THE SET OF THE WING 337 



the silk presses on them, and here also practice alone will 

 enable the tyer to contend with the difficulty. 



When the feathers of the wing are tied safely on, cut off the 

 refuse at the head of the fly, pretty closely to the tie, unless 

 you have toppings to put on. Toppings before being laid on 

 should be nipped with the thumb-nail at the butt, and the quill 

 bent slightly, so that they may, when tied on, have the proper 

 set (see Plate XXII. Fig. 9, p. 331) ; and one of the most difficult 

 operations I know of is to make half a dozen toppings set and 

 lie well together ; one or the other, particularly if they be 

 pretty large ones, will " stare " or point out of the right direc- 

 tion, thus rendering the fly, which in other respects is an 

 artistic and well-tied chef-d'oeuvre, the visible sign of a tyro 

 and a bungler. Many a time have I arranged a wing of toppings 

 a dozen times over before I could get them to set properly. 

 To avoid having to drill such an awkward squad, the tyro 

 should select the toppings he is about to employ with care. 

 They should all be of the same form and bend, and the quills 

 straight and true, for if one quill turns towards the left, and 

 another towards the right, unless he can nip them properly 

 and with certainty, so that they shall take the tie kindly, they 

 will assume their natural bias. 



Not that it matters two straws to the fish whether the 

 topping bends one way or the other, for in the water the stream 

 soon corrects all such little eccentricities ; in fact, it is possible 

 that the fish may prefer them so, as having more play and 

 motion. They are often dressed upside down, and stand like 

 a Prince of Wales' plume in the " Erne Parson ; " but it is not 

 the fish he has to please but that hostile critic at the other 

 table, that chap Jones, who can knock off two flies to your one, 

 and whose hackles and toppings never stare, whose tails curve 

 upwards in one right line (not several), and whose wings drop 

 into their places like magic, and never want rearranging, while 

 his heads don't come to pieces on handling. Ah! what a treat 

 it is to see Jones take your fly out of the vice, and to hear him 

 ask " What is this meant for ? and what makes you prefer a 

 fly with a tail like a turkey cock ? " What makes you, eh ? 

 why, envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness make 

 you. But never mind, your bungle wipes Jones's eye for all 

 that, and catches that eighteen pounder in an unguarded 

 moment which he missed the other day ; so equilibrium, as far 

 as you are concerned, is restored, though Jones is sulky of 

 course, and hints darkly, opprobriously, and distantly, as 



