38 SALMON FISHING 



original device, after all these years of trial, is 

 still the favourite, speaks volumes for its utility 

 and simplicity. In fittings for holding the reel, 

 nothing can be simpler than that called the 

 " Universal " winch fitting, invented by Dr. Emil 

 Weeger of Briinn, and introduced by Messrs. 

 Hardy Brothers in 1883. This is merely the 

 application of two wedge-shaped holders, one 

 fixed for pushing one end of the reel plate into, 

 the other loose, in the form of a ring which can 

 be drawn down over the other end, until it holds 

 firmly. 



The materials used in the construction of 

 salmon rods, embrace some of the toughest and 

 most elastic woods known, together with varieties 

 of bamboo. These woods are generally used 

 in the solid form, rounded, while the bamboo 

 is split, and built together again in varying 

 sections, according to the quality of the work 

 desired. 



In woods so used, the pieces are cut or rent 

 from the sawn plank, and as it is quite impos- 

 sible to cut continuously in line with the fibre, 

 there is always a liability to split from the sur- 

 face in line with the grain, which of necessity 

 must run obliquely across the axis of the 

 rod. No rod-maker, however much he may test 

 work in progress, can be justified in saying 

 what such material will stand, depending as it 



