59^ OCEAN, LAKE, AND RIVER. 



nection or interlocking with a similar series on the adjoining fibre. 

 On this interlocking of the fibres, with the arrangement of the 

 feathers, and the oiling which the bird gives them, depends its 

 ability to shed water as from the roof of a house, and a duck to 

 5wlm and dive and still remain dry. If you cut out a section (fig- 

 ure 2), and, doubling it, form figure 3, the fibres at the outer end 

 of your wing will be of an unequal length and require pinching or 

 clipping off of the ends after it is tied on. You will therefore, 

 holding the stem of the feather in your left hand, stroke back the 

 fibres gently and gradually, forcing the little hooks to lose the 

 original connection with their fellows on the adjoining fibres and 

 form others until you get them to stand out at right angles with 

 the stem. After forcing as many back as will form your wing, 

 clip them off with your scissors and double them with the under 

 side of the feather inward, your one wing, representing a pair of 

 wings, is ready to tie on. 



Holding the. smoothly folded mass of fibres together between 

 the thumb and fore-finger of your right hand, lay it on the back of 

 the hook, the ends of the fibres extending as far back as you pro- 

 pose to have the length of the wing, pressing it down firmly; 

 then bring the fore-finger and thumb of your left hand into action, 

 and releasing the hold with your right take two or three turns of 

 your wrapping silk ; look to see if it sits right, and then with one 

 or two more wrappings, close and neat, you fasten off with the 

 invisible knot, as described in finishing a hackle ; and so your fly 

 •is complete. 



The foregoing is the English mode ; but let me describe 

 another, an^, I think, more secure way of putting on the wings of 

 trout flies. I think it originated in Ireland. It is now generally 

 adopted in this country. Holding the hook as already described, 

 take four or five turns of the wrapping silk, about two-thirds of 

 the way up from the bend to the head, then laying on the gut con- 

 tinue wrapping, but closely, leaving just enough of the hook to 

 fasten and finish off; lay on the wing, the convex edge beneath, 

 and the end in the reverse direction, /. e. outward along the bare 

 gut,- then, holding the wing firmly in position, take two or three 

 turns of the wrapping, being careful that the v\nng does not turn 

 over towards the opposite side of the hook, look at it to see that it 



