FLY-MAKING, 213 



the way from the bend or only part of the way, or 

 merely tied very full at the head. In this matter, 

 as well as concerning palmers, writers differ. A 

 palmer is properly a long-bodied fly with two small 

 hooks, and hackles wound the entire length, to 

 represent a caterpillar and its hairy ornaments. 

 The hooks are often made double expressly for this 

 purpose. A hackle has but one hook and a shorter 

 body. The word midge is another word that leads 

 to mistakes ; there are only a few proper midge-flies, 

 such as the gnat, ant, etc., but any fly may be 

 dressed on a minute hook and called a midge-fly, 

 although this is not an accurate use of language. 

 Horse-hair is sometimes used as a substitute for gut 

 by old-fashioned anglers, but it is weaker, more apt 

 to slip, and more perceptible to the fish. 



An excellent plan for preserving feathers conve- 

 niently and safely, is to put them in envelopes suited 

 in size to their length, and to stow them, together 

 with a piece of camphor, in a tin box. If they are 

 looked over occasionally, and the camphor renewed 

 as it wastes, they will remain untouched by moth ; 

 but if they are to be kept for a long time unhandled, 

 they should be deposited in a linen bag. The enve- 

 lopes sliould be large, for if the fibres are bent they 

 will not make handsome wings, and the different 

 classes of feathers may be tied in separate bundles. 



The following wax is recommended in the Appen- 

 dix to "Fly-fishing in Salt and Fresh Water:"— 

 Melt some resin in a small vessel over a slow fire, 

 and whilst it is on the fire and after it has become 



