6 ON FLY-MAKING. 



yond the power of words to express, and which, I believe, 

 no other mortal ever experienced. Even now, whilst I 

 vainly attempt to describe the effect that such scenes 

 have upon a true lover of the angle, my heart feels 

 ready to bound from its narrow tenement and flee to 

 those sylvan scenes wherein I have spent hundreds of 

 happy hours. 



MATERIALS FOR MAKING ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 

 In the first place you must provide a quantity of feathers 

 as follows : Young grouse, from under the wings, that are 

 of a, fine dark dun or lead colour; as the bird grows older 

 these feathers change to a white', then they are of no use. 

 But if it be a young cock, you will find some fine spotted 

 brown feathers upon each side of the breast, which will 

 be found of great service. An old cock has excellent 

 feathers on the back and but of his wingg ; likewise those 

 red ones from the throat and breast. Feathers from the 

 woodcock, both under and over the wings ; snipes, from 

 under the wings, which are of a fine dun ; fieldfare and 

 thrush-wings ; starlings, both wings and body ; swifts 

 (by some called long-wings and by others squealers; 

 they are a large species of swallow, of a dirty brown 

 colour ;) Cuckoos, from the back ; partridges, from the 

 back and tail ; young pigeons, from the but of the wing, 

 of a fine light blue dun colour ; sea-swallows, from the 

 back and wings ; mallards, herons, blackbirds, from the 

 but of the wings ; buff and blue dun hen-feathers, from 

 the back and but of the wing (pullets are the best, be- 

 cause they are much smaller than old ones) ; landrails, 



