whose digits are clumsy or who lacks a free use 

 of them, I would recommend a vise for holding the hook, and a 



