Concerning Flies 201 



smallest slur upon the hooks of other 

 makers. It amounts simply to this : I 

 have found these hooks stand the test of 

 time, and, consequently, I believe in them. 



I prefer hooks tied to gut "blind 

 hooks," in fact, to eyed hooks. 



I have a strong prejudice against black 

 japanned hooks, for delicate wet-fly work. 



Let any one hold a japanned flyhook 

 between him and a bright (or any) sky, and 

 he will need no further argument to convince 

 him, that a black hook, is more glaringly 

 visible, than either blue or bronzed steel. 



I now approach a subject of universal 

 importance to anglers, namely, the present 

 numbering of hooks by their respective 

 makers, and the urgent need there is for 

 reform in this respect. 



I have always vowed that, if ever I 

 wrote a book on fly-fishing, there was 

 one subject I should not fail to bring pro- 

 minently forward the one I have now 

 taken in hand. I am not going to cover 

 an acre of writing-paper with my remarks 

 all the same. 



But what I have got to say let me say 

 firmly ; namely, that the present Babel-like 

 confusion should be, by universal consent, 

 put a stop to, and in its place, order, and 



