FLIES 9 



from it falls so very lightly on the water ; and, even 

 when the hair has become thoroughly soaked, the 

 droppers, unlike those tied to gut, have no tendency 

 to twist round the cast, but stand well out from it. 



The most satisfactory tying silk is Pearsall's 

 " Gossamer," which is standardized in shades. A 

 shade card is illustrated and the numbers appearing 

 after the various silks mentioned in the text correspond 

 with the numbers above the various shades illustrated. 



In dressing the flies the silk is in all cases waxed 

 with transparent wax ; and, where it is stated that such 

 and such a silk is to be well waxed, the result should 

 be a shade or two darker than an ordinary waxing 

 would give. 



In the dressings of most of the winged flies it is 

 laid down that either the outer side or the inner side 

 of the quill feather used should in the finished article 

 appear as the "underside" of the wing of the artificial. 

 The reader will easily understand which is the " under 

 side " of the wing of the artificial if he remembers that 

 it is that side of the wing which would touch the water 

 if the fly were " spent " and floating thereon. 



Although the primary quill feathers are almost exclu- 

 sively recommended for the wings of most of the winged 

 patterns, the secondaries will often do equally well. 



The correct shade of dubbing for the bodies of 

 flies, where coloured dubbing is specified, can often be 

 obtained to most advantage by a mixture of two or 



