FOR FLY DRESSING. 15 



whether natural or dyed, is stripped of the metallic 

 flue adhering to it by drawing the strand several 

 times from point to root between the nail of the 

 right thumb and the ball of the right forefinger. 

 The beginner must not be discouraged at finding 

 that he breaks an abnormally large proportion of 

 the quills in stripping them. In all cases select 

 the upper strands of the eye for dyeing pale colours, 

 as they show a larger proportion of the light 

 ground of the quill and a smaller proportion of 

 dark stripe. For very pale tints the peacock-eye 

 can be more or less bleached before dyeing by im- 

 mersion for a longer or shorter time in " Di-oxide 

 of Hydrogen " or " Ozone Bleach," as it is usually 

 called. In fact it can be rendered absolutely white. 

 Care, however, must be taken not to leave the 

 feather too long in the bleach, as it has a tendency 

 to rot or weaken it. Any feather can be bleached 

 in the same preparation, but in all cases the opera- 

 tor must avoid spilling any of the liquid on his 

 hands, as it is said to be caustic in its effect. 



Peacock herl or the longer fibres from the tail 

 feathers are indispensable, especially those of a 

 copper-bronze hue, which are used without strip- 

 ping, either single strands for ribbing the bodies, 

 or two or three twisted tightly together to form 

 the bodies themselves. The colour of the copper 

 herl is much improved by dyeing in Crawshaw's 

 " Magenta." Some strands of peacock herl are of a 

 pale cinnamon tint towards the root-end, and are 



