56 



believe, peculiar to Derbyshire and Stafford- 

 shire, and, perhaps, we might say, to the 

 anglers of the Dove and of the neighbouring 



your left hand. Then take another link of gut, and hold- 

 ing it in the same way in your right hand, place it hori- 

 zontally and parallel with the link of gut still held between 

 the fore-finger and thumb of your left hand. The ends of 

 the gut point, of course, in different directions the link 

 in your left hand, or rather that first placed in it, pointing 

 to the right, the other link pointing to the left. So far 

 the operation resembles that necessary to make the ordi- 

 nary angler's knot. You now take that end of the gut 

 which points to the right, and with the fore-finger and 

 thumb of your right hand you form it into a circle about 

 the size of a wedding-ring, the extreme end of the gut 

 pointing upwards, which you pass twice over and under the 

 other link of gut, and always taking into the operation 

 the gut of the circle. You then pull towards your right 

 hand the end of gut so passed, holding both pieces of gut 

 still firmly between the fingers of your left hand, and the 

 first half of the knot is made. You then reverse the whole 

 gut, placing the knot already formed between the finger 

 and thumb of your left hand, and the end of gut which 

 before pointed to the left will now point towards the right. 

 You take this end, in the very same way as you did before, 

 and with your right-hand fore-finger and thumb, form it 

 into a circle, and pass it twice under and over the link of 

 gut which has been already knotted, and you afterwards 

 pull the end tightly towards the right, always holding' 

 firmly in your left hand both links of gut. Two small 

 knots are now formed in a line opposite to each other ; you 

 then leave go, and pulling the links in different directions, 

 that is, right and left, the two knots close upon each other, 

 and form the slide-knot. This knot will open, if the links, 

 instead of being pulled to, be pushed back, and a sliding 

 loop is formed, into which you insert the gut of your 

 dropper knotted singly at the end. Pull the links then 

 to, right and left, and your dropper is held fast in the 

 knot. Cut off the ends close to the knot, and your opera- 

 tion is finished. 



