ON EYED-HOOKS. 37 



Cut away with the scissors as closely as possible 

 the stump-ends of the wings, and, with the nails 

 of the left thumb and forefinger force them with 

 the silk foundation on which they are fastened 

 along the wire close up to the eye. The object 

 of tying the wings on in the first instance in the 

 middle of the shank is to enable the operator to 

 cut the refuse ends of the wings off neatly, which 

 is impossible when they are fixed close up, owing 

 to the projection of the eye being in the way of 

 the scissors. In the case of a fly dressed on 

 an ordinary hook with gut attached this is, of 

 course, unnecessary, and the wings are at once 

 worked on in their proper place. When cutting 

 off any refuse ends of material quite closely, 

 it is a good plan to steady the right hand by 

 resting the little finger against the pillar of the 

 vice. 



Strip the downy flue off the root- end of the 

 cock hackle selected (the longest fibre of the 

 hackle of a properly proportioned fly is a trifle 

 shorter than the shank of the hook), lay it along 

 the wire of the hook with the point of the hackle 

 towards the right, and bind it firmly with the 

 tying-silk until about half-way down to the bend 

 of the hook, cutting off diagonally, with the view 

 of tapering the body, any of the quill or root-end 

 of the hackle projecting beyond this point. If a 

 gold or silver tag is required, it is now formed by 

 tying in a short length of flat tinsel and working 



