38 



firmly united, by whipping a thread of silk 

 round them, but which are also used as a guide 

 to put your rod together straight, that is, with 

 all the loops through which the line passes in 

 a direct line one with the other. Those who 

 advise that your loops or rings should be large, 

 give the very worst counsel, since large rings 

 deprive the rod of three essential properties, 

 lightness, elasticity, and gracefulness. On the 

 contrary, your rings cannot possibly be too 

 light, provided, which is by no means a great 

 difficulty, they be well and firmly soldered. 

 They should be of moderate size, rather too 

 small than too large, and should, in their circle, 

 gradually diminish from the but to the top. 

 The size of the rings on the but should be 

 No. 5; those on the second joint, No. 6; on 

 the third joint, No. 7 ; and on the top joints, 

 Nos. 8 and 9. They should be tied on the rod 

 with the greatest possible neatness, and the 

 finest twisted silk should be used in the pro- 

 cess. The loops to which the rings are fas- 

 tened should be cut with a scissors from the 

 thin round plates of copper to which the dials 

 of watches adhere, and which are composed of 

 the finest-grained and toughest copper. They 

 can be procured in abundance, and almost for 

 asking, at the watch-maker's, since they are of 

 no use to him after the dial has been so much 

 injured as to require renovating. 



