TROUT-FLIES. 89 



stem of the hackle off so as to leave the fibres in the 

 V-shaped form shown in the engraving. These latter 

 form the whisks. By leaving and lapping over the 

 stem of the hackle and the end of the silk, or by 

 " stripping " the former and cutting the latter off close, 

 the body can be made thick or thin as desired. 



It will be seen that the body of the above fly is made 

 of the same strand of silk with which the gut is tied on, 

 and that the ** whisk '■' is made of the same feather that 

 forms the legs, or hackle. A fly thus constructed cannot 

 break until the hackle or body silk is actually worn 

 through, and will last twice as long as one made on 

 the ordinary plan, where the hackle, wings, &c., are 

 constantly slipping or coming undone at the head. 

 The saving in time in tying a fly (say a March brown) 

 thus, as compared with the common method, is about 

 400 per cent. ; which I have proved by having frequently 

 tied the fly on my plan complete in forty-five seconds, 

 whilst in the ordinary method it cannot be tied by even 

 a professional hand under three minutes. The whole pro- 

 cess is, moreover, so exceedingly simple that a single 

 lesson ought to be sufficient to impart it to the merest 

 tyro. 



The difficulty which gave me the most trouble to 

 overcome was the body-silk. In order to use this for 

 whipping on the hook, &c., it was of course necessary to 

 wax it ; but I found that the ordinary '' cobbler's" wax 

 quite destroyed the colouring of the yellows and greens. 



