The Angler's Tackle Box 197 



Feather Staining. To stain fly-wing 

 feathers gray-olive, well wash your feath- 

 ers in a warm solution of soda and soap, 

 then put them into a basin of clean water, 

 and thoroughly cleanse them from the 

 soda. Next put them into a hot mor- 

 daunt of alum and water till thoroughly 

 saturated; then dip in a dye of fustic 

 wood for a few minutes, or seconds only, 

 merely to give them the slightest shade 

 of yellow. Dip them in a pipkin in 

 which a small piece of copperas has been 

 dissolved. This will kill the yellow, and 

 make the feathers a gray- olive. 



Feathers. Use dyed feathers for your 

 flies only when those of nature's dyeing 

 cannot be obtained. Most of the arti- 

 ficially dyed feathers will fade. Strips of 

 feathers should not be taken from one 

 side of the bird only. Fly wings are col- 

 lected each from a different wing of the 

 bird. 



Buying Tackle. There are two kinds 

 of fishing tackle one that is practical in 



