ON EYED-HOOKS. 33 



slightly inwards, and hence fails to fasten the fish 

 securely ; it can frequently, however, be set at the 

 correct angle in the act of testing. 



Take a piece of wax about the size of a small 

 pea, which soften thoroughly by working it be- 

 tween the thumb and forefinger of the left hand. 

 Picking up this piece of wax with the left fore- 

 finger, slightly moistened, place the tying-silk on 

 the wax, and, closing the left thumb and forefinger 

 with a slight pressure, draw the silk quickly 

 through the wax. After ^repeating this action 

 three or four times the surface of the silk will be 

 thoroughly coated with wax. The beginner must 

 expect to break his silk continually when waxing, 

 and nothing but practice will enable him to succeed 

 in acquiring the knack of regulating the pressure 

 of the left thumb and forefinger; it is well, however, 

 to note that, the shorter the length of silk drawn 

 through the wax, the less is the liability of breaking. 

 The silk requires waxing occasionally during the 

 operations of dressing the fly. At all times, when 

 tying, hold the silk firmly between the right thumb 

 and forefinger, and carefully avoid letting them 

 slip down the silk, as this tends to remove the 

 coating of wax. If the tying-silk should break at 

 any time while dressing, wax thoroughly the 

 broken end on the fly as well as a new length of 

 silk ; scarf the new silk to the broken end by 

 twisting them up together, and go on lapping 

 with the scarf for three or four turns, after which 



D 



