THE FASCINATION OF IT 29 



march of events in the angling world since 1875, 

 and said : " Anglers have multiplied exceed- 

 ingly." What must be said now ? The answer 

 is : The number of anglers in 1920 is greater 

 than ever it was. During the war, books on 

 fishing were sent out in large numbers to men on 

 active service, and to this fact a London fishing- 

 tackle maker, with whom I was having a chat, 

 attributes in part the many additions to the 

 anglers' ranks. This fact also is partly re- 

 sponsible, in his opinion, for the present com- 

 parative scarcity in the supply of angling books, 

 though of course during the war the making 

 of sporting books had to give way to sterner 

 work, and there have been few new books on 

 angling for several years. Several large London 

 second-hand bookshops report a brisk demand 

 for angling books. Customers divide these books 

 into two classes : the strictly technical, and the 

 descriptive and reminiscent. The book which 

 combines the merits of both kinds seems sure of 

 a demand. Books on the art of fly-tying were 

 in especial demand throughout the war, such a 

 subject being a rare relief to the mind in mono- 

 tonous spells or spare moments. British prisoners 

 in Germany were keen on these treatises, " so 

 that they might spend the weary hours of captivity 

 in making flies against the day when they would 

 again wield a rod." 



Some of the favourite books on fishing await 

 ing reprint soared in price, a notable instance 

 being Lord Grey's " Fly Fishing," published 



