26 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 



making my first essay on an unknown river, viz., the red 

 hackle, hare's ear and yellow, and black hackle. In Amer- 

 ica, on the small trout brooks, I found them equally attract- 

 ive, evidence of a similarity of taste in fish on the Eastern 

 and Western Continents. Fly No. 1, the red hackle, body 

 composed of rufous wool, twisted in with tying silk, lower 

 portions of body to be fine, gradually increasing in thick- 

 ness till the shoulder is reached. Shoulder of bright red 

 cock's hackle, the color that is obtained in a natural state 

 from the domestic fowl, game-fowls generally producing 

 the finest; but if those from the East Indian jungle-cock 

 can be obtained, you will possess the very best. Wings 

 put on separately, and obtained from the wings of the corn- 

 crake, shot immediately previous to their autumnal migra- 

 tion. Fly No. 2, hare's ear and yellow; this has a tail' 

 composed of two strands from the larger feathers of the 

 guinea-fowl, body composed of the fine mottled hair off the 

 ears of a hare, mixed with fine mohair, of any of the inter- 

 mediate shades from straw color to olive. The mohair 

 should be cut short, so that it will the better mix with the 

 hare's ear. This dubbing must also be tied in with the silk, 

 and the fly should be large at the shoulder. No hackle in 

 this specimen is required. The wings from the large wing- 

 feathers of the fieldfare, each placed on separately. Fly 

 No. 3, black hackle ; body of blue wool or mohair, finished 

 at termination with a couple of turns of silver tinsel, black 

 hackle from domestic fowl for shoulder, with the wing 

 composed of the feather either from tail or wing of the 

 water-hen. The angler had better be provided with vari- 

 ous sizes of these, as rivers are not always in the same con- 

 dition, and weather is variable. For me to say that other 

 flies will not kill better on some rivers, or at least equally 

 well, would be absurd ; but those described I have found 

 most generally useful. A handsome and frequently very 



