43 



nunnery though she was, since she was able 

 to handle a rod, at least, according to her own 

 calculation, fourteen feet long, and the but of 

 which was an " arme-grete," or somewhat 

 about as thick as one's arm. The "staffe," 

 or but, being "a fadom and a halfe longe," 

 makes nine feet ; the middle joint being " a 

 fayr yerde (yard) of grene hasyll," when added 

 to nine makes twelve feet; and the "toppe," 

 consisting of "a fayr shote (shoot) of blacke 

 thornn," must be computed at the lowest at 

 two feet; thus making the fair angler's rod 

 full fourteen feet long a length, and, conse- 

 quently, a weight (and, remark, the joints are 

 to be bound with long " hopis of yren" 

 hoops of iron) far too ponderous for the mus- 

 cles of us degenerate modern males. 



Cotton gives no directions for making a rod, 

 but one of his commentators, Sir John Haw- 

 kins, thus supplies the deficiency : " But for 

 the neatest fly-rod you can make, get a yellow 

 whole deal board that is free from knots; cut 

 off about seven feet of the best end, and saw it 

 into some square breadths ; let a joiner plane 

 off the angles and make it perfectly round, a 

 little tapering, and this will serve for the 

 stock ; then piece it to a fine straight hazel, 

 of about six feet long; and then a delicate 

 piece of fine-grained yew, planed round like 



