66 THE ROD. 



comparatively speaking, powerless. A person 

 may determine by a very few casts supposing 

 him to be expert in throwing whether the rod 

 he handles be adapted to him or not. If it be 

 properly under his command, the force communi- 

 cated by his wrist, in wielding it, will be felt at 

 the very point of the line, and the fly there will 

 alight upon the water quiveringly and insect-like. 

 If otherwise, the spring required in the impulsion 

 of the rod will be so neutralised by the overweight 

 of the latter, that it will not be communicated to 

 the line, which, in consequence, will be thrown 

 solely by the movement of the rod, without any 

 control of the wrist, and will always fall in an 

 ungoverned and slovenly manner. 



Much of what we have already said and shall 

 have to say in future pages, will not, we expect, be 

 fully understood by a person wholly unacquainted 

 with the art ; but he will find it gradually become 

 more and more intelligible as his practical experi- 

 ence increases. We therefore recommend a person 

 desirous of making his first equipment, to act in 

 some measure under the guidance of an experi- 

 enced friend, if such can be met with ; or else to 

 rely upon the advice of the tradesman from whom 

 he makes his purchases provided he is a prac- 

 tical angler and an honest man, as indeed all true 



