AX EXTRAORDINARY SPECIMEN. 21 



with a double binding of gold thread and silver tinsel. 

 The legs are concocted of a black barn-door cock's hackle,, 

 taken from him in winter, when the bird is in full plum- 

 age ; next to the wing is placed a turn of grouse's feath- 

 er, and two or three turns of the purple-black feather which 

 is pendent on the breast of an old cock heron. Now 

 for the wing which is composed of a mixture of feathers 

 from, the mallard killed in this country j from the teal 

 drake, also a native \ from the turkey-cock ; the bus- 

 tard, from India ; a stripe or two of green parrot ; a 

 little of the tippet of the golden pheasant ; a thread or two 

 from the peacock's tail ; a bit from the Argus pheasant, 

 and from the tail of a common hen pheasant ; all these 

 mixed and blended together form an irresistible wing. 

 Round the shoulder of it give a turn of the blue and 

 black feather off a jay's wing. For the head, take a 

 small portion of that substance called pig's wool, so mys- 

 terious to the uninitiated, wool not being recognized as 

 one of the usual products of a member of the Stddce ; then 

 finish off with a few turns of black ostrich feather ; not 

 forgetting, as a final touch, a couple of horns of red and 

 blue macaw's feather. Now all this labour, and all these 

 heterogeneous materials, result in the production of a 

 fly which, according to a veteran angler, no salmon in a 

 taking mood (one can hardly suppose the fish swallows it 

 at the impulse of hunger) can resist. Behold the noble 

 8almo salar as he mounts suddenly from the cool depths 

 of the pool, balancing himself for a moment while the fly 

 quivers before him in the swirling eddy, and then seizing 

 the gaudy bait with a rapid spring, to retreat apparently 

 well pleased with his success in fly-catching, until he finds 

 himself abruptly checked, brought to a stand, and held 



