70 TO DRESS FLOATING PLIES 



the tail-end, and then one turn of tying-silk 

 (fig. 66) ; then four or five more turns of horse- 



Fig. 66. 



hair, and one of the silk, and so on, until the body 

 is completed. Fasten off with the whip finish 

 (fig. 67). 



Fig. 67. 



The body of the Spent Gnat or Black Drake 

 is thinner, paler, and more transparent than the 

 above, and hence the maize or straw is usually 

 omitted, and the dark ribs near the tail-end of the 

 body, which are very distinct in the natural fly, 

 are usually imitated by fastening in with the 

 horsehair a piece of peacock herl, and working 

 three or four turns of it round the bristle before 

 commencing to roll on the horsehair. 



