HOW TO TIB FLIES. 



but those also which will give him a keener 

 enjoyment in the pursuit of both pastimes. 



Fly dressing, unlike the making of rods, reels, 

 and other articles of the angler's equipment, is 

 no mere branch of other crafts. It would be 

 obviously unreasonable to expect that all anglers 

 should acquire these latter accomplishments, 

 especially having regard to the lasting nature of 

 the articles named. At the same time it should not 

 be forgotten that it is to those who combine manu- 

 facture with use and use with manufacture 

 whether as professionals or no that we owe 

 almost all the improvements that have been made 

 in the implements of our sport. 



In the study of river entomology, the great 

 importance of which is acknowledged by all who 

 follow the higher branches of angling, fly dressing 

 is almost as useful as dissecting is in the study of 

 anatomy. The manner in which it stimulates the 

 angler's appreciation of the form and colour of 

 the insects with which he is concerned will soon 

 become apparent to all who practise it. And, 

 finally, it may be said that, if the angler is not 

 a fly dresser, the fly which he uses will not in six 

 cases out of ten be the true expression of his 

 ideas as to what it should really be. And surely, 

 with a man so sensitive to detail as your modern 

 angler, this argument should have considerable 

 weight. 



I remember some years back reading an article 

 by the Eev. J. G. Wood, in which he shows the 

 difficulty of accurately describing any of nature's 

 colours. It was, I think, entitled, " Of what 

 Colour is a Dandelion ? " and may be read in 

 "Out of Doors." The difficulty of which he 

 speaks is one which continually besets the angler 

 in ordering his flies, but which may be, to a great 

 extent though not wholly removed by his 

 learning to dress them for himself. It may even 



