io6 THE IDYL OF THE SPLIT-BAMBOO 



you 'd care to buy it cheap; it 's by a leading Scotch 

 maker, and being twenty years old is thoroughly 

 seasoned. I have three i6-footers. One was orig- 

 inally bought for mahseer and is too powerful for 

 most any other fish. Another was given to me by 

 J. F. G., nearly twenty years ago, when he took en- 

 tirely to split-cane. It was washiba wood since 

 furnished with greenheart butt and top made by 

 Harold, of Mallow. It has killed its thousandth 

 fish and is my favorite rod. The third is also a 

 daisy, by Farlow, in two splices. But I am getting 

 on towards middle-age, and want a ' de luxe ' rod. 

 These i6-footers of mine weigh 42 ounces, 39 ounces, 

 and 38% ounces, respectively. Now Hardy's split- 

 bamboo i6-footers weigh from 28 to 32 ounces. 

 True, their price is a stomachache, but well 

 perhaps to celebrate peace ." 



The best British casting records made with rods 

 of any length have been exceeded by American cast- 

 ers with fifteen-foot rods, weighing about twenty-five 

 ounces. Both hands are used on the rod in making 

 the cast with the typical salmon-rod; it is a two- 

 handed rod, and the butt and grasp are modified 

 accordingly. 



We will now note some of the standard sizes and 

 weights of different kinds of modern fresh-water 

 bamboo rods, omitting extended reference to troll- 

 ing-rods because the bait-casting rod with longer and 

 heavier top answers every purpose for this style of 



