226 THE IDYL OF THE SPLIT-BAMBOO 



apparently strong, it should thoroughly mature for 

 several days or even weeks, for best service. Once 

 properly prepared, it will give good use for years. 

 I have in my possession two leaders drawn ten years 

 ago, yet they still are reliable. 



I had to learn by experience that a careful matur- 

 ing of the product is essential to success. On one 

 occasion I had drawn several hundred leaders, but 

 they were placed in a tin box before they were dry 

 and were stored in a damp place; on examining them 

 several weeks later I found about twenty of them 

 still good, but the rest had become ruined from 

 mildew. 



Do not expect that every leader you draw out will 

 be a good one. The Spanish gut sold in this coun- 

 try is but a small part of the total product, and not 

 one strand in a hundred is perfect. So, much of 

 your product will come out flat and weak, like the 

 inferior strands of Spanish gut, due perhaps to im- 

 proper pickling, the wrong kind of feed for the 

 caterpillar, or to an unhealthy worm. A consider- 

 able number will be of fair strength, testing to three 

 or four pounds, and sufficiently strong for brook- 

 trout fishing; and occasionally you will get a fine speci- 

 men, long, round, and strong enough to hold a bass 

 on fly tackle. 



Naturally the strands will require testing to se- 

 lect the good from the bad. Tie a loop in one end 

 of the strand and attach it to a hook or nail in the 



