602 OCEAN, LAKE, AND RIVER 



made, is very light, and requires delicate handling. In preparing 

 it, stroke baclc the fibres gently and firmly until all their ends are 

 square, clip off with your scissors, and lay it on the table ; prepare 

 another in the same way, and lay it on top of the first, placing it 

 where it is not apt to be disturbed. 



Now, if allowed, we will use the small vise figured in our first 

 paper. Firstly — Secure the hook -well between its jaws. Secondly 

 — Wax your silk, and commencing near the bend, wrap up to the 

 head with a dozen or so turns. Thirdly — Lay on the gut loop 

 warp down opposite the bend, perhaps a few turns below. Fourtfi- 

 ly — Lay on the gold twist, secure the end and winding it three or 

 four turns back, opposite the point of the hook, fasten it, allowing 

 the surplus to stand outward towards the head. Fifthly — Put on 

 the topping for tail so that it curves handsomely upward and secure 

 it with two turns of the wrapping silk. Sixthly — Fasten in the tip 

 end of the hackle, the back uppermost. Seventhly — Having pulled 

 and picked your dubbing and rolled it in the palm of your hand into 

 a conical shape, (very little is required,) twist in the small end with 

 your wrapping silk, and spinning both silk and dubbing almost up 

 to the head, fasten it with a half-hitch. Eighthly — Twirling your 

 vise, follow with four turns of the gold twist, fasten and then follow 

 close behind with the hackle, the underside next to the dubbing. 

 You are now ready to put on the wing. There are two ways — one 

 is, after doubling it to tie it on as described ; another (as taught me 

 by Mr. Harry Venning,) is not to double but to lay it flat on the top 

 of the hook with the fore-finger and thumb of the right and com- 

 press it with the corresponding fingers of the left hand ; bending 

 the two edges of the wing so that an equal proportion will enfold 

 the hook on both sides. Now with your wrapping silk take two 

 turns ; look to see that the wing is put on evenly and sits properly, 

 and taking a half-dozen more turns, make it secure with a half- 

 hitch. Putting on the feelers to have them sit uniformly is a nice 

 job. The pair should be taken from opposite sides of the blue and 

 yellow macaw tail-feather ; that on the far side to be fastened in 

 with two turns of the wrapping, then that on the near side. In 

 making the head observe that the black ostrich herl has a convex 

 and a concave side, and is to be wrapped on very closely with the 

 convex side outward towards the eye of the loop. Clip off the sur- 



