FLY-TYING. 25 
in its place and perform the duty intended. The most im- 
portant part is the simplest and first, the securing of the 
gut to the shank of the hook. Unless this is attended to, 
all your labor is vain and worthless—so much time thrown 
away and wasted. Here comes all the strain, and a thought- 
less turn or two will cause naught but disappointment. 
Some anglers, particularly Irish ones, place the wings on so 
that the feather points from the hook, then double them 
back and tie them down. In this method much practice is 
necessary to form a handsome head; but its advocates 
claim for it strength. However, I have so frequently found 
the silk slip, and the feathers consequently point in the re- 
verse direction, that I unhesitatingly condemn the practice. 
To make a handsome and serviceable fiy, I have always fol- 
lowed the method of putting the wings on separately, care 
being taken not to injure the pile of the feathers; and this 
should be done last, the most minute drop of varnish being 
used over the silk when the head is finished off. My first 
effort to tie a fly turned out a thing like a humming-bird, 
my second like a humble-bee, and so on, till I have succeed- 
ed in making a good imitation of a gnat. Patience and 
perseverance have done this, and none will ever excel in 
fly-tying without exercising these qualities, so essentially 
useful in every walk in life. As a rule, the bigger the riv- 
er, a superabundance of water in a stream, and the more 
boisterous the weather, the larger can be the flies used; 
but in summer, when the rivulets and burns have become 
clear and low, the smallest sizes must be resorted to, thrown 
with the lightest line, from the most unobservable and most 
sheltered position. - 
Three flies, their coloring and component parts, that I 
have found successful on almost all waters and at every 
portion of the open season, I will describe; in fact, I have 
so much faith in them that I invariably use all three in 
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