458 AMERICAN GAME FISHES. 



place a few slips of gelatine in the varnish. This gelatine in 

 turn attracts the water from the varnish, and the proof of 

 this is the swollen and damp appearance of these strips 

 when one reaches them, as the varnish is used up. 



This varnish is the one I use for all work where silk is 

 employed for whipping, binding, etc., and as it dries rapidly 

 and is transparent and hard, it is very satisfactory. 



Another good orange-colored varnish is that made from 

 the unbleached shellac. Take alcohol, three ounces; shellac, 

 one and one-half ozs. ; gum benzoin, one-half oz. ; mix, cork, 

 and stand in a warm place till dissolved. 



The best coach-varnish is unapproachable for rods. It 

 should of course be applied by means of a camel's-hair brush, 

 in a room where no dust is flying about. 



Another good varnish is the following quick-drying one: 

 Cut the whitest pieces of copal with oil of rosemary, and add 

 alcohol in small quantities, shaking well. All of the above 

 hints are the result of actual experience, and can be relied 

 on. 



The dressings for lines are numerous, and the differences of 

 opinion in regard to them are legion. My own experiments 

 have led me to discard the so-called enameled line. It is 

 true the enamel looks very pretty, but it encases the line as in 

 a tube, and in the casting of the line from the reel the sharp 

 angles described by the line and the top of the rod breaks 

 this tube, letting in the water. This moisture soaks far into 

 the line, beneath parts which are intact, and hence, from 

 this spreading on either side of the broken enamel, the line 

 may become rotten without showing a particle of wear on 

 the surface. The result is, a lost fish, at some time when 

 you most required that fish — and of course the lost fish is the 

 biggest you ever caught ! That is always the case. 



Boiled linseed oil is, without qualification, the best dress- 

 ing I know of. It takes a long time to dry, but it is a true 

 preservative. 



