THE ART OF FLY-MAKING. 589 



is between a blue and lead color. It is done as follows : — Throw 

 your hank of gut into a basin of cold water, and while it is soaking 

 put into a small vessel — tin will answer — a pint and a half of 

 water with one drachm of ground logwood and six grains of cop- 

 peras. After it has commenced boiling let it bubble for ten min- 

 utes longer ; then, dashing the water from the gut, throw it in and 

 press it down with a small stick. In thirty seconds or so lift it to 

 see the depth of tint, and continue to examine and immerse it 

 until it suits your fancy. A light tint I consider preferable. Some 

 persons think that the dye affects the strength of the gut. This is 

 not the case, unless there is too much copperas ; much more than 

 I have prescribed. 



Tvisel. — Gold or silver, as it is called, but really " Dutch 

 metal," whether round or flat, is kept by variety or military stores, 

 or the country reader can obtain the flat from some dealer in Irish 

 linens, as it is frequently used, ornamentally in putting them up. 



Dubbing. — The materials, and they are many, of which the 

 bodies of flies are wrapped are, first, and most important, peacock 

 herl, or " harl,"as some persons call it — the little plumelets or fibres 

 growing on each side of the tail feathers of the peacock. The cop- 

 per colored for nine flies out of ten is preferable ; the green is 

 used for fancy flies. The next is mohair, or the ravellings of a fabric 

 called "moreen," or pig's wool, growing on certain parts of the 

 animal beneath the bristles, or seal's wool, the most brilliant of all 

 — all of which can be dyed of many colors ; or the fur of a rabbit, 

 squirrel, monkey, or other animal. Add to these wrapping floss 

 silk, and the list, I beheve, is complete. 



Hackles. — The hackle is intended to represent the legs of a 

 winged fly, or without the wings some imaginary caterpillar insect, 

 which trout take for a reality. There are saddle and neck hackles. 

 The former are the long streamers growing on each side of a 

 cock's rump, the latter are plucked from the back of the neck — 

 the closer to the head the shorter the hackles and stiffer the fibres. 

 Having stouter stems than the saddle hackles, they are less apt to 

 break in winding on. The older the cock the stiffer the fibres ; 

 but as old cocks are not always obtainable, I avail myself of the 

 good terms I am on with several poultry dealers to pluck the heads 

 and necks of their capons. Natural hackles are more generally 



