188 
FOREST AND STREAM 
—Our valued correspondent Dr. D. C. Estes, reminds us 
that the season is now open when our readers are casting 
about for good trouting localities, and sends the following 
notes from Minnesota:— 
“It is a singular fact, that the best, and almost the only- 
trout streams that are direct tributaries of the entire Missis¬ 
sippi River, empty into Lake Pepin. There are ten of 
these streams, live on either side, from them all I have 
taken many fine trout. Some of these streams are small 
but once contained very many fish. A few years rest, and 
again they are quite plenty. Two of them have been 
dammed, and the ponds are private property, but anglers are 
allowed to fish them for a nominal price. There seems to 
be no end to the number of trout the ponds afford. 
Rush River has been and is now perhaps the great trout 
stream of the north west, if not of the Continent. But here 
as is in other streams the poacher has made sad havoc. In 
one season over 4,000 fine spotted beauties were taken alive 
from this river for the purpose of stocking private ponds 
or preserves; of course many of these died and were thrown 
away. But the natives have become enraged, and the 
river is now better protected, but woe to the first fish wag¬ 
on, or poacher that is caught on the stream hereafter. In 
consequence of these outrageous depredations the angler 
is not welcomed as he once was, yet I believe that any 
gentleman angler will be allowed to take any reasonable 
number of fish. I have fished this liver fifteen years, last 
season being one of my most successful as far as size was 
concerned. 
Lake Pepin having now become the greatest watering 
place in the west, as a consequence, very many sports¬ 
men are attracted here every season. It is therefore need¬ 
less to say that not only the lake but the streams also are 
tremendously fished. 
At Lake City first rate accommodations are afforded, and 
for reasonable prices. Wm. H. Lyon, a wealthy merchant 
of your city has built here a fine hotel (the Lyon House,) 
and other fine buildings. By calling upon him, the sports¬ 
men can get much valuable information, about this region 
of country, he having more than once enjoyed some of the 
delights of sporting here. Frontanac, six miles above is 
fitted up expressly as a place of resort, and is unequalled 
for its beauty of location, its quiet and its accommoda¬ 
tions. It is a young Saratoga in fashion and style. Many 
sportsmen are found among the guests every season. There 
are many trout streams in the interior, within a few miles 
of Lake City. Some of them are mentioned in Hallock’s 
Fishing Tourist.- You have fished them, Mr. Editor, and 
know that they are unequalled for the number and size of 
tue trout they afford. Taking a team at Lake City in the 
morning you can reach camp on many of these streams 
in time to catch trout for your supper. 
Here every necessary outfit can be had, including the 
very best rods and other tackle, besides you will find here 
gentlemen sportsmen, congenial spirits, such as you will be 
glad to meet, and sorry to part with. They will help you 
on your way rejoicing, and smoke with you the pipe of 
peace.” 
—Mr. C. F. Orvis, rod maker, of Manchester, Vermont, 
sends us the following item from San Francisco, Califor¬ 
nia :— 
“On the 4tli of April instant, Mr. John Cammet went 
out to the mouth of the San Gregorio lagoon, fifty miles 
south of here, and caught and landed with his light rod 
you sent us, nine salmon trout weighing seventy-three 
pounds. The largest weighed nearly ten pounds, and they 
were all fat and very active fish.” 
New York, April 22, 1874. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
Oil the line of the North Shore Railroad of Long Island, HDout 40 miles 
from New York, lies the quiet village of Smithcown. It claims to be 
one of the oldest in the State. For many years past a party of jovial 
New Yorkers, with Dr. Wood, of Poughkeepsie, have visited this place 
iu the trouting season and been well rewarded in health and amusement. 
We have four large ponds—Stump, Phillips, Willow, &c., together with 
a large stream emptying into Smithtown Bay. About a mile from the 
station lives a popular man to all lovers of piscatorial sport, named 
Vail. The day before Good Friday, our party being made up, consisting 
of W. W. S., L. li. J., W. P. T., II M. W. and myself, we left Thirty- 
fourth Street Ferry at 4:3'J P. M., and at 7 o’clock arrived at the depot, 
where our eyes were gladdened by the sight of Uncle Aaron waiting for 
us with his pair of sorrels. We arrived safely, and had our already 
snarp appetites whetted by visions of a good supper, and Topsy Sable 
Hebe waiting to pass the clams. What we put ourselves outside of does 
not particularly concern anybody, and so after song and speech we went 
bedward. Early next morning we made a few casts and took half a 
dozen £ pound trout for breakfast. The weather was so cold our lines 
often froze in mid-day. During the warm days of summer no pleasant¬ 
er place than our friend Vail’s can be found anywhere. With the ther¬ 
mometer at 90, amid bricks aud stone and carts and busy traffic, it is 
pleasant to steal, away to shady brooks and translucent ponds with a 
fair show of trout in prospect. Here you may lill your basket almost 
any day, and although we were obliged to remain during Saturday in our 
lodge, a crackling wood fire aud merry companions made the day suffi¬ 
ciently entertaining to be marked with a red letter. 
