310 THE BEST WOOD FOR RODS. 



But, on the other hand, where you have to tie and untie 

 your own splices, and to retie if they work loose, breaking 

 string now and then, and cutting fingers, &c., c., the 

 nuisance is so great that I prefer to put up with a ferruled 

 rod with which, I may say, I have never found a difficulty 

 in getting out any reasonable cast of line, and in killing 

 any fish. I think, too, it will lie 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. 1 Another point to be 

 studied in the making of a rod is, whether the angler is 

 in the habit of playing his fish heavily or lightly. Some 

 anglers bear so hard on their fish as to warp an ordinary 

 rod all to pieces in a month or two's wear, and in such a 

 CMB certainly the rod-maker should know how he is to 

 set up the lower joints. But perhaps the more rods 

 such persons spoil, the better it is for trade. 



The best wood is either greenheart or Washaba, and 

 next to them hickory. One of the best and handsomest 

 rods I ever had or even saw was made as a specimen rod 

 for me by Messrs. Jack, wholesale tackle-makers, of Glas- 

 gow, who make very largely for the trade. This rod was 

 made of a new wood, Washaba wood, which to the tough- 

 ness of hickory adds the spring and resistance of green- 

 heart. The rod was a masterpiece, and was the delight of 

 all the Tweed boatmen tost year who handled it. 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 but, 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 



1 Since writing this 1 pronounced the same opinion to a first-class rod- 

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

 a reaction in favour of ferrules has been the result. 



