24:6 GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE. 



down. In this method much practice is necessary to 

 form a handsome head ; but its advocates claim for it 

 strength. However, I have so frequently found the 

 silk slip, and the feathers consequently point in the 

 reverse direction, that I unhesitatingly condemn the 

 practice. To make a handsome and serviceable fly, I 

 have always followed the. method of putting the 

 wings on separately, care being taken not to injure the 

 pile of the feathers ; and this should be done last, 

 the most minute drop of varnish being used over 

 the silk when the head is finished off. My first effort 

 to tie a fly turned out a thing like a humming-bird, 

 my second like a humble-bee, and so on till I have 

 succeeded in making a good imitation of a gnat. 

 Patience and perseverance have done this, and none 

 will ever excel in fly-tying without exercising these 

 qualities, so essentially useful in every walk in life. 

 As a rule, the bigger the river, the more water it 

 contains ; and the more boisterous the weather, the 

 larger the flies that are used ; but in summer, when 

 the streams and burns have become clear and low, the 

 smallest sizes must be resorted to, thrown with the 

 lightest line, from the most unobservable and most 

 sheltered position. 



Three flies, their coloring and component parts 



