RODS FIFTY YEARS AGO 231 



I may say, I have never found a difficulty in getting out any 

 reasonable cast of line, and in killing fish. I think, too, it 

 will be found that a well-made ferruled rod will stand infinitely 

 more wear and tear, more knocking about than a spliced one, 

 for the splices must wear, but the ferrules do not.* 



The best wood is unquestionably greenheart, and next to 

 it hickory. Bamboo rods were tried, and proved a failure. 

 The rod now in favour with many of the best hands on the 

 Scotch rivers is a three-joint rod, with a ferrule on the butt, 

 and a splice for the top. It is usually slightly top-heavy, 

 because a good deal of wood is put into the top to stiffen it, 

 in order that the operation of picking the line off the water 

 may be promptly performed ; since the length of the cast 

 is controlled by the quantity of line that can be got off cleanly 

 and well, and a stiff top does this better than a limp one. 

 And, certainly, these rods do throw a long line, though some- 

 what unpleasant to handle at first. 



With respect to the weight of salmon-rods, I may say that 

 I have two old rods which have been in use several years, 

 and the weight of each is as follows. I have one of Farlow's, 

 a four-jointed ferruled rod, 16 ft. j\ in. long, and the weight 

 of which is but 2 Ib. 6 oz. This some persons would almost 

 regard as a grilse-rod : yet I can put out a good long line with 

 it, and have killed hundreds of fish with it. For a lake or 

 small river it is amply large. The other rod is an old Bowness 

 and Chevalier ; it is 18 ft. 3 in. long, and weighs 3^ Ib. It is 

 a very powerful rod, and very large in the butt. Both of these 

 rods are hickory. To show the difference in the weight of 

 this wood and greenheart, I subjoin the weight of four rods 

 weighed at Farlow's : 



No. i, 18 feet, greenheart ferruled . . . 2 Ib. 10 oz. 

 No. 2, 19 feet, hickory butt, and the rest greenheart 



ferruled 2 Ib. 9 oz. 



No. 3, 19 feet, hickory butt, all greenheart ferruled 3 Ib. 



No. 4, 20 feet, all greenheart, and spliced . . 2 Ib. 13 oz. 



So that a spliced rod is very little heavier than a ferruled one 

 two feet shorter ; while a hickory butt makes a difference of 

 one-fifth or one-sixth in the weight. 



And now for the reel and line. The winch should be the 



* Since writing this, I pronounced the same opinion to a first-class rod- 

 maker, and he told me that they had found that such was the case, and that 

 a slight reaction in favour of ferrules had been the result. F. F. 