We purpose to try our luck again about the first of May, and if the 
gods are not against us we will give you a good report. 
Anyone wanting a day’s “real fun,” speaking boy fashion, should 
make a trip to Vail’s in fine weather, and cast a brown hackle in Vail’s 
waters. Many people are unaware how near to their business homes 
lies the field for recreation and consequent health. J. fc>. B. 
_To the unhappy dwellers along the swollen Mississippi 
River, the words “Flood and Field' 1 ' 1 have a far different sig¬ 
nificance now from what they generally convey to the 
sportsman. Such disaster has seldom swept over so broad 
an extent of agricultural country since the days of Noah. 
A territory as large as the State of New York is inundated, 
the fields are utterly ruined, and the flood has spread de¬ 
vastation everywhere, sparing nothing but the lives ol 
thousands of human beings who are drifting about on rafts 
or huddled together on knolls and hummocks, shivering 
and starving, and waiting in vain for the subsidence of the 
waters. Nobly has Congress and the country rallied to 
their relief; but crumbs only have been contributed where 
loaves are needed, for the magnitude of their necessities is 
appalling, and we trust that those of our readers whose 
pulses have heretofore bounded with delight at mention of 
“Flood and Field,” will feel their sympathies so wrought 
upon oy the painful significance which the words now con¬ 
vey, that they will be induced to extend a generous sym¬ 
pathy to the terribly afflicted people of the Mississippi 
valley. 
The weather continues cold, dismal, and unseasonable 
snow all over the country, streams swollen and roily, fish 
lying perdu, and no successful angling anywhere. We 
continue our instructions to the angler, and give herewith 
a chapter on 
The Art of Fly Making — First _ Cast —To the. ang¬ 
ler who has leisure and some skill in delicate manipula¬ 
tion, added to a taste for the beautiful in little things, I 
know of no indoor occupation that is so absorbing as fly 
tying, and as much of the pleasures of field, forest, and 
river are in anticipation or recollection, the angler can 
in some degree while so occupied, follow liis favorite sport 
when debarred by the weather, or otherwise, from haunt¬ 
ing the banks of the stream. No writer, from.Cotton in his 
stone cottage on the banks of the Dove, displaying the 
niceties of the art to his pupil, our father Izaac, down 
to the renowned Blacker, has as lucidly described it as a 
reader could wish, and an hour or two for three or four 
consecutive davs with a fly maker, at work, is of more 
value to the beginner than all the written directions that can 
be indited. But to those who have no such privilege, or 
books on the subject, and who do not know exactly the ma¬ 
terials to be used, or how to procure them, a paper 
on the subject may be of great assistance. 
If the learner’s fingers are delicate and he has good use of 
them, it is better to dispense with some of the mechanical 
appliances used; but for one whose digits are clumsy or 
who lacks a free use of them, I would recommend the two 
simple little instruments drawn to actual size below. The 
vise, of course, is for holding the hook; the smaller tool is 
a spring plier, or as some term it a pair of pliers, for hold¬ 
ing the end of a thread or hackle, and conveniently used 
for wrapping the latter on the hook. 
Materials .—These of course, in quantity and varietv, 
will depend much on the angler’s wants as to the different 
flies—few or many—he may wish to produce. A country 
boy will go to his mother’s her roost and get all the feathers 
he wants, and by making a slight raid on his sister’s work 
basket for silk and worsted, construct a very effective fly, 
rough and unkempt though it be to look at." But the ang¬ 
ler who is ambitious must necessarily have the bump of ac¬ 
quisitiveness well developed; I will therefore mention 
nearly all that I use myself, and in the order in which they 
are applied to the hook. 
