HOW TO " SET THE DYE UPON A CAST." 35 



Black is occasionally used in streams which flow 

 from mosses, and are themselves of an unusually 

 dingy hue. 



The following are some of the methods used by 

 anglers for dyeing their lines, whether of hair or 

 gut. 



For a pale watery green. To a pint of strong ale 

 add (as soon as possible, as it is so apt to evaporate 

 when good) half a pound of soot, a small quantity 

 of walnut leaves, and a little powdered alum (then 

 drink the remaining pint of ale, if you happen to 

 have drawn a quart) ; boil these materials for half 

 or three-quarters of an hour, and when the mixture 

 is cold, steep the gut or hair in it for ten or twelve 

 hours. 



For a brown. Boil some powdered alum till it 

 is dissolved ; add a pound of walnut-tree bark from 

 the branches when the sap is in them, or from the 

 buds, or the unripe fruit. Let the liquid stand till 

 nearly cool, and skim it ; then put in the gut or 

 hair, and stir it round for about a minute, or till it 

 appears to have imbibed the desired tint. It ought 

 not to be strongly tinctured, as it is apt to rot 

 when too dark. For a bluish watery tint the above 

 ingredients are also used, with the substitution of 

 logwood instead of walnut. 



For a yellow. The inner bark of a crab-tree 

 boiled in water, with some alum, makes a good 

 yellow, excellent for staining tackle used among 

 decayed weeds, the colour of which it closely re- 

 sembles. 



A tawny hue is obtained by steeping hair among 



