ROD, REEL, AND LINE 63 



the new line, heavy though it was, actually went 

 through the air more pleasantly than the old one, 

 while the fly or flies dropped upon the water just as 

 lightly. Man had taken hundreds of years to discover 

 that weight in a cord helps its projection through 

 the atmosphere, especially when the air is adverse; 

 and the discovery was accidental, a result of luck 

 rather than of intelligence. One is obliged to think 

 of such facts as this when enthusiasts sing the 

 marvellous advance we have been making in the 

 mechanic arts. Perhaps progress seems stupendous 

 only because, not being able to see what is to be 

 going on next century, we are without the means of 

 comparative criticism. At any rate, one may enter- 

 tain some doubt as to whether we have now the 

 perfect line. The authoritative scriptures seem to 

 stand in need of revision and correction. They clash 

 in not a few respects. For example, what are we to 

 believe on the question whether a line should be solid 

 or hollow ? The expert of The Badminton Library 

 is for solidity. " My objection to a hollow line," he 

 says, " is this : that should there be a flaw or bruise, 

 the water will gradually find its way into the hollow, 

 run down the whole length of the line, and as, owing 

 to the outer coating being waterproof, the line can- 

 not be dried, it will therefore become quickly rotten. 1 ' 

 On the other hand, experts equally respected favour 

 the hollow line, which they esteem for its softness 

 and pliability. Which doctrine are we to adopt? 

 It is hard to tell ; but at the moment one is inclined 

 in favour of the Badminton. Pliability is good; 



