46 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
weighed a 12-foot solid ash and greenhart trolling rod 
against one of stout East India bamboo, and the weights 
were :—Solid rod, 1 Ib. 54 0z.; Hollow rod, 1 lb. 4 oz.— 
difference, 14 oz. 
At the close of every season, rods which have had a 
great deal of wear and tear should be re-varnished to 
preserve the wood ; or, in the absence of varnish, well 
rubbed with oil (linseed is the best) before being finally 
stowed away. 
RopD RINGS. 
Four considerations must regulate the question of 
rings: (1) That the material, especially of the top and 
bottom rings in trolling rods, should be hard enough to 
resist considerable friction ; (2) that the top and bottom 
rings should be so shaped as to prevent the line catching 
round or over them; (3) that the rings generally should 
be large enough to let the line run through them with 
perfect freedom, and (4)—and this is by no means an 
unimportant point—that there should be enough of them 
on the rod to prevent the weight of the line “bagging” 
in the intervals, and yet not so many as unnecessarily to 
increase the wearing friction on the line passing through 
them, or curtail the length and freedom of the cast. 
For every description of fishing I recommend strongly 
the use of stiff or “upright” rings; the difference in 
weight is quite insignificant ; and in addition to many 
other great practical conveniences, the rings last much 
