and rabbit's fur; flax from a leveret's head and neck; the fur of the martin-cat, which is of unequalled yellow; red and yellow hair of various shades taken from sheep-skin door mats, of which the finest in texture should be selected. A supply of all these will constitute a sufficient variety.

HERLS.

This is the name given to the filaments which spring from each side of the stem of the peacock's tail feathers, and also to the plumlets of those of the ostrich. The peacock's herls should be of a copper-colour, fine in the stem and thick and short in the downy fibre. Of ostrich feathers the most necessary colour is black.

TWIST.

This material, whether of gold or silver, should be very fine, round, and well covered with metal, so as to appear like solid wire.

HACKLES.

These are the feathers which grow upon the neck of fowls, and should be taken from the

upper part, immediately behind the poll. Hen's hackles are preferable for wing-flies, and those of the cock for hackle-flies, such as the palmers. No part of the angler's treasures demands greater care in selection than his hackles, which have most to do with the setting-off of a fly; for, however correct and excellent may be all the other materials of which it is composed, a bad hackle will assuredly spoil the whole, either by destroying its harmony or its neatness, or both. Colour is of first importance, after which rank shape and fineness of fibre. These last are mainly affected by the age of the bird at the time its hackles are plucked. Cocks produce the best hackles when between ten and twenty months old, when the shape of the hackles is regular, and their texture best suited for the fly-maker's use. It is rare to meet with a perfectly shaped hackle, and at the same time good in every other respect. The common faults are, a stiffness and coarseness of the stem and of the plume fibres — invariably the case with the hackles of an old cock—and a shape broader towards the point than at the quill end. To make a good fly with such a hackle is next to impossibility. It is important that the colour be as nearly as possible the same on both sides, — not greatly lighter on the under part (or

that which grows nearest the skin) than on the upper part. There is never the same kind of gloss on the under as on the upper part, but the difference of colour is sometimes several shades, and this is not desirable. The plume fibres should be fine, glossy, and set close together on the stem, and these requisites are usually met with in the hackles of a game cock of about ten or twelve months old. The chief colour required of cock's hackles is blood-red, for palmers, with a small portion of black towards the quill. A useful sort, too, for making the same fly, is what is called the furnace hackle, or one having a bloodred ground (if the term may be allowed), with a narrow black line passing from the quill to the point on each side of the stem. It is not easy to obtain either of these kinds in perfection, but when met with they cannot be too highly prized.

As to hen's hackles, it must be remembered that they should never be taken from a hen less than two years old—an age when the cock, as a hackle producer, is becoming worthless. Hackles from a younger hen are always brittle in the stem, particularly at the point, and the plume fibres are of too soft and downy a nature. Red, yellow, black, and the different shades of blue, are the most useful colours. Light blue hackles,

tinged at their edges with a golden hue, are invaluable for a particular sort of the duns. Hens, unlike cocks, improve for the fly-maker with age, every year adding to the strength of their hackle-stem, and to the fineness of their plume fibres. The best season for procuring hackles is mid-winter, when the fowls are in full plumage. Nature will furnish sufficient variety of colour to obviate the necessity of dyeing, which gives an unnatural character to the feather, and, unless for salmon-fishing, is altogether unnecessary.

The different parts of a hackle are shown in the annexed engraving, in which a represents the

quill,

Fig. 2.

cccc the plume.

MATERIALS FOR WINGS.

The wings of artificial flies are most commonly made with a portion of the feather of some bird's

wing, the wings principally used being those of the starling, moorhen, landrail, and thrush. The feathers are always best when newly procured, because they are then suffused with an oily substance which renders them compact and glossy. This shows the desirability of the stock of feathers being frequently renewed. Besides, old feathers are apt to harbour moth,-an enemy to be kept at bay only by the strictest attention and care, especially by the constant examination and turning out of the stock, and admitting into it no single article from an old or ill-kept store. The part of the feather used for wings should be so arranged, in stripping it from the stem, that the under side of the plume fibres stand outside when tied on. The starling's feather may be considered perfect, as regards quality, and it varies in shade according to the age and sex of the bird from which it is taken, the youngest furnishing the lightest. The second, third, and fourth feathers of the wing, counting from the longest outside feather, are best, though all the others are not useless.

WAX.

Common shoemaker's wax, without any prepa