108 FLY-MAKING. 



immediately in front of him, so as to be directly 

 under his hand ; viz., scissors, hook, gut, waxed 

 tying- silk, materials for the body, hackle properly 

 prepared, the feather with which to form the wing, 

 and such other materials as may be requisite for 

 the fly intended to be dressed. The hands of the 

 fly-maker should be fresh washed, so as to be free 

 from greasiness or perspiration, which would 

 interfere with the proper use of the wax ; and his 

 nails should be long and pointed. These appa- 

 rently trivial hints are really of considerable im- 

 portance. 



TO MAKE A RED PALMER, 



We shall commence our instructions with this 

 fly, because it calls in practice most of the prin- 

 cipal manipulations. 



The selection and preparation of the hackle 

 require the first and greatest attention, not only 

 in the case of the palmer, but also in that of every 

 other fly. To give an idea of the correct pro- 

 portion of the hackle to the size of the hook, for a 

 palmer (and to that fly we now exclusively confine 

 our observations), we may remark, that the longest 

 plumes on each side of the stem, at the broadest 

 part, should be about equal to the length of the 

 hook-shank, whatever its size, that is, from the 



