446 AMERICAN ANGLER'S BOOK. 



than merely to color the surface. By experimenting with 

 red and black ink, the extract of logwood, and water in differ- 

 ent proportions, many shades of maroon and brown can be 

 had. Common writing-ink diluted with water produces a 

 neutral tint, and smoking-tobacco steeped in hot water a light 

 tawny yellow. The rod should not be too deeply stained, 

 if you wish the grain of the wood to show handsomely. 

 Kepeated coats of ink produce a black. 



Oiling and Varnishing. — After trying several varnishes 

 that were warranted to stand weather and using, I have found 

 them all to rub or chip off so much in the course of a summer, 

 as to expose the wood to moisture, which seriously impairs 

 its elasticity. I have had fly -rods which were covered with 

 three or four coats of shellac, and even those varnished with 

 copal, become so limp with moisture on a drizzly day, as to 

 be almost useless. To obviate such faults, I at last adopted 

 the following method as the best to make a rod impervious, 

 and to prevent the varnish from chipping off. 



When the rod has become perfectly dry after staining it, 

 warm each piece before a stove or fire or over a spirit-lamp, 

 and pouring some boiled linseed-oil on a rag, rub it well into 

 the grain of the wood ; repeat the operation two or three days 

 after, and lay the rod by in some warm dry place for the oil 

 to penetrate the wood and become hard on the surface ; then 

 if any excess of oil appears, assuming a glossy appearance 

 and a sticky feeling, warm the stick again, and dissipate it by 

 rubbing -v^itb a woollen rag with a very small portion of oil 

 on it, and lay the rod by for a few days more. 



"When you apply the varnish (let it be shellac), the first 

 coat should be thin, pouring it on a rag and rubbing it on 

 quickly and lightly, so that it may become incorporated some- 

 what with the coat of oil, and in a few hours apply another 

 thin coat in the same way. The next day give it a thicker 



