258 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. [PART n. 



husk, or crust, near the time of their maturity, are very easily known and 

 distinguished, and are of all other the most remarkable, both for their size, 

 as being of all other the biggest, the shortest of them being a full inch long 

 or more, and for the execution they do, the Trout and Grayling being 

 much more greedy of them than of any others ; and indeed the Trout 

 never feeds fat, nor comes into his perfect season, till these flies come in. 



Of these the GREEN-DRAKE never discloses from his husk, till he be 

 first there grown to full maturity, body, wings, and all ; and then he creeps 

 out of his cell, but with his wings so crimpt and ruffled, by being prest 

 together in that narrow room, that they are for some hours totally useless 

 to him ; by which means he is compelled either to creep upon the flags, 

 sedges, and blades of grass, if his first rising from the bottom of the water 

 be near the banks of the river, till the air and sun stiffen and smooth 

 them : or if his first appearance above water happen to be in the middle, 

 he then lies upon the surface of the water, like a ship at hull, for his feet 

 are totally useless to him there, and he cannot creep upon the water as 

 the stone-fly can, until his wings have got stiffness to fly with, if by some 

 Trout or Grayling he be not taken in the interim, which ten to one he is, 

 and then his wings stand high, and closed exact upon his back, like the 

 butterfly, and his motion in flying is the same. His body is in some of a 

 paler, in others of a darker yellow, for they are not all exactly of a colour, 

 ribbed with rows of green, long, slender, and growing sharp towards the 

 tail, at the end of which he has three long small whisks of a very dark 

 Colour, almost black, and his tail turns up towards his back like a mallard, 

 from whence, questionless, he has his name of the Green-drake. These, as 

 I think I told you before, we commonly dape or dibble with ; and having 

 gathered great store of them into a long draw box, with holes in the cover 

 to give them air, where also they will continue fresh and vigorous a night 

 or more, we take them out thence by the wings, and bait them thus upon 

 the hook. We first take one, for we commonly fish with two of them at a 

 time, and putting the point of the hook into the thickest part of his body, 

 under one of his wings, run it directly through, and out at the other side, 

 leaving him spitted cross upon the hook ; and then taking the other, put 

 him on after the same manner, but with his head the contrary way ; in 

 which posture they will live upon the hook and play with their wings for 

 a quarter of an hour or more ; but you must have a care to keep their 

 wings dry, both from the water, and also that your fingers be not wet 

 when you take them out to bait them, for then your bait is spoiled. 



Having now told you how to angle with this fly alive, I am now to tell 

 you next how to make an artificial fly, that will so perfectly resemble him, 

 as to be taken on a rough windy day, when no flies can lie upon the water, 

 nor are to be found about the banks and sides of the river, to a wonder; 

 and with which you shall certainly kill the best Trout and Grayling in the 

 river. 



The artificial Green-drake then is made upon a large hook, the dubbing 

 camel's hair, bright bear's hair, the soft down that is combed from a hog's 

 bristles, and yellow camlet, well mixt together; the body long, and 

 ribbed about with green silk, or rather yellow, waxed with green wax, the 

 whisks of the tail of the long hairs of sables, or fitchet, and the wings of 

 the white-grey feather of a mallard, dyed yellow, which also is to be dyed 

 thus : 



Take the root of a barbary-tree, and shave it, and put to it woody viss, 



