DRESSING FOR LINES. 55 



folded piece of wash-leather, held by the fingers 

 and thumb, and then stretched to dry in a warm 

 room. 



Here is one from Keenes Practical FisJierman : 



" Half a pint of boiled oil, thrcequarters of an 

 ounce of beeswax, one and a half ounce of Bur- 

 gundy pitch ; one tablespoonful of copal varnish. 

 Simmer the line in the mixture, which should not be 

 raised to a greater heat than is necessary to quite 

 liquify the component parts ; then treat the line 

 and stretch it as described in the previous receipt." 



The next is taken from Chitty's Fly-fisJier's Text 

 Book : 



" Dressing for Lines. To a quarter of a pint of 

 'double-boiled cold-drawn' linseed oil, add about 

 one ounce of gold size ; gently warm and mix them 

 well, being first careful to have the line quite dry. 

 While the mixture is warm, soak it therein till it is 

 fully saturated to its very centre, say for twenty- 

 four hours ; then pass it through a piece of flannel, 

 pressing it sufficiently to take off the superficial 

 coat, which enables that which is in the interior to 

 dry well and in time to get stiff. The line must 

 then be hung up in the air, wind, or sun, out of 

 the reach of moisture, for about a fortnight, until 

 pretty well dry ; it must then be re-dipped to give 

 an outer coat, for which less soaking is necessary. 

 After this wipe it again, but lightly ; wind it on a 

 chair-back or towel-horse before a hot fire, and 

 then let it remain for two or three hours, which will 

 cause the mixture on it to ' flow ' (as japanners 

 term it) and give it an even gloss over the whole. 

 It must then be left to dry as before ; the length of 

 time, as it depends on the weather and place, 

 observation must determine upon. By this means 



