HOOKS. 385 



Messrs. Allcock and Co., at Eedditoh. The first process is similar 

 to that of needle making, namely, the cutting tip of steel wire into 

 the required lengths. These are next barbed or bearded, or rather 

 notched, then sharpened to a fine point. The hooks are then shaped 

 and bent. They are curved on a bend by women, a very simple pro- 

 cess, which consists of crooking the wire over a piece of hard wood. 

 To harden and anneal the steel, the hooks go through a similar process 

 to needles. They are hardened in the fire, and tempered in sand in a 

 pan which is placed over a clear fire. The small hooks are put into a 

 bag containing oil and emery, and shaken by hand to brighten them. 

 After this they are well washed in strong soap ley to get the oil from 

 them ; and next, a most important item, they are placed in sawdust to 

 dry. After this they are blued, once more washed, and again dried in 

 perfectly dry sawdust, to prevent rusting. The hooks are counted, 

 papered, and packed Toy girls ; and it is astonishing to observe the 

 number of different makes in vogue, as many as fifty -three sorts being 

 manufactured at the works of Messrs. Allcock alone. 



One word may be added at this juncture. Always before attempting to 

 use a hook be sure to try its temper and reliability. Take it between a 

 pair of ordinary pliers, and sticking the hook's point into a piece of soft 

 wood deal or withy draw at it steadily. If the hook be over-tempered 

 it will certainly fly. This is a fault which cannot be over-estimated. It 

 often happens that the angler roach or trout fisher, especially the latter 

 attaches a hook, and wonders why he scratches so many fish ; in other 

 words, feels and misses them. Let him look to his hook, and he will 

 very probably find that the point being over hardened has broken off on 

 striking the bony part of the jaw of the first fish the angler felt. A small 

 needle file, easily procurable at a watchmaker's, will remedy the blunt- 

 ness, though, I confess, I always change the hook, if practicable. Of 

 course, should the fish be biting furiously, as trout do in Mayfly time, or 

 roach under the baiting of an experienced fisherman time means fish 

 rand the file is a useful auxiliary. 



Should the hook be under-tempered (and with the best makers of 

 hooks both over and under-temper are inevitable occasionally), the test 

 applied by means of the pliers exhibits the tendency of the hook to 

 straighten under a severe strain. This is a much greater nuisance than 

 over-temper, for if the shape of the hook be so altered as to destroy the 

 all-necessary directness of impact, more fish will escape than would ever 

 be the case with a blunt-pointed hook. 



I have hitherto refrained from expressing an opinion as to whether 

 the barb of a hook should be slightly twisted aside or not. Against this 

 form of hook it may be said that the direction of force applied, and the. 



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