124 ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 



the partridge grey from the breast ; brown from the 

 shoulders ; and spotted red from the tail for the veined 

 and checkered wings of the Royal Charlie, check wing, 

 mottled brown and red brown drakes. For the light 

 and blue drakes (and the bio shades of the plain wings 

 of some others) they took from the starling, snipe, etc. ; 

 and for the dark drake (watchet) from the waterhen 

 (for the dark shades of wings of some others from the 

 swift, blackbird, etc). For the wings of the freckled 

 duns they took the freckled feather of the moorcock 

 (where they found for others of the dark stickbait 

 tribes) ; and for the tawny and light wings of the cod- 

 bait tribes, the light, grannam, sanded, plover, dun, 

 etc., they took from the brown owl, landrail, dotterel, 

 plover, etc. These feathers have been chosen by the 

 anglers of yore to imitate the wings of these aquatic 

 chiefs of the small-fly list, which are the principal flies 

 they imitated. The feathers are still held good. Their 

 popularity seems to have outlived the flies. They are 

 all fished by the craft, not at hap-hazard through the 

 day, but on the days and at the hours when they or 

 such of them as shew themselves on the waters to the 

 fishes. If better matches are known or can be found 

 in other birds, adopt them, for the flyfisher must look 

 round for himself and scrutinise every fly, or he may 

 often be deceived. All is when his flies are like those 

 that the fishes are taking, he will have the best chance 

 of a kill. The feathers on the outsides of the dotterel 

 wings, with light edges, assimulate naturally with the 

 ends of the closed wings of several species of browns 

 and duns, as they shew at the end of the body, The 

 wings of many of the flies are thick and veiny at the 



