82 THE SALMON FLY. 



Section XI. Now attach tweezers, and make two or three close coils 

 of the Gallina hackle. Let tweezers hang. Press with the finger-nails 

 the coils close up together, release silk and fasten root with two turns of 

 it. Catch silk again ; pull hackle tight, cautiously, and bind the stump 

 end of hackle-quill alongside the other under the shank with six even, 

 close turns, thus fixing it out of the way of the wings, and making a little 

 more than half of the foundation for them. Make off. At this particular 



part of the fly the very utmost neatness is essential to the final correct 

 set of the wings, and the smallest unevenness in the foundation work for 

 them will defeat all subsequent attempts to compact and fix a wing which 

 shall preserve its natural and proper shape. 



I say "preserve," because it is possible, by a certain amount of 

 dexterous manipulation to get the feathers of the wing to sit temporarily 

 in position ; but on the wing being handled, or put to the test of use, it 

 soon drops its company manners and betrays its real character. Its 

 strands or strips refuse to curve together, part company, and stick out 

 in all directions, like a badly-used birchbroom. With such a fly, there is 

 no guarantee that the wing is not top-sided, or otherwise so wanting in 

 balance of material or balance of action, that in the water it is productive of 

 wobbling, or some other irregularity of conduct not conducive to good sport. 



OPERATION TV. 

 (Built wings, with under-wing.) 



PUTTING ON THE WINGS. We adopt a type of wing here, not as being 

 the easiest to learn to tie like the mixed wings but as most instructive 

 to the learner. 



