THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 281 



but with his head the contrary way ; in which posture they will 

 live upon the hook, and play with their wings, for a quarter of 

 an hour or more ; but you must have a care to keep their wings 

 dry, both from the water, and also that your fingers be not wet 

 when you take them out to bait them, for then your bait is 

 spoiled. 



Having now told you how to angle with this fly alive, I am 

 now to tell you next how to make an artificial fly, that will so 

 perfectly resemble him,* as to be taken in a rough windy day, 

 when no flies can lie upon the water, nor are to be found about 

 the banks and sides of the river, to a wonder ; and with which 

 you shall certainly kill the best Trout and Grayling in the 

 river. 



The artificial green-drake,f then is made upon a large hook, 

 the dubbing camel's hair, bright bear's hair, the soft down that 

 is combed from a hog's bristles, and yellow camlet, well mixed 

 together ; the body long, and ribbed about with green silk, or 

 rather yellow, waxed with green wax : the whisks of the tail of 

 the long hairs of sables, or titchet, and the wings of the white- 

 gray feather of a mallard, dyed yellow, which also is to be 

 dyed thus : 



Take the root of a barbary tree, and shave it, and put to it 

 woody viss, with as much alum as a walnut, and boil your 

 feathers in it with rain water, and they will be of a very fine 

 yellow. 



I have now done with the green-drake, excepting to tell you, 

 that he is taken at all hours, during his season, J whilst there is 

 any day upon the sky ; and with a made fly I once took, ten 

 days after he was absolutely gone, in a cloudy day, after a shower, 

 and in a whistling wind, five and thirty very great Trouts and 

 Graylings, betwixt five and eight of the clock in the evening, 

 and had no less than five or six flies, with three good hairs apiece, 

 taken from me, in despite of my heart, besides. 



12. I should now come next to the stone-fly, but there is 

 another gentleman in my way, that must of necessity come in 

 between, and that is the gray-drake, which in all shapes and 

 dimensions is perfectly the same with the other, but almost quite 

 of another colour, being of a paler, and more livid yellow, and 

 green, and ribbed with black quite down his body, with black 



* The resemblance is not much nearer, I should say, than Hamlet's cloud 

 to a camel, or a whale. J. R. 



f Green drake, or May fly. The body of seal's fur, or yellow mohair, a 

 little fox-cub down, and hop's wool, or light brown from a Turkey carpet, 

 mixed; warp with pale yellow, or red cock's hackle, under the wings; 

 wings, of a mallard's feather, dyed yellow : three wisks in his tail from a 

 sable muff. Taken all day, but chiefly from two to four in the afternoon. 



% The fly will be taken or not according to the colour of the water, or 

 of the sky, not the season. J. R. 



