FLY- MAKING. 213 



the way from the "bend or only part of the way, or 

 merely tied very full at the head. In this matter, 

 as well as concerning palmers, writers differ. A 

 palmer is properly a long-bodied fly with two small 

 hooks, and hackles wound the entire length, to 

 represent a caterpillar and its hairy ornaments. 

 The hooks are often made double expressly for this 

 purpose. A hackle has but one hook and a shorter 

 body. The word midge is another word that leads 

 to mistakes ; there are only a few proper midge-flies, 

 such as the gnat, ant, etc., but any fly may be 

 dressed on a minute hook and called a midge-fly, 

 although this is not an accurate use of language. 

 Horse-hair is sometimes used as a substitute for gut 

 by old-fashioned anglers, but it is weaker, more apt 

 to slip, and more perceptible to the fish. 



An excellent plan for preserving feathers conve- 

 niently and safely, is to put them in envelopes suited 

 in size to their length, and to stow them, together 

 with a piece of camphor, in a tin box. If they are 

 looked over occasionally, and the camphor renewed 

 as it wastes, they will remain untouched by moth ; 

 but if they are to be kept for a long time unhandled, 

 they should be deposited in a linen bag. The enve- 

 lopes should be large, for if the fibres are bent they 

 will not make handsome wings, and the different 

 classes of feathers may be tied in separate bundles. 

 . The following w r ax is recommended in the Appen- 

 dix to "Fly-fishing in Salt and Fresh Water:" 

 Melt some resin in a small vessel over a slow fire, 

 and whilst it is on the fire and after it has become 



