sad-coloured, to make the fly's head :) and there be also other coloured feathers, both of little birds and of speckled fowl:' I say, having those with him in a

(1) The Author not having particularly enumerated the Materials necessary for Fly-making, it will not be improper, once for all, to do it here. And, first, you must be provided with bear's hair of divers colours; as grey, dun, light and dark coloured, bright brown and that which shines; also camel's hair, dark, light, and of a colour between both: badger's hair, or fur: spaniel's hair from behind the ear, light and dark brown, blackish, and black: hog's down, which may be had about Christmas, of butchers, or rather of those that make brawn; it should be plucked from under the throat, and other soft places of the hog; and must be of the following colours, viz. black, red, whitish, and sandy; and for other colours, you may get them dyed at a dyers: seal's fur is to be had at the trunk-makers; get this also dyed of the colours of cow's and calf's hair, in all the different shades, from the light to the darkest brown; you will then never need cow's or calf's hair, both which are harsh, and will never work kindly, nor lie handsomely: get also mohairs, black, blue, purple, white, violet; Isabella, which colour is described in a note on Cotton's Flies for March; Philomot, from feuille mort, a dead leaf; yellow, and orange; camlets, both hair and worsted, blue, yellow, dun, light and dark brown, red, violet, purple, black, horse-flesh, pink, and orange colours. Some recommend the hair of abortive colts and calves; but seal's fur, dyed as above, is much better.

A piece of an old Turkey carpet will furnish excellent dubbing: untwist the yarn, and pick out the wool, carefully separating the different colours, and lay it by.

Some use for dubbing, barge-sail; concerning which, the reader is to know, that the sails of West-country and other barges, when old, are usually converted into tilts, under which there is almost a continual smoak arising from the fire and the steam of the beef-kettle, which all such barges carry, and which in time dyes the tilt of a fine brown; this would be excellent dubbing, but that the material of these sails is sheep's wool, which soaks in the water, and soon becomes very heavy however, get of this as many different shades as you can: and have seal's fur and hog-wool dyed to match them; which, by reason they are more turgid, stiff, and light, and so float better, are, in most cases, to be preferred to worsted, crewels, and, indeed, to every other kind of wool: and observe, that the hog-wool is best for large, and the seal's fur for small flies.

Get also furs of the following animals, viz. the squirrel, particularly from his tail; fox-cub, from the tail, where it is downy and of an ash-colour; an old fox; an old otter; otter-cub; badger; fulimart, or filmert; a hare, from the neck, where it is of the colour of withered fern; and, above all, the yellow fur of the martern, from off the gills or spots under the jaws. All these, and almost every other kind of fur, are easily got at the furrier's.

Hackles are a very important article in fly-making; they are the long slender feathers that hang from the head of a cock down his neck; there may also be fine ones got from near his tail; be careful that they are not too rank, which they are when the fibres are more than half an inch long, and for some purposes these are much too big: be provided with these of the following colours, viz. red, dun, yellowish, white, orange, and perfect black; and whenever you meet, alive or dead, with the cock of the game breed, whose hackle is of a strong brownred, never fail to buy him: but observe, that the feathers of a cock chicken, be they ever so fine for shape and colour, are good for little; for they are too downy and weak to stand erect after they are once wet, and so are those of the Bantam-cock.

Feathers are absolutely necessary for the wings and other parts of flies: get

bag, and trying to make a fly, though he miss at first, yet shall he at last hit it better, even to such a perfection

therefore feathers from the back and other parts of the wild mallard, or drake; the feathers of a partridge, especially those red ones that are in the tail; feathers from a cock-pheasant's breast and tail; the wings of a blackbird, a brown hen, of a starling, a jay, a land-rail, a throstle, a fieldfare, and a water-coot; the feathers from the crown of the pewit, plover, or lap-wing; green and coppercoloured peacock's, and black ostrich, herle; feathers from a heron's neck and wings. And remember, that, in most instances, where the drake's or wild mallard's feather is hereafter [in the text] directed, that from a starling's wing will do much better, as being of a finer grain, and less spungy.

