RODS AND ROD MAKING. 45 
But my pet rod is leading me into inadmissible digres- 
sions. To return—The White cane, which comes prin- 
cipally from Spain and America, and is a fragile delicate 
creature compared to its swarthy Indian cousin, is used 
for roach rods,—“ White cane roach rods,” as they are 
temptingly described in the catalogues—and is fit for 
nothing else. For this one purpose, however, it is per- 
fection. 
The Carolina cane is also quite inferior to the East 
Indian. It is much lighter, and longer between the knots, 
and is employed only in the more common bottom rods. 
Last on the list comes the Jungle cane, a Chinaman 
principally, but found also in many other parts of Asia. 
It grows as thick as a man’s body, and is put to every 
variety of use by the Chinese, who amongst other things 
hollow out the pith and convert the skin into water-pipes. 
It is this skin or rind only which is of value to the rod 
maker, and that must be taken from a cane about as 
thick as a man’s wrist. This is split up into narrow slips, 
and these slips when planed and smoothed down become 
the solid, grained-looking pieces of wood, so constantly 
forming the upper splices of top-joints. Some very 
beautiful rods, composed entirely of spliced cane, are 
manufactured by Mr. Thomas Aldred, of Oxford-street, 
London. Some of my readers who are in the habit of 
using bamboo and cane rods on the ground of their sup- 
posed much greater lightness, will perhaps be surprised to 
learn how small the difference in this point really is. I 
