THE BRITISH ANGLER'S LEXICON. 85 



The technical name given to various 

 materials which are employed to form the rough or hairy 

 bodies of artificial flies, mainly composed of furs taken from 

 the hare's ear, the squirrel, the mole, the water rat, the 

 white seal, and black and grey rabbits ; the wool or hair 

 from a pig ; also mohair of various colours, and wool or 

 dyed worsteds. All these can be used singly, or they may 

 be teased and mixed together in proper proportions, and, 

 being nicely shaped up into a roll, are twisted or spun 

 round the well waxed tying silk, and then round the body 

 of the fly, forming it according to the shape of the natural 

 insect. Many anglers go in entirely for these rough bodies 

 in preference to the silk covered ones. The latter is much 

 smoother and shines very perceptibly. A fly can be made 

 either by floss silk, waxed silk, or by dubbings, which will 

 go to represent the natural insect of whatever kind it is 

 intended to imitate. Take for instance the blue dun fly. 

 English dressers prefer to use silk for the body ; Irish 

 dressers use the fur of the mole, or that taken from the 

 flank of the water rat both are successful imitations. 



Dyeing? is the art of staining or colouring by means of 

 dye stuffs the materials used in making artificial flies, as 

 well as the casting lines, and the rods, nets, &c. If wool 

 or feathers are to be dyed they must lirst be deprived 

 of the natural oil which they contain ; this is done by 

 immersing them in a weak alkali, such as soda, potash, or 

 alum. The latter is the safest to use, for it hardens the 

 fibres instead of softening them, as the other alkalies have a 

 tendency to do. After the materials have been in the alkali 

 for some time they are well washed, and then immersed in 

 hot decoctions of the various clye stuffs which are chosen to 

 produce the desired colours. Recipes for the different 



