THE WET-FLY EQUIPMENT. 85 



rheumatism, but waders, albeit uncomfortable, are 

 useful possessions, even if one does not wade 

 in the usual sense of the term. They are invalu- 

 able for crossing a stream and for traversing wet 

 places, such as water-meadows, and they enable 

 one to kneel on damp grass with impunity. There- 

 fore, I advise the novice to get a pair unless he has 

 special reasons against it. Wading stockings and 

 brogues can be procured all in one piece, but per- 

 sonally I prefer them separate, as I think they dry* 

 better and last longer. 



There is no subject connected with angling 

 which invites excursions into the realm of theory so 

 much as the question of flies. Some men have 

 gone so far as to assert that he is not a complete 



* Wading stockings after fishing should be turned inside 

 out and hung up to dry in a back kitchen, or some place 

 which is warm without being hot. When the inside is dry 

 they can be reversed and dried on the outside. After being 

 put away for some time they sometimes get hard and uncom- 

 fortable. They can be softened by being hung for an hour 

 or two in the vicinity of the kitchen fire, close enough for 

 them to get warm slowly, but not so close that they get hot. 

 Brogues which have got hard and stiff, and painful to the 

 feet, should be soaked in water before being put on. The 

 socks, which are worn over the wading stockings to protect 

 them from rubbing, should be looked to now and again, as 

 they develope holes in the heels on slight provocation, after 

 which they protect the wader no longer. 



