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feathers into a large basin, and pour the boiling dye on 

 them. Stir them well and let them stand in the dye at 

 least twenty-four hours ; then put about a pint of soft 

 water, a cupful of shumac (the kind used by tanners), 

 and a lump of copperas, the size of a walnut, into the 

 dye saucepan, well boil the compound and pour it over 

 the feathers. To ascertain the colour take a feather out, 

 rinse it well in cold water, and dry it. To deepen the 

 colour, add more copperas to the dye, and simmer it over 

 a slow fire. With care and observation you will get them 

 the exact tint of the natural fly. When the feathers are 

 taken out of the dye, be careful to rinse them well in 

 plenty of water. My mode of drying feathers is as 

 follows Squeeze them well in your hands, and put them 

 into an ordinary paper hat box ; hold it over a very slow 

 fire, and shake it till the feathers are dry. I find the 

 following an excellent plan when feathers are crushed and 

 bent, be they ever so bad : Put them in a basin, pour 

 boiling water over them, let them stand till cold, and then 

 dry them as above, which method will restore them. I 

 frequently do as follows to some of my floating May flies 

 which have been worked hard, and look done up : 

 I get a little hot water, lay hold of the gut, keeping the 

 wings in the hot water a few minutes. This will straighten 

 them, and you can easily dry the fly by wafting it in the 

 air, at the same time placing the wings in their proper 

 shape ; and I have been many times rewarded hy basketing 

 a fine trout with one of these worn out flies, as some 

 would call them. Of course they will not float so long 

 as a new fly. 