Wrapping Silk —The finer, if strong, the better; and 
although the color should in some degree correspond to the 
other material used, this is not of much consequence, as it 
is only seen in the few slight wrappings at the head of the 
fly- 
Wax .—Do not use “cobbler’s” wax, as some English 
writers on this subject call it, but beg or make a little ex¬ 
pressly for the purpose. It is the simplest thing imagin¬ 
able, although much mystery is attached to it by many fly 
makers, and the compounds and manner of making their 
wax are held as inviolate secrets. Take one ounce of the 
clearest and lightest rosin you can procure, one drachm of 
gutta perclia, and one teaspoonful of linseed oil—the crude, 
not the boiled—put them in a teacup (I use the lower part 
of a discarded tin blacking box), heat them, stirring with 
a little stick the meanwhile, to have them thoroughly 
amalgamated, and then pour the hot compound into a bowl 
of cold water. As soon as it has cooled sufficiently, work 
and pull it, much as girls pull “taffy;” this makes it light 
colored and tough. If the gutta percha cannot be easily 
obtained it may be omitted, but it adds to the toughness. 
To make the wax softer for cold weather, add a few drops 
of oil. To make it harder for warm weather, add, as you 
require, a little more rosin. 
Hooks .—There is much difference of opinion as to their 
proper shape for flies. The last out is Pennell’s hook, as 
illustrated in his book. Andrew Clerk swears by the Kin¬ 
sey, while Conroy declares for the O’Shaughnessy; i. e., the 
improved Limerick. I coincide with Conroy. The point 
of the barb of the O’Shaughnessy has an outward projec¬ 
tion. It is what is called a hollow point, and the chances 
of hooking the fish are thereby increased. The point of 
the Kinsey projects inward away from the line of draft 
and therefore less liable to catch than the Sneckbend, the 
Aberdeen, or the old Kendal. Conroy imports the im¬ 
proved Limerick for me to order, of lighter wire—from 
No. 6 to No. 12—than those he has for general sale, which 
I think are too stout, and rather clumsy. The Kirby the 
hooking quality of which is superior to all others if 
short shanked, may be used for palmers and hackles, but 
for winged flies the sideward inclination of the point would 
give the wings of the fly “a list” to one side, and prevent 
its floating on an “even keel.” 
Gut. —Should be fine for stretcher, and stout f 
flies; for the latter using a half length. If th e ] ^ ro P 
are intended to be looped to the leader, the loom r °{’ pers 
be tied in each end of the length after soaking the Shou ^ 
projecting end pulled tight and cut off close and m Ut ’ tlle 
length divided into two. For my own use and f the 
customers, I prefer gut dyed a neutral tint ’which i 
tween a blue and lead color. It is done as follows---Th be ' * 
your hank of gut into a basin of cold water and wvi°^ 
is soaking put into a small vessel—tin will answer--. • U 
and a half of water with one drachm of ground logwo a / lm 
six grains of copperas. After it has commenced 
let it bubble for ten minutes longer; then dashim S® 
water from the gut, throw it in, and press it down wit? 6 
small stick. In thirty seconds or so lift it to see the d a 
of tint, and continue to examine and immerse it unn^ 
suits your fancy. A light tint I consider preferable s ^ 
persons think that the dye affects the strength of the 0 ? 
This is not the case, unless there is too much conn * 
much more than I have prescribed. PPeras; 
Tinsel. —Gold or silver, as it is called, but really “d, 
metal," wliether round or flat, is kept by variety or !? 
tary stores, or the country reader can obtain the flat Kj 
some dealer in Irish linens, as it is frequently used 
mentally, in putting them up. ; ’ 01na 
Dubbing.— The materials, and they are many, of which th* 
bodies of flies are wrapped are, first, and most important 
peacock herl, or “harl,” as some persons call it_the little 
plumelets or fibres growing on each side of the tail feathers 
of the peacock. The copper colored, for nine flies out of 
ten, is preferable; the green is used for fancy flies Th 
next is mohair, or the ravellings of a fabric called “imf 
reen,” or pig’s wool, growing on certain parts of the ani¬ 
mal beneath the bristles, or seal’s wool, the most brilliant 
of all—all of which can be dyed of many colors- or the 
fur of a rabbit, squirrel, monkey, or other animal. Add 
to these wrapping floss silk, and the list, I believe, is com¬ 
plete. 
