TROUT-FISHING. 43 



had previously contained but few trout, converted into 

 good fishing-rivers. 



In tying your trout-flies, and all small flies, the 

 general instructions you will meet with in hooks are 

 very likely to mislead you as to the principal material 

 requisite for tying a fly neatly. Most books on the 

 art of fly-making direct you to get a fine bit of silk 

 and well wax it : now, instead of going to a shop and 

 asking for fine silk, you should go to a tassel-maker's 

 shop and ask for some gram, which is unspun silk, 

 used in making the outer cover of the knob of the 

 tassel, and is almost as fine as a spider's web, and 

 consequently would not bear to be waxed in the com- 

 mon way ; therefore, in order to wax it, you should 

 dissolve some common shoemakers' wax in spirits of 

 wine until it becomes of the consistency of butter, and 

 then put a very small piece of this upon the inside of 

 a piece of an old kid glove, and draw the gram lightly 

 through it. Should the gram be too much waxed, by 

 drawing it through the leather on the other side, the 

 superfluous wax will be taken off. Should you have 

 any difficulty in procuring gram, buy a quarter of a 

 yard of brown silk, such as is worn by Quakeresses, 



