FLY-FISHING. 275 



eton reels have been made. Some of these are con- 

 structed of wire, and others are composed of hard 

 rubber. Having large barrels, they wind in quickly, 

 and while they have lost the charm of music, they 

 have added that of utility. They have come into 

 very general use, but if the angler, while working his 

 way through thick woods, shall find that his line 

 has unnoticed caught on a twig and, unreeling from 

 his rod, is tangled up amid trees and bushes for 

 fifty feet behind him, he will almost wish that he 

 had a click to give him timely warning. A very de- 

 cided advance has been made, or rather promised to 

 be made by the makers, in the matter of the plates 

 on which the reels are set. Heretofore these have 

 been of all manner of sizes, according to the gay and 

 festive fancy of the manufacturer, with the conse- 

 quence to the angler that he never could tell, till he 

 had tried it, whether he would have to cut away more 

 or less of his rod, or file down more or less of his 

 reel. It has been agreed that hereafter standard 

 sizes are to be followed in all instances, so that the 

 purchaser can buy with a distinct knowledge of what 

 he is getting. It is to be hoped the angling frater- 

 nity will keep the tackle-makers up to their prom- 

 ises by only purchasing from those who are true to 

 this agreement. 



In speaking of hooks, perhaps it may be con- 

 sidered desirable to refer to the needle-pointed, 

 which were an invention of Monroe A. Green, a 

 brother of Mr. Seth Green, and were at one time 

 much admired. The difficulty which would be natu- 