Hackles.— The hackle is intended to represent the legs of 
a winged fly, or without the wings some imaginary cater¬ 
pillar insect, which trout take for a reality. There are 
saddle and neck hackles. The former are the long stream¬ 
ers growing on each side of a cock’s rump, the latter are 
plucked from the back of the neck—the closer to the head 
the shorter the hackles and stiffer the fibres. Having 
stouter stems than the saddle hackles, they are less apt to 
break in winding on. The older the cock the stiffer the 
fibres; but as old cocks are not always obtainable I avail 
myself of the good terms I am on with several poultry- 
dealers to pluck the heads and necks of their capons. 
Natural hackles are more generally used in tying trout flies 
than others. Then there are those, the fibres of which are red 
at the stem, or say at the roots, and black on the outer 
edges of the feather, and frequently black at the stem and 
red at the outer edges; both of which are called furnace 
hackles. There are also light yellowish red, termed “gin¬ 
ger hackles.” Black hackles are essential in tying dark 
flies. Gray are used in tying dun colored flies when dun 
hackles, which are very scarce, are not to be had. Add to 
these the ginger barred and black barred on a white ground, 
and we have most of the natural or undyed colors. But hold, 
there are a few more, the feathers from the wren’s tail, from 
the ruff of the grouse, from the partridge and snipe, and 
the short spotted feathers of the guinea fowl are occasion¬ 
ally used, but they are soft of fibre and poor substitutes for 
cock’s hackles. 
It is my intention to add a supplement on salmon flies to 
this series of papers when I will describe the manner of 
dyeing wing feathers, hackles and dubbing. 
Wings. —The feathers of which the wings of flies are 
made, are numerous. Those of the mallard, teal, redneck, 
shell drake, wood duck, and other wild fowl correspond in 
position to the saddle hackles of the cock, and are, 1 think, 
what ornithologists term “tail coverts.” Few others, ex¬ 
cept the secondary wing feathers of the red neck, canvas 
back and teal are used. The tail coverts of ducks are diffi¬ 
cult of manipulat ion on account of their extreme delicacy 
and lightness. Of all feathers from the wings of birds or 
domestic fowls the secondary only are good; the pinions 
are worthless. If a man’s arms were wings the pinions 
would be found growing from the wrist to the tips of the 
fingei- 3 , the secondaries from the elbow to the wrist. I 
hope this will explain their true position, for if one asks 
his friend ijn the “rural districts” to get him the feathers 
of a certairymowl, in nine cases out of ten he will be pre¬ 
sented with any other than the right ones. The great variety 
of plumage in domestic fowls, produced by crossing and 
interbreeding has furnished some invaluable feathers to the 
fly-maker, especially to the beginner; Hiese are in nearly 
every case the secondaries of hens. They are much easiei 
of manipulation than the tail coverts of wild ducks or 
the short fibred wing feathers of birds, and in all cases 
should be used instead by the tyro when lie can get them 
near the shade or markings of any duck’s feathers he may 
admire. The Earl Derby, the dark brahmas, and most ol 
the various crossings producing so many shades of brown 
and mixed colors furnish them. White secondaries 
for the wings of the moth fly or white miller, as also lor tne 
Coachman. Dun feathers are almost as difficult to procure as 
dun hackles. W hen one is fortunate enough, therefore, to 
obtain them in excess of his own wants he should g arne 
them up for the needy; for fly-makers are great beggai . 
Red ibis of course will be seized on, as well as the crest, iu 
back and breast feathers of the golden pheasant. . - 
the secondary and tertiary, as well as the tail feathers, a 
come into play; so also do some of the wing feathers oi 
wild goose. English blue jay, maccaw and parrot, a 
golden pheasant are used almost entirely in tying sal 
flies. 1 had almost forgolten to include guinea hen, ana 
quite confident that I shall remember on reading tins ,L 
“first cast,” in print, of having omitted others. In our 
cast, we will get to work and try to show how to 
the materials we have described. 
—The American Museum of Natural History at ie 
Central Park, in order to defray the usual current expenses, 
propose electing a certain number of annual membeis, w 
on the payment of $10, will be entitled to admittance to a ^ 
receptions given by the Museum, and with a season tic ^ 
and ten tickets of single admission. Mondays and ues 
days of each week are the days reserved for subscribers an 
students. Since the 1st of January many new names a L 
been sent in, and it is believed that during 1874 as muc 
$25,000 will be added to the funds of the uur 
surplus amounts, after defraying expenses, will go r 
c base new collections. 
