186 Fly-rods and Fly-tackle. 



or bend or split when subjected to any possible practical 

 strain. A ferrule of leaden material, and the fitting of 

 which is a botch, will give a like result, whether dow- 

 elled or simple in construction. 



Still, the charge that the simple ferrule will throw 

 apart has some foundation in fact, and it is this : Some 

 make and advocate the use of a form of simple ferrule, 

 which, for the sake of a name, I will call the " hour-glass " 

 ferrule. By this I mean a ferrule in w T hich the diame- 

 ter of the bore diminishes from both ends towards and 

 to the middle. Alive to the fact that a fit is desirable, 

 they hope to insure this by thus tapering the bore of the 

 female ferrule, and giving a corresponding conical form 

 to its mate. 



But let us analyze this construction for a moment. 

 We have here a conical plug entering a conical hole. It 

 is obvious that the plug may and will enter some dis- 

 tance before any contact occurs. It is also clear that 

 when contact does take place, but a very slight farther 

 insertion is possible before the entering ferrule wedges 

 fast. We have then, on one side of the fit and close to 

 it, a place where the contact and consequent cohesion of 

 the surfaces is nothing; and on the other side, and in 

 equally close juxtaposition, the " jam," where the enter- 

 ing ferrule comes to a stand. Start such a ferrule ever 

 so little, and the frictional contact or cohesion of the sur- 

 face is so impaired, if it is not altogether destroyed, that 

 it is no longer sufficient to meet and overcome the tenden- 

 cy of the rod to throw apart in casting. That a sudden jar 

 or shock may produce this result, is shown by a familiar 

 example from every-day life. Many have struggled with 

 an obstinate glass stopper stuck fast in its bottle. Here 



