THE BRITISH ANGLER'S LEXICON. 119 



Hickory (Carya) is the wood of a tree indigenous to 

 North America, and imported to this country in large 

 quantities, as it comes into use for many purposes. It is 

 highly esteemed for making the butts and sometimes the 

 second or middle joint of fly rods, as it is strong, tenacious, 

 and has a considerable spring. It is much lighter than 

 greenheart, and can be used with advantage in conjunction 

 with this wood. It is liable to get a set if not very well 

 seasoned. It stains well and takes a good polish. It will 

 not stand much heat or moisture, and is liable to injury 

 from worms. The second growth of the hickory tree is 

 that used for rod making. 



Hitches are half knots, and useful to the angler in 

 many ways ; although they hold firm, yet they are easily 

 unloosed. There are several of them, the simplest of which 

 is called the half hitch, and is mostly what is adopted in 

 finishing off the body of a fly, or of fastening any portion of 

 it with the tying silk to hold it firm while another portion of 

 the process may be gone on with. It is made by taking a 

 loose turn of the thread round the body, drawing the 

 end of the thread through the open coil and pulling it 

 down tight ; as the thread is well waxed, it bites hard, 

 and is wonderfully firm. This hitch shows no knot or 

 protuberance, which would be unsightly in a small fly. The 

 double hitch is made by leaving two open coils and drawing 

 the end of thread through ; this gives a firmer hitch than 

 the single one. The double half hitch is made by repeating 

 the single half hitch, and is usually the fastening made 

 on the head or finish of a trout fly ; but some fly dressers 

 use the whip hitch, especially for tying off the heads of 

 eyed hooks. This is done by throwing a long loop of the 

 thread out and confining both ends of thread by the finger 



