246 Fly-rods and Fly-tackle. 



long. This will soon disappear, and the solution is then 

 ready for use. Clean all oil from the brass you wish to 

 color, either with alcohol, ammonia, or brown soap; rinse 

 well, and dry. Then secure it to a piece of copper wire, 

 and the wire to a poker; dip the brass below the surface 

 of the solution; withdraw it at once; give a slight shake 

 within the bottle to avoid dripping, and heat in a fire as 

 quickly as possible. If you have a good alcohol lamp, 

 or one of those gas-burners which give a flame of the al- 

 cohol character, either will be better than a fire. Watch 

 the piece carefully. It will first turn green, then a black 

 speck or two will appear on the surface. This will speed- 

 ily spread, until the whole surface is a dull dead black. 

 The instant this change is complete, remove the brass 

 from the source of heat. The change takes place at the 

 temperature at which ordinary tinman's solder melts, 

 and hotter than this no ferrule should ever be heated 

 after it is soldered together, lest it anneal and lose its 

 stiffness. 



Two courses are then open. One is to cool at once 

 with water, and then to scrub well with an old tooth- 

 brush, holding the brass below the surface till clean; the 

 other, less agreeable but giving a better result, is to al- 

 low the brass to cool naturally, and then to scrub the 

 surface clean in the same manner, but dry. After being 

 thus scrubbed, rub well with a dry cloth until all crock is 

 removed. You will then have deposited a beautiful soft 

 dead surface of black oxide of copper on your brass. It 

 has a very attractive appearance, wears very well, and 

 when the sharper edges after two or three seasons rub 

 bright, you can, if you wish, re-black in the same way an 

 indefinite number of times. The whole original expense 

 will not exceed fifty cents, and the same solution may 



