SPARE TOPS 59 



nished, if he elects to carry a spare top, for such 

 screws and screw-caps have a playful habit of 

 coming off, and the result is that they are not only 

 lost, but the spare top also. For this reason, 

 having lost several tops. I have given up carrying 

 a spare top about with me, and prefer to trust to 

 my being able to mend a broken top with a piece 

 of waxed silk. The latter should always form a 

 part of the fisherman's equipment, as also a small 

 file to level any splicings which it may be necessary 

 to make in such a case. If the smash is not too 

 bad, it can be easily repaired by the river-side ; 

 but I would caution my reader, if he has the mis- 

 fortune to have to so make good a damaged rod, 

 to be careful to cut the splices long enough, and 

 above all to see that they are cut so that the rings 

 of the rod are true above each other. A little 

 cobbler's wax put between the new splices will 

 serve to still further secure them, and hold them 

 while the waxed thread is being bound round. 



The way to bind a rod is to lap a few turns of 

 the silk round it, and then, placing the foot on 

 the silk, to turn the joint in the hands, allowing 

 more silk to pass under the foot as required. A 

 long piece of silk goes a very short way in so 

 binding a rod, and it is well to wax a good bit 

 more than the estimated quantity, and to wind it 

 on a piece of stick. 



In waxing silk, the best plan is to double it 