Be provided with marking-silk of all co'ours; fine, but very strong, flaw-silk; gold and silver flatted wire, or twist; a sharp knife; hooks of all sizes; hog's bristles for loops to your flies; shoe-maker's wax; a large needle to raise your dubbing, when flatted with working; and a small, but sharp pair of scissars.

And lastly, if any materials required in the subsequent Lists of Flies may have been omitted in the foregoing Catalogue, be careful to add them to your former stock, as often as you shall find any such omissions.

Remember, with all your dubbing to mix bear's hair and hog's wool, which are stiff, and not apt to imbibe the water, as the fine furs and most other kind of dubbing do; and remember also, that martern's fur is the best yellow you

can use.

(1) The use of a Bag is attended with many inconveniences; of which, the mixing and wasting your materia's are not the least: to prevent which, the following method is recommended. Take a piece of fine-grained parchment, of seven inches by nine, and fold it so that the size and proportion of it will be that of a small octavo volume; then open it, and through the first leaf, with a sharp penknife and a ruler, make three cross cuts, at the same proportionable distance, and with a needle and silk stitch the two leaves together: let each of the margins be half an inch at least.

Then, with a pair of compasses, take the distance from A to B, and set it on in the middle of a small piece of parchment; and likewise set on the same distance to the right and left; and at each extremity cut off, with a penknife and ruler, the spare parchment, observing that the sides are exactly parallel.

At about a quarter of an inch from the top, make a cut through the first and third divisions, and with a pair of scissars snip out the loose pieces.

Be careful that the cuts, and indeed all your work, are exactly square; and when this is done, turn in the sides and ends of the parchment, so cut as before; and press the folds with a folding-stick; and you have one pocket, which put into the first partition.

Pursue the same method with the small pockets, and those for the other partitions; and in this manner proceed till you have completed six leaves, which are to make the first of your book. The larger of these pockets are to hold hog's wool, seal's fur, and bear's hair; and the smaller, the finer furs, which are those of the martern, fox-cub, &c.

In each of the six divisions, in every leaf, with a sadler's hollow punch, make a hole to which end, take a thin narrow stick of beech, or any hardish wood; and when the pocket is in its place, put the stick down into the pocket, and, observing the centre of the division, give the punch a smart blow with a mallet: these holes will shew what is contained in each of the pockets.

The next leaf may be single stitch it across with double silk diagonally, and cross those stitches with others, and the spaces will be of a lozenge-shape; let the stitches be half an inch in length; into these you are to tuck your dubbing, when mixed ready for use.

as none can well teach him. And if he hit to make his fly right, and have the luck to hit, also, where there is store of Trouts, a dark day, and a right wind, he will catch such store of them, as will encourage him to grow more and more in love with the art of fly-making.

Ven. But, my loving master, if any wind will not serve, then I wish I were in Lapland, to buy a good wind of one of the honest witches, that sell so many winds there, and so cheap.

Pisc. Marry, scholar, but I would not be there, nor indeed from under this tree: for look how it begins to rain, and by the clouds, if I mistake not, we shall presently have a smoking shower; and therefore sit close; this sycamore-tree will shelter us: and I will tell you, as they

The next leaf should be double, stitched with a margin as the others; and through the first fold cut a lozenge, as big as the size will allow of: into this you may tuck three or four wings of small birds, as the starling, the land-rail, the throstle, &c. At the back of this leaf, sew two little parchment straps, of half an inch wide, very strong; through which put a small, but very neat and sharp pair of scissars.

You may, on another single leaf, make four or five cross-bars of long stitches; through which, as well on the back as the fore-side, you may put large feathers, hamely, those of a cock-pheasant's tail, a ruddy-brown hen, &c.

The next three leaves should be double; stitch them through the middle, from side to side; and with the compasses describe a circle of about an inch and a half diameter: cut out the parchment within the circle. Under some of the margins, when the leaves are stitched together, you may tuck peacock's and ostrich herle; and in others lay neatly the golden feathers of a pheasant's breast, and the grey and dyed yellow mail of a mallard.

Three double leaves more, with only two large pockets in each, may be allotted for silk of various colours, gold and silver twist, and other odd things. The other leaves you may fill with land-rail's and other small feathers, plovers' tops, and red and black hackles.

