322 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 



him on the enormity of such a proceeding, and begging a 

 share of the spoils, we started for the place of rendez- 

 vous. 



The evening after my first day's sport was not an idle 

 one, for though the body inclined to rest, full well I knew 

 that on my exertions in fly-tying depended the sport of 

 to-morrow. To make a good fly requires not only skill, 

 but patience and knowledge, with a correct taste in the 

 blending of colours, a strong hand to make secure work, 

 and the employment of the best materials. How frequently 

 indifferent hooks and gut are purchased because they are 

 a trifle cheaper ! but if we could foresee the severe ordeal 

 that may some day be in store for our tackle, and the 

 splendid fish that may be lost through this parsimony, we 

 should be better suited with half the quantity at double the 

 cost. Your feathers should, if possible, be fresh, with the 

 pile unbroken, your furs and mohair uncut by moths, and 

 your silk the strongest, yet the finest, that can be pro- 

 cured. Of course, many of your principal feathers will 

 require to be purchased ; but if the fisherman is also a 

 shooter, there are few game birds that will not afford him 

 choice materials ; so that during the autumn and winter, 

 when his gun instead of rod is his companion, he can daily 

 make additions to his treasures, which will serve him in 

 pursuing the sister amusement. 



Everything which makes deception more alluring should 

 be resorted to by an angler; for let his experience be ever 

 so great, he will always find opportunities to regret his 

 deficiencies. Where all depends so much upon chance, it 

 is impossible to see the disadvantages under which you 



