84- FJJES, FLY-DRESSING, ETC. 



James Baillie, and have never been without one on 

 our line ever since. 



2d. The Eed Spider should be made of the small 

 feather taken from the outside of the wing of the 

 landrail, dressed with yellow silk, and is deserving 

 of a very high rank, particularly in coloured water. 



3d. The Dun Spider. This should be n)ade of 

 the small soft dun or ash-coloured feather, taken 

 from the outside of the wing of the dotterel. This 

 bird is unfortunately very scarce ; but a small 

 feather may be taken from the inside of the wing 

 of the starling, which will make an excellent sub- 

 stitute. 



The only objection to spiders is, that the feathers 

 are so soft that the trout's teeth break them off, and 

 after catching a dozen or two of trout, little is left 

 of them but the bare dressing, rendering it necessary 

 for the angler to change them ; and if the trout are 

 taking -readily, this has to be repeated two or three 

 times a-day. For this reason we always use winged 

 flies, when they take equally well, which, if well 

 dressed, will last a whole day or even two. For 

 making flies, in addition to the feathers before men- 

 tioned, the wings of the following birds are neces- 

 sary : Corn-bunting, lark, chaffinch, woodcock, and 

 landrail. These are used to make the wings of the 

 flies, but dubbing of som^ sort is also necessary to 

 form, the body, and for this purpose there is nothing 

 better than the fur of a hare's ear, or, as it is usually 

 called in Scotland, "hare-lug." A good hare- lug 



