THE MOST KILLING FLIES. 89 



The only objection to spiders is, that the 

 feathers are so soft that the trout's teeth break 

 them off, and after catching a dozen or two of 

 trout, little is left of them but the bare dressing, 

 rendering it necessary for the angler to change 

 them ; and if the trout are taking readily, this has 

 to be repeated two or three times a day. For 

 this reason we always use winged flies, when they 

 take equally well, which, if well dressed, will last 

 a whole day or even two. For making flies, in 

 addition to the feathers before-mentioned, the 

 wings of the following birds are necessary : Corn- 

 bunting, lark, chaffinch, woodcock, and landrail. 

 These are used to make the wings of the flies, but 

 dubbing of some sort is also necessary to form the 

 body, and for this purpose there is nothing better 

 than the fur of a hare's ear, or, as it is usually 

 called in Scotland, " hare-lug." A good hare-lug 

 will make body for five or six gross of flies of all 

 colours, from dingy white to dark black, but the 

 mixed dark fur is the best. The fur of the water- 

 rat is also serviceable to the fly-dresser, and is 

 peculiarly suitable for small flies. The three 

 following are the winged flies to which we are 

 most partial : 



ist. A woodcock wing with a single turn of a 

 red hackle, or landrail feather, dressed with yellow 

 silk, freely exposed on the body. For fishing in 

 dark-coloured waters, this fly may be dressed with 

 scarlet thread. 



