20 ANGLING FOE COARSE FISH. 



of the gut (first bitten to make it flat) along the shank of 



the hook, and binding the two together with fine silk which 



has first been rubbed on cobbler's wax; the wax can be held 



in a piece of leather. Various methods of preparing wax for 



this purpose have been suggested, but I have never found 



one possessing the stickfast qualities of the old-fashioned 



cobbler's wax. The binding should be begun at the end of 



the shank, and finished off as soon as the 



end of the gut has been reached (see Fig. 



7). The loops in the illustration of course 



have to be pulled tight. The same finish 



is effected by laying the end of the tying- 



silk along the shank, and pointing in the 



same direction as the shank, and taking 



three more turns with the other part of 



the silk, passing the bend and point of 



the hook through the loop at each turn. 



Nothing then remains but to pull the end 



of the silk which lies along the shank 



tight. This most useful finish is well 



worth learning. The shank may be 



touched with shellac varnish (two parts Fig. 7. Fastening 



-o . • . , T n • 1 , OFF THE BINDING. 



gum Benjamm, six parts shellac, eight 



parts spii-its of wine) or coloured. As the shank of the 

 hook is very frequently visible to the fish, it ought to 

 be the same colour as the bait. The best mixture for 

 the purpose, recommended by Bailey, of Nottingham, is a 

 little finely-ground vermilion, chrome yellow, or white lead 

 (according to the colour desired), moistened with a few 

 drops of French polish. This paint can be laid on thinly 

 with a small camel's-hair brush, and the hooks, when painted 

 or varnished, should be stuck into a piece of cork to dry. 

 Another good preparation for this purpose is " Chez-lui " 

 enamel, sold at 346, Euston Road, London. The points of 

 all hooks should be sharp, and the barbs should be small, 

 particularly in hooks used for the chub, barbel, and carp. 

 A rank barb — one which projects much from the hook — has the 

 fatal effect of frequently preventing the hook going through the 



