ON EAP1D STREAMS. 61 



Jar form ; and it should, moreover, stick well to 

 the silk. Some little difference will be found in 

 the varieties of silk, one colour or kind taking 

 the wax better than another the yellow I have 

 usually found the best : if the silk be not nicely 

 and well waxed before we commence tying our 

 fly, we shall not get the body on well, or shall 

 run a great risk of the gut slipping out of the 

 splicing connecting it to the hook. 



A pair of tweezers are convenient for attach- 

 ment to our hackle when we are fastening off 

 the end, but are not necessary ; the back of a 

 small penknife answers well, using the base of 

 the blade when open to press upon the back 

 spring of the handle of the knife. 



And now we must speak of hackles, which 

 are very various in description and colour ; and 

 as of all the parts of a fly the hackle is the most 

 important, much attention and care should be 

 bestowed upon the selection and collection of 

 these feathers. Many hackles may be obtained 

 of good colour, but indifferent shape, or good 

 shape and bad colour, or a colour which though 

 good when out of the water is bad when im- 

 mersed in it. A hackle then should be of 

 brilliant lustre, reflecting and sparkling in the 

 light, when moved about in the finger; if the 

 colour of the shining part of the hackle be red, 

 the root or that part nearest the insertion of the 

 feather should be black or nearly so, and the 

 under side of the feather should be dark ; also, if 

 blue (or what the fisherman calls blue, the natural 



