SALMON FISHING. I55 



No alteration whatever is required in the dressing, 

 from the smallest Grilse to the largest Shannon flies, ex- 

 cept that the hooks, hackles, and wings must be propor- 

 tionally larger or smaller. 



The speciality of these flies it will be seen con- 

 sists in the arrangement of hackles, which are, in fact, 

 double, embracing a " shoulder " hackle, and what 

 may perhaps be best described as a " head hackle ;" the 

 body of the fly being made a trifle shorter to admit of 

 the additional set. The hackles commonly used in 

 Salmon-flies are so small, and necessarily so much' 

 compressed and pushed out of position by the wings, 

 that when in the water they present very little appear- 

 ance of movement or life in the water. 



I shall here make no attempt at giving a code of 

 instructions for Salmon-fly making : it has been already 

 done as far as accurate verbal description and woodcuts 

 can do it, by several living authors, and very thoroughly 

 and completely by the late Mr. Blacker, in a charming 

 little volume illustrated by the actual files. This, how- 

 ever, is a monograph, and however beautiful or inte- 

 resting as a work of art, is too laborious and studious for 

 an age in which so much has to be done in every twenty- 

 four hours that even minutes are jealously economized. 

 Anglers of ordinary leisure will find it most convenient 

 to have their flies dressed at the tackle-maker's, and if 

 they wish to know how to make a fly themselves — a 

 most useful knowledge in emergencies — a few lessons 



