STREAMCRAFT 



cause of the feathers on the hat of the woman 

 in the seat ahead that he coveted.) Anent the 

 hackle quest, do not neglect to investigate the 

 stock of Japanese feather bric-a-brac dusters 

 which you can locate in the housefurnishing- 

 goods section of the large department-stores. 

 That is, you can locate them at times; sometimes 

 they are out of them; again, for a period, a good 

 supply will be carried, both in dyed feathers 

 and in a nice variety of natural colors. Turkey- 

 feather dusters are always on hand, and those 

 made of ostrich feathers are also a stock com- 

 mercial article. White duck- wing feathers may 

 be colored to almost any desired shade by the 

 use of "Diamond" or "Putnam" household dyes 

 from the drug store use those for silk; so may 

 white (Leghorn) hackles; and albeit some 

 anglers deprecate any use of stained feathers 

 they seem to work out pretty satisfactorily. 

 For drying out feathers after dyeing, Keene 

 suggests shaking them up in a paper bag in 

 which they have been heating in the oven for a 

 time, and of course carefully watched. 



The natural oil should be removed from all 

 feathers before dyeing; to do this, tie into small 

 bunches by securing at the butts, wash thor- 

 oughly in warm soap-suds to which a little soda 

 has been added, rinse in clean water, and then 

 place in a hot solution of alum and water. 



Mr. James E. Stevens of Kansas City, Mo., 

 174 



