102 MATERIALS. 



Generally speaking, good old birds yield better 



feathers than younger birds ; they are 



Old Birds. stronger, and in poultry such hackles 



possess that glassy quality so much 



esteemed by fly tiers, to say nothing of being longer 



and finer in the point. 



The materials used for wings are, in the great 



majority of cases, the secondary wing 

 Wings. feathers, though tail and body 



feathers are also employed in some 

 instances. 



The copying of a Dun's wing with a piece of feather 

 is at best a very poor imitation, but, in practice, the 

 best material found so far ; quills and scales are too 

 hard, and make the fly twist, both whilst being cast 

 through the air, and also in the water ; this quickly 

 breaks even the best gut casts. 



We may later, possibly, find a better material than 

 feather, but at present it is certainly the one to which 

 the fewest objections can be raised. 



The fault most fly-dressers make 

 Small Birds is in using the feathers from too 



for Wings. large birds, whereas excellent ones 



may be had from almost any of the 



common small birds. 



The obtaining of a good collection of materials is a 

 work of time, as the items used are varied, and not all 

 available at the same time or season. 



