106 THE TARPON 



cipient barb is flattened and then filed away. We now have 

 the barb on the end of the wire which is then bent around a 

 form of the shape the hook is to assume. The hook is then 

 brought to a cherry-red heat and thrown into oil from which 

 it emerges hard and brittle. It is then placed in a kettle filled 

 with sand heated to a proper temperature where it is stirred 

 till the proper temper is reached. These last two steps de- 

 termine the utility of the product, for if the hardening process 

 proceeds to excess the hook will remain too brittle. If not 

 sufficiently heated, it will be too soft. So, too, in the last 

 process, the precise amount of tempering heat must be sup- 

 plied. The hooks are then "tumbled" to remove all scale and 

 then lacquered or tinned. Such was the old process simply 

 stated. 



The fishing hook center of the world is at Redditch, England, 

 where the art has been practiced for scores of years. The 

 Enterprise Mfg. Company, of Akron, unquestionably puts 

 out very good tarpon hooks. This concern says that it aims to 

 eliminate the human element as much as possible, although 

 it is still necessary to resort to hand work in the finishing 

 operations. It states that: 



"Old methods of hardening and tempering have been 

 superseded by more scientific processes where by the em- 

 ployment of oils and heat treatment the element of guess 

 work, largely predominant in early days, has been elimi- 

 nated. ' ' 

 The vom Hofe hooks are made abroad and are as reliable 

 as those manufactured here so far as my experience goes. 

 Frequently batches of hooks turn out to be defective for 

 obviously the process is a difficult one to follow. 



I received an interesting letter from Mr. L, C. Van Vleck, 

 of Toledo, Ohio, a part of which I quote: 



"Captain Mainge told me if I wanted to see tarpon, 

 to go to Captiva. So we packed up and went. My rod, 



