ROD RINGS 57 



are made to obviate the necessity for tying, one 

 of them, the ' Lockfast,' being especially good ; 

 but I prefer the older-fashioned principle when it 

 is well carried out. 



The rings for a rod should be large enough. 

 Nothing is gained by their being too small ; and 

 whether they are 'standing' rings or May-down,' 

 the metal and the soldering should be of the best. 

 Where standing rings are used, those which have 

 the inside of the eye made to revolve, so that the 

 parts of the rings which are most subject to move 

 can be shifted from time to time, are the best. 

 And there is also another kind of standing ring, 

 the ' Snake ' pattern, which is excellent. But 

 standing rings are aw r kward for travelling, and are 

 very apt to get knocked about. Were it not for 

 this drawback they are preferable, but they must 

 be made wide in the neck, as otherwise the line 

 may twist round them. This, in the snake pat- 

 terns, they cannot do. The top ring should be of 

 steel ; brass wears out too soon, and a very few 

 weeks' hard work will suffice for the line to cut 

 clean through it, to the annoyance of the fisher- 

 man and the detriment of the line. I have on 

 several occasions, on finding that my line failed to 

 run freely, discovered that the top ring, being of 

 brass, was worn quite through, and the line running 

 through the second ring of the top joint. Of 

 course, it is an easy matter to rig up a make- 