The first and last leaves of your book may be double, stitched in the middle from side to side, but open at the edges; which will leave you four pockets like those of a common pocket-book; into which you may put hooks, and a small piece of wax, wrapped in a bit of glove-leather.

To the page that contains the mixed dubbings, there should be an Index, referring to every division contained in it, and expressing what fly each mixture is for.

When your book is thus prepared, send it to the binder with directions to bind it as strong as possible; let him leave a flap to one of the boards, and fasten to it a yard of ribbon to tie it.

The usefulness and manifold conveniences of a book are apparent; and whoever will be at the pains of making such a one as this, will find it greatly pre ferable to a magazine-bag.

H

shall come into my mind, more observations of fly-fishing for a Trout.

But first for the WIND: you are to take notice that of the winds the south wind is said to be the best. observes, that

when the wind is south,

It blows your bait into a fish's mouth.

One

Next to that, the west wind is believed to be the best: and having told you that the east wind is the worst, Ì need not tell you which wind is the best in the third degree and yet, (as Solomon observes,) that "he that considers the wind shall never sow;" so he that busies his head too much about them, if the weather be not made extreme cold by an east wind, shall be a little superstitious for as it is observed by some, that "there is no good horse of a bad colour;" so I have observed, that if it be a cloudy day, and not extreme cold, let the wind sit in what corner it will and do its worst, I heed it not. And yet take this for a rule, that I would willingly fish, standing on the lee-shore: and you are to take notice, that the fish lies or swims nearer the bottom, and in deeper water, in Winter than in Summer; and also nearer the bottom in any cold day, and then gets nearest the lee-side of the water.

But I promised to tell you more of the Fly-fishing for a Trout; which I may have time enough to do, for you see it rains May butter. First for a MAY-FLY: you may make his body with greenish coloured crewel, or willowish colour; darkening it in most places with waxed silk; or ribbed with black hair; or, some of them, ribbed with silver thread; and such wings, for the colour, as you see the fly to have at that season, nay, at that very day on the water. Or you may make the OAK-FLY: with an orange, tawny, and black ground; and the brown of a

mallard's feather for the wings.' And you are to know, that these two are most excellent flies, that is, the Mayfly and the Oak-fly.

And let me again tell you, that you keep as far from the water as you can possibly, whether you fish with a fly or worm; and fish down the stream. And when you fish with a fly, if it be possible, let no part of your line touch the water, but your fly only; and be still moving your fly upon the water, or casting it into the water, you yourself being also always moving down the stream.

Mr. Barker commends several sorts of the palmer-flies; not only those ribbed with silver and gold, but others that have their bodies all made of black; or some with red, and a red hackle. You may also make the HAWTHORN-FLY: which is all black, and not big but very small, the smaller the better. Or the oak-fly,* the body of which is orange colour and black ceding page, crewel, with a brown wing. Or a fly made with a peacock's feather is excellent in a bright day:3 you must be sure you want not in your magazine-bag the peacock's

See the pre

(1) Some dub the Oak-fly, with black wool, and Isabella-coloured mohair, and bright brownish bear's hair, warped on with yellow silk, but the head of an ashcolour; others dub it with an orange, tawny, and black ground; others with blackish wool and gold-twist; the wings of the brown of a mallard's feather. Bowlker, in his Art of Angling, p. 63, says, "The body may be made of a bittern's feather, and the wings of the feather of a woodcock's wing."

(2) This is impossible, unless you dib with the artificial as with the natural Ay, which is never practised. The method of throwing or casting is more par ticularly treated of, in the notes on Chap. V. Part II.

(3) A brother of the angle must always be sped
With three black palmers, and also two red;
And all made with hackles. In a cloudy day,
Or in windy weather, angle you may:

But morning and evening, if the day be bright:
And the chief point of all is to keep out of sight,
"In the month of May, none but the May-fly,
"For every month, one," is a pitiful lye.

The black Hawthorn-fly must be very small;

And the sandy hog's hair is, sure, best of all

(For the mallard-wing May-fly, and peacock's train,

Will look like the flesh-fly,) to kill Trout amuin.