MATERIALS. 101 



and without unthreading the silk from this hole, any 

 length can be looped off as required. 



If the centre of the bobbin be filled with lead, it 

 keeps the tying silk on the fly taut during intervals of 

 the tying operation. 



With regard to the hooks used in fly dressing, it is HOOKS. 

 better to keep them on the small side, fine in the wire, 

 smooth in the eye ; and before tying, examine the barb 

 and the temper by pulling the point moderately. 



Down turned eyes are the most convenient, but 

 fine wire and small smooth eyes are, we think, the 

 desiderata, the bend being a secondary consideration. 



The present way in which hooks are numbered by 

 the various makers is confusing in the extreme. In 

 an endeavour to clear matters up, we have attached a 

 letter for the hook sizes to each of our formula, and 

 here- with append an alphabetical list of makers, and 

 give the numbers with which they describe their hooks, 

 in tabulated form under our equivalent letters. 



The list shows only the hooks within our range, 

 and there are in all over three hundred different styles 

 of hooks, from which we have chosen the most 

 generally useful. 



It is impossible to say the exact equivalents of sizes 

 in the various bends, as the gape, thickness of wire, 

 length of shank, size of eye, each vary, making a hook 

 suitable for use or otherwise at a certain size. 



