ROD, REEL, AND LINE 65 



seeming extravagance, suddenly that rod and line 

 began to work in harmony, just as, in theory, they 

 should have been working all along. The explana- 

 tion is that I had at length, by snippets, abolished 

 the exquisite taper ! 



In a pause during the writing of this chapter 1 

 came, with gladness, upon a confirmatory remark by 

 Sir Herbert Maxwell, who is an exceptionally skilful 

 and observant salmon fisher. "Some use tapered 

 lines, which are reckoned specially good for switching 

 or underhand casting ; but for ordinary purposes a 

 plaited silken line, even from end to end, is hard 

 to beat." 



