64 THE KOD. 



to be valued by its fortunate possessor. One 

 cause of this rarity is to be found in the circum- 

 stance that rod makers are seldom rod users : and 

 should this not be generally the case, the chances 

 are that the maker does not fully understand the 

 principles on which a rod ought to be constructed. 

 This may be called an ungenerous remark, but it 

 is induced by our own experience and that of 

 older and better anglers than ourselves and the 

 truth is not always ill-naturedly told. In our 

 opinion, fly-rods for the generality of trout 

 streams in this country we mean not, of 

 course, the few rivers to fish which a double- 

 handed rod is necessary are usually made too 

 large and too long, or else their length is out of 

 proportion to their diameter rendering them 

 over pliable, and therefore comparatively power- 

 less. A moderately stiff and small rod of eleven 

 feet long, possesses infinitely greater power, and 

 is infinitely more pleasant to use, than a heavy 

 pliable one of fourteen feet in length. In fact, 

 the latter has no useful power it will not throw 

 against the wind, nor can it well, indeed, be used 

 at all in very windy weather. Some peculiar 

 properties it certainly does possess, and among 

 them are the undesirable ones of tiring the arm, 

 failing to strike or play a fish well, and causing 



