FISHING TACKLE AND HOW TO MAKE IT. 



449 



character to that which will serve for ordinary purpose. Gut 

 will slip, under some circumstances, and it will become brittle 

 under all. 



How then ought we to proceed.' 



I have experimented with all kinds of loops and ties, dur- 

 ing the past twenty years, under all possible conditions, both 

 in Europe and this country, and the best and most reliable 

 knots I declare to be as follows: 



Fig. I. 



First, the loop for gut or any other material: Fig. i 

 shows my favorite. It is recommended by the English 

 Alpine Club — a club of mountain climbers whose very exist- 

 ence occasionally depends on the reliability of a knotted 

 cord. It will be seen to consist of two single ties — one in 

 the free end of the line, and the other in the line itself. 



When the two are drawn taut they form a perfectly secure 

 and very neat tie, which has the merit of having each part 

 of it under evenly distributed strain. In all knotting, this 

 latter quality is the great desideratum. 



