DYEING OF QUILLS. 221 



then add some archil and common salt, and boil the 

 whole in a pan for some time. When it is cold, scrape 

 the quills, and immerse them in it for a fortnight, until 

 their substance is completely permeated by the dye, 

 otherwise the colour will soon wear off by use. After 

 they are allowed to become thoroughly dry, rub them 

 well with a woollen cloth, and they will become 

 transparent. 



Should this process of dyeing quills be found rather 

 tedious, almost any colour may be given them by add- 

 ing colouring matter to the shell-lac or other trans- 

 parent varnish used for coating : dragon's blood added 

 to lac varnish will make them red, and turmeric a 

 yellow colour. The polishing of quills or horn is done 

 by rubbing with finely-pulverized charcoal, or the ash 

 of wheaten straw, on a wet woollen cloth ; and after 

 sufficiently smooth, polish them after drying with the 

 same powder. 



PLUMBING. 



The first thing in float-fishing is to select a favour- 

 able part of the river or pond : such as an eddy in the 

 return of a stream, or a piece of deep quiet water in the 

 neighbourhood of bushes or trees where trout are known 

 to haunt, or a deep still pool well stocked with fish. 

 The next thing is to ascertain the depth at various parts 

 of the stream by means of one of the leaden plummets 

 figured in the margin, and note the depth of each 

 particular part of the pool upon a tablet, if the memory 

 is not adequate to the undertaking, so as to be able to 



