Artificial flies, and how to make them. page 2

To stain feathers an olive dim, &c. - Make a very strong infusion of the outside brow n coating of an onion, by allowing the whole to infuse by the fire for twelve hours. If dun feathers are boiled in this dye, they will become an olive dun, and white feathers a yellow, if a small piece of copperas be added, the latter colour will become a useful muddy yellow, darker or lighter as may be required and approaching to a yellow-olive dun, according to the quantity of copperas used.

To dye feathers various shades of red, amber, and brown. - First, boil them in alum mordant, already mentioned; secondly, boil them in an infusion of fustic strong enough to bring them to a bright yellow, (about a tablespoonful to a pint of water;) then boil them in a dye of madder, peach wood, or Brazil wood. To set the colour put a few drops of dyer's spirits, {i.e. nitrate of tin combined with a small quantity of salt,) which maybe had from a silk-dyer, into the last-mentioned dye.

To tarn red hackles brown. - Put a piece of copperas, the size of half a walnut, into a pint of water; boil it, and whilst boiling put in the red feathers. Let them remain in it until, by frequent examination, they are found to have taken the proper colour.

To dye feathers dark red and purple. - Hackles of various colours, boiled (without alum) in an infusion of logwood and Brazil wood-dust until they are as red as they can be made by this means, may be changed to a deeper red by putting them into a mixture of muriatic, acid and tin, and to a purple by a warm solution of potash. As the muriatic acid is not to be saturated with tin, the solution must be made diluted. If it burns your tongue much, it will Darn the feathers a little.