i 9 4 ROD AND RIVER 



to make in regard to the tying of trout-flies, and 

 which I think may prove of service to the reader, 

 and they are these : 



I would suggest his ignoring the use of a vice 

 if he can possibly contrive to do without it. Mr. 

 Halford gives illustrated directions for its use ; 

 my own experiences have taught me that it is 

 more difficult to use a vice than to dispense with 

 it. The pattern of vice given in Mr. Halford's 

 book is doubtless excellent. I have one, most 

 beautifully made, by Messrs. Holtzapfel, of Cock- 

 spur Street. Now, in the illustrations given by 

 Mr. Halford, the hooks and materials are pur- 

 posely magnified in order to render the several 

 operations more intelligible. When, however, 

 the tiny hook is placed in the vice, I find that 

 there is insufficient room, by reason of the width 

 of the head of the latter, to manipulate the 

 materials. 



Last summer, when purchasing some tackle 

 from Mr. Holland, of Salisbury, I chanced to see 

 a pattern of vice which he had been using. He 

 very kindly explained its action to me, for it was 

 altogether unlike anything which I had ever seen 

 before. The jaws, which are very fine, are made 

 to close by means of a sliding ring ; and, while 

 they hold the hook as firmly as the ordinary 

 screw principle, they do not get in the way of the 

 fingers. Mr. Holland told me how he became 



