ON EYED-HOOKS. 53 



inclination of their fibres sloping towards the tail- 

 end of the fly, and with the darker sides outwards. 

 Take a pair of long bull-clog pliers of the form 

 shown in sketch * (fig. 37), and, pressing them open 



Fig- 37- 



by means of the thumb and forefinger of the right 

 hand applied on the portion roughed for this 

 purpose, place the four plumes together between 

 the jaws of these pliers with sufficient width pro- 

 jecting beyond the points to form, when detached, 

 a set of wings. Remove the pressure of the right 

 thumb and forefinger, and the feathers are securely 

 fixed in the position shown on the diagram. The 

 projecting pieces being four wings accurately in 

 position, can now be detached, and when a set of 

 wings is required for the next fly, it is only ne- 

 cessary to press the pliers open and draw the 

 whole of the feathers out sufficiently for the next 

 set of wings. Releasing the pliers, the remainder 

 of the four feathers is kept firmly in place. In 

 this way sufficient feathers can be arranged at one 

 time to make six or eight sets of wings. 



1 This form of pliers is the invention of Mr. Marryat, and 

 can be procured from Messrs. Weiss, surgical instrument makers, 

 Strand. 



