58 SALMON FLIES 



qualities (e.g., Cochin China, Buff Orpington, 

 and many cross- breeds), but the Indian Game 

 is facile princeps. 



Black (natural) cock's hackles are, perhaps, 

 the most difficult of any to obtain good. 

 Indeed, they are in the main so unsatisfactory 

 that I nearly always use dyed ones, which 

 are much deeper, and more uniform in tone. 

 The trouble about these, however, is that the 

 dye very often makes them brittle. Sometimes 

 a Black Minorca cock will give good black 

 hackles. 



Dyed cock's hackles for salmon flies may 

 be of every conceivable shade, but the prac- 

 tical dresser for his own use need not burden 

 himself with a very large selection of colours, 

 and he will find that the following will meet 

 with most of his requirements : pale sky blue, 

 turquoise blue, claret (a full rich Burgundy), 

 magenta, scarlet (cardinal), orange (a deep 

 boiled-prawn shade), lemon (really a sulphur 

 yellow), green (grass green, not olive green), 

 fiery brown, golden olive, purple (dark violet), 

 and black. In addition, badger hackles, dyed 

 lemon, orange, red, and fiery brown, come in 

 useful at times. 



