8o ELEMENTS OF ANGLING. 



of choice is possible. Fly-rods are made of several 

 materials, four of which, personally, I should place 

 in the following order of merit : split-cane, green- 

 heart, whole cane, and blue mahoe. The price of a 

 trout rod varies from about five guineas forafirst-rate 

 split-cane to about 73. 6d. for a cheap, but sometimes 

 serviceable, rod of greenheart or whole cane, or 

 for a primitive split-cane of American manufacture. 

 An expensive rod is the best in the long run, and 

 five guineas is soundly invested in one of the finest 

 products of a good maker. A greenheart rod of 

 equally high standard in its own class costs about 

 2 or a little more ; blue mahoe, a light but rather 

 brittle wood according to my experience, is about 

 as expensive as greenheart ; whole cane is cheaper, 

 and is also brittle. Split-cane I have found to be 

 far more dependable than anything else, though 

 greenheart is delightful to fish with, and with 

 reasonable care lasts for years. I have said that 

 the most expensive rod is best in the long run, but 

 I by no means assert that a cheap rod may not be 

 quite good enough. Some English makers are able 

 to turn out split-cane fly-rods for two guineas or 

 even less, and I can testify to the fact that many of 

 these rods are excellent. Two of my favourites 

 cost two guineas and (I think) 355. respec- 

 tively. Both have seen plenty of hard work, and 



