The bills and loral region, as well as the legs and feet of birds, and the ears, lips and toes of mammals, may, as most exposed to the ravages of insects, be washed with an alcoholic solution of strychnine applied with a brush to the dried skin; this will be an almost certain safeguard against injury.
Fishing with Natural Fly.—This consists in fishing with the natural flies, grasshoppers, etc., which are found on the banks of the rivers or lakes where you are fishing. It is practiced with a long rod, running tackle, and fine line. When learning this system of angling, begin by fishing close under the banks, gradually increasing your distance until you can throw your live bait across the stream, screening yourself behind a tree, a bush, or a cluster of weeds, otherwise you will not have the satisfaction of lifting a single fish out of the water. In rivers where immense quantities of weeds grow in the summer, so as almost to check the current, you must fish where the stream runs most rapidly, taking care that in throwing your line into those parts you do not entangle it among the weeds. Draw out only as much line as will let the fly touch the surface, and if the wind is at your back it will be of no material service to you in carrying the fly lightly over the water. In such places the water is generally still, and your bait must, if possible, be dropped with no more noise than the living fly would make if it fell into the water.
Keep the top of your rod a little elevated, and frequently raise and depress it and move it to and fro very gently, in order that the fly by its shifting about may deceive the fish and tempt them to make a bite. The instant your bait is taken, strike smartly, and if the fish is not so large as to overstrain and snap your tackle, haul it out immediately, as you may scare away many while trying to secure one. There are very many baits which may be used with success in natural fly fishing, of which, however, we shall content ourselves with enumerating some of the most usual and useful.
Wasps, hornets and bumble bees are esteemed good baits for dace, eels, roach, bream and chub; they should be dried in an oven over the fire, and if not overdone, they will keep a long while.
How to Select Furs.—In purchasing furs, a sure test of what dealers call a “prime” fur is the length and density of the down next the skin; this can be readily determined by blowing a brisk current of air from the mouth against the set of fur. If the fibers open readily, exposing the skin to the view, reject the article; but if the down is so dense that the breath cannot penetrate it, or at most shows but a small portion of the skin, the article may be accepted.