80 THE PRACTICAL ANGLER 



spider or hackle fly is made of it entirely, and in 

 other flies it is used to imitate the legs of the insect. 

 We, however, think the cock-hackle by no means 

 deserving of so much attention as is bestowed upon 

 it, being too stiff and wiry to represent the legs of 

 an insect, and we prefer hen-hackles, or still better, 

 the small feathers taken from the neck or outside of 

 the wings of a variety of small birds. But these 

 latter are not always to be had of the colour wanted, 

 and cock-hackles are very convenient to fall back 

 upon, but should be selected as soft in the fibre as 

 possible. Amongst those most serviceable to the 

 angler are the small feathers taken from the outside 

 of the wings, as also from the neck and shoulders of 

 the following birds : the starling, landrail, dotterel, 

 mavis, grey plover, golden plover, partridge, and 

 grouse. Of the foregoing, we consider the feathers 

 taken from the cock starling the most valuable of 

 all to the angler. They have a rich glossy black, 

 which no other feathers possess, and we always use 

 them in place of the black cock-hackle. Next to 

 them we rank the feathers of a reddish-brown colour 

 taken from the outside of the wing of the landrail, 

 the only feathers which take the place of the red 

 cock-hackle ; and as it is impossible to get any 

 quantity of these sufficiently small, we frequently 

 find it necessary to have recourse to red hackles. 



The feathers of the dotterel are also held in high 

 esteem, but all those just mentioned may with 

 advantage be substituted for the hackle in the for- 

 mation of all trouting flies and spiders. Their 



