FITTINGS FOR THE FLY-ROD 33 



the serration or splitting making it possible for the 

 cement and silk winding to bind the ferrule much 

 more securely than in the case of ferrules with plain 

 bases. 



Next, the open end of the female ferrule should be 

 " welted " ; that is, the end is strengthened with an 

 extra band or welt of metal. And, finally, the ferrule 

 should be " capped," meaning that at the binding end 

 of the ferrule it is " shouldered " to cause more perfect 

 contact of rod joint and ferrule and to prevent the 

 ferrule from slipping. To sum up, the ferrules of the 

 new rod should be waterproof, capped, serrated and 

 welted. And the material should certainly be Ger- 

 man silver. 



In England various methods are resorted to for the 

 purpose of making the rod stronger at the ferrules. 

 Rods are made which have to be spliced in order to 

 assemble them doing away with ferrules entirely 

 and in other cases the ferrules are fitted with metal 

 hitches so that they may be locked or lashed together 

 when the rod is assembled. These methods are em- 

 ployed, as I have said, for the purpose of making the 

 rod stronger, and also to prevent throwing apart in 

 casting. It is, perhaps, needless to advise against the 

 use of anything of the sort, for the simple reason that 

 you cannot find any American rod having this feature. 

 Those who are in a position to know, state that these 

 methods are employed in England because there fer- 

 rules approaching to anything like the excellence of 



