136 Fly-rods and Fly-tackle. 



not be used, since it does not possess the merits of the 

 inner p.ortion. It may be safely accepted as a general 

 rule, that anything which will make a good bow will 

 make a good rod. 



I have never seen a rod made from this wood, but the 

 fact that the Osages used it for their bows, coupled with 

 the recommendation of that most excellent and well- 

 known angler and writer, Mr. A. N. Cheney (to whom I 

 am indebted for calling it to my attention), together with 

 the appearance of the wood itself, encourage me to hope 

 that here we may find a domestic material equal, if not 

 superior, to most of the foreign woods. 



In " Trees of America," by D. J. Brown, it is de- 

 scribed in substance as follows : The Machura aurantica 

 in its natural habitat is a beautiful deciduous tree, usual- 

 ly growing to a height of twenty-five to thirty feet, with 

 a trunk from twelve to eighteen inches in diameter: but 

 in very favorable situations it sometimes attains double 

 these dimensions. The branches, which are covered with 

 a grayish bark, are armed with spines. The leaves are 

 broad, two to four inches long, oval, with a pointed end, 

 smooth, and of a bright shining green. The spines are 

 rather strong and an inch or more in length. The flow- 

 ers produced in April or May are inconspicuous and 

 nearly green, with a slight yellow tinge. The fruit ma- 

 tures in Pennsylvania in September or October, and is of 

 the size and appearance of a large Seville orange with a 

 rough warty surface. 



"The wood of the Machura is of a bright yellow 

 color, somewhat resembling the fustic, and like the wood 

 of that tree, it is said, affords a yellow dye. It is solid, 

 heavy, durable, uncommonly fine-grained, and elastic; 

 and on account of the latter property it is used for 



