A Dry-Fly Purist's Advice to a Beginner. 21 



Wilder, was designated by the late Charles Kingsley 

 as " the king of Thames fishermen," and Harry in 

 due course succeeded to the crown. 



Eecipe for dressing lines : To a quarter of a pint 

 of boiled linseed oil add the same quantity of the best 

 brown thick copal varnish, and eight drops of gold size ; 

 a very little more oil may, in need, be added. Mix 

 and stir these ingredients well together in a small 

 slop basin, pipkin, or anything else suitable, while 

 the compound is being warmed over a slow fire. 

 The safest plan, to avoid its ignition, is to place 

 the basin floating into a large saucepan half full of 

 not quite boiling water (kept at that heat near the 

 fire), and when the dressing is lukewarm, take the 

 basin out and carefully place the line (100 yards, 

 enough for three or four trout lines) into it. It must 

 have been previously made into a loose coil suffi- 

 ciently large to cover the bottom of the basin and 

 yet be completely submerged in the dressing. 

 Great care is required in preparing this coil. It 

 must be taken from the flat wooden winders on 

 which it is usually bought at shops, not by winding 

 it off by the round and round movement of one's 

 hand and arm, for that would make it full of kinks, 

 but by turning the winder over and over as it is 

 held in the fingers of both hands and letting the 

 line fall down straight off. Then, in like manner, 

 it can be placed round some smooth article, say a 



