88 FLIES, FLY-DRESSING, ETC. 



of the feather, and with the forefinger and thumb 

 of your right hand twirl them round together till 

 the feather is rolled round the thread ; and in this 

 state wrap it round the hook, taking care that a 

 sufficient number of the fibres stick out to represent 

 the legs ; to effect this it will sometimes be neces- 

 sary to raise the fibres with a needle during the 

 operation. Having carried the feather and thread 

 down to where you commenced, wrap the silk three 

 or four times round the end of the feather, and if 

 there is any left cut it off, and finish with a succes- 

 sion of hitch-knots, or the common whip-fastening. 

 If the legs of the spider when dressed are too long, 

 there is no remedy for it ; cutting injures rather 

 than improves them. This is a very rough and 

 simple mode of dressing a spider, and does not 

 make it so neat as if the feather were put on by a 

 pair of nippers, but it is more natural-looking, and 

 much more durable, as the feather is fastened on by 

 the thread the whole way down'. 



A fly is more difficult to dress neatly than a 

 spider. Having selected the gut and hook, take 

 the feather of which you intend to make the wings, 

 and stripping off as much as you require, fold it up, 

 taking care that the lightest coloured side of the 

 feather is outside, and lay it beside the other 

 materials. It is quite common in fishing-tackle 

 shops to see the wings put on singly that is to 

 say, consisting of merely one fold of the feather. 

 This makes a beautiful fly out of the water, but 



