52 HOW TO TIE FLIES. 



bottom not be perfectly flat. The colander of 

 my centrifugal machine is of such dimensions as 

 to fit loosely into the jam pot. For a stirring rod, 

 a piece of stick will do, but I find a large pair of 

 watchmaker's tweezers about as handy a thing as 

 one could use for this purpose. With them a 

 pinch of dye of the correct amount can be easily 

 taken from the bottle and stirred into the bath, 

 and a hackle can at any time be readily removed 

 from the colander to be examined. The simplest 

 way to dissolve any of the substances used in 

 dyeing in their various baths is to place them in 

 the colander, and then to raise and lower it 

 in the water after the manner of churning. 

 A similar plan may be adopted to thoroughly 

 saturate the feathers if any difficulty is found in 

 this matter. 



White or grizzled hackles should almost in- 

 variably be selected for dyeing, though those of 

 other colours have often been successfully treated. 

 It is a fortunate circumstance that plain white 

 hackles are about the most common of any. 



When dyeing peacock herl quills, the whole 

 " eye " part of the feather is treated entire before 

 the herls are scraped. To examine the quills at 

 any time, press the feather, close to its shaft, flat 

 between the finger and thumb, or hold it on 

 a level with the eyes. 



Bleaching is, fortunately, not a necessary 

 adjunct to fly dressing, except, perhaps, in the case 

 of peacock herl quills, and straw for the bodies of 

 May Flies. The following is a good bleaching 

 mixture for either of these : 



Peroxide of hydrogen (H 2 O 2 ) ... ... 10 parts 



Liquid ammonia 1 part 



Water ... 10 parts 



In bleaching quills, the whole " eye " should 

 be immersed for at least twenty-four hours, 

 and then allowed to dry slowly, when the effect 



