CHAPTER II. 



RODS AND RINGS. 



THOUGH, as I have said, anglers are not likely to make their own rods, 

 a few remarks as to their manufacture may not be unacceptable. The 

 rod of Dame Berners was a " staff e," some fourteen feet long, of the 

 "thickness of arme grete," or as thick as a man's arm, and the joints 

 were bound with "hopis of yren," or hoops of iron. The angler of to- 

 day has a rod placed in his hand of exquisite taper, finish, and appearance, 

 far different to that described by this writer of the fifteenth century. 



There are as many as ten different woods now in general use for the 

 rod of to-day. Six are solid and four are hollow. The former are as 

 follows : Hickory, greenheart, ash, willow, lancewood, and red deal ; 

 the two last are mostly used in the making of Nottingham rods. Of the 

 hollow kinds, East India cane, bamboo, Carolina white, and jungle canes 

 are the most used. 



Greenheart is the most fashionable wood at the present time for solid 

 rods, but hickory used to be. This latter grows in Canada, according 

 to Mr. Pennell, who has been at the pains to get together a lot of 

 information concerning rods, and it is sent over here in "billets," that 

 is, longitudinal sections of a log, each log being sawn from end to end 

 through the middle two or three times, so as to cut up into four or six 

 bars, V shaped, having three sides. On their arrival in England, the 

 billets are cut up into planks, and these are properly seasoned by being 

 packed away for a considerable time before they are used. After this, 

 they are looked over and cut up into joints roughly, and again packed 

 away, to be utilised as required. Of course, the best makers buy the best 

 stuff, and have, in consequence, to make selection with a great degree 

 of circumspection. The inferior wood i.e., that left by the larger and 

 longer-priced buyers, is sold to smaller makers, and these people are 

 able to produce cheaper rods, although of a necessarily inferior nature. 



