TROUT LINES 67 



as well or be as satisfactory as the best. A proper 

 trout-line should be all silk the purest and best 

 silk. There are no end of lines to be purchased 

 which are warranted pure silk so they may be, 

 but bad silk is as bad as any other inferior 

 material ; and there are, moreover, a great 

 number of these lines which are warranted to be 

 of silk in which there is very little, if any, silk at 

 all. I have as yet, despite the number of lines I 

 have bought at different times from different 

 makers, never succeeded in finding any, save one 

 description, what I consider a trout-line should be 

 and that is Messrs. Eaton and Deller's patent. 

 Mr. Halford, in his book on Dry-fly Fishing, 

 explains very fully the process of its manufacture. 

 Suffice it to say that this line is of pure silk, the 

 oil with which it is dressed being forced into it 

 by means of an air-pump. It is then baked, and 

 when thoroughly dry, rubbed down ; the process 

 of dressing with the oil and baking, etc., is re- 

 peated several times, and the result is a line not 

 only perfectly dressed and well-nigh imperishable, 

 but as supple as the softest kid, and very heavy 

 for its size ; the advantage of this latter being 

 that a much finer line can be used, and that greater 

 casting power is obtained than with one which, 

 though perhaps much more bulky, is considerably 

 lighter. I believe that the price of these lines for 

 trout-rods is about twelve and sixpence, nor is it 



