86 THE BRITISH ANGLER'S LEXICON. 



colours can be found in books devoted to the purpose. Dyed 

 materials are not to be compared for permanency to the 

 natural colours, especially feathers, which very soon get 

 worn and bleached looking in the water. Mohair, seal's 

 fur, and wool used in the composition of the bodies of flies 

 can be dyed pretty fast colours. The new aniline dyes are 

 very easily applied, and are very bright in hue. Crawshaw's 

 dyes are highly spoken of ; instructions are given how to 

 use them. Salmon flies generally are largely composed of 

 dyed materials, on account of the brightness necessary in 

 the composition of them. Many fly dressers are their own 

 dyers, as great stress is laid upon special shades of colour, 

 which experience and practice alone can obtain. Interesting 

 instructions about dyeing materials for flies are given by 

 Halford and other writers. 



Eel (Aquilla vulgaris). A serpent-shaped fish, found 

 in nearly all waters. It is destitute of the ventral fin, and 

 covered with a thick, soft, slimy skin, the scales being 

 minute and often invisible to the naked eye. The gill 

 orifices are very small, and as they are situated far 

 back, there is a long passage from the gill chamber 

 outwards ; hence, the gills not becoming dry, these fish 

 can remain out of their natural element for a very long 

 time without receiving injury. They are extremely tena- 

 cious of life. There are three well-known British species : 

 The broad-nosed, the snig, and the sharp-nosed. The 

 latter sometimes attains the weight of thirty pounds, 

 and is considered the best-flavoured of the three varieties. 

 Eels are different from other fish, in that they descend 

 rivers to spawn. Young eels, in countless myriads, when 

 spring comes, ascend rivers when barely one inch long ; 

 and so strong is the instinct impelling them to ascend, 



