102 THE BRITISH ANGLER'S LEXICON. 



Roll up a small cutting of soft old flannel in a ball or pad, 

 leaving the edges out to form a grip. Put a little of the 

 polish on the ball ; over this draw a small piece of fine old 

 linen rag, free from starch. The polish will make its way 

 through, when a single drop of linseed oil may be put on 

 the rag with the finger. The ball of flannel and old linen is 

 held firmly in the hand, and with a brisk, light circular 

 motion, the wood to be polished is gone over, doing a small 

 portion of it at a time. When the rubber feels sticky, renew 

 polish and oil same way, and proceed until all the work is 

 well filled up, and presents a nice skin. Sometimes a rough- 

 ness comes on the wood on account of the polish rubbing up 

 into lumps. When this is the case, go over the work with 

 a rub or two of very fine glass paper, and polish as at first. 

 In working the pad, don't let it rest, else it will stick and 

 remove all the polish that has been already rubbed in. It 

 takes about three hours to polish a twelve foot trout rod, 

 resting the hand occasionally. It is not necessary to do it 

 all at once it may be half polished, and finished in a day or 

 so after; in fact, it is better to let the first two or three coats 

 harden well. Polishing is best done in a warm room, or 

 near a fire or stove. Finish off the polishing with a rub of 

 naphtha instead of the French polish; this hardens the skin. 



Frog" Fishing" foP Pike is a common practice with 

 the rustic angler. The frog is baited by passing the line 

 with a baiting needle under the skin of the back, leaving 

 the hook exposed between the hind legs ; also by catching 

 the skin of the back with the hook this plan keeps the 

 bait longer alive. Another method is to have a triangle of 

 hooks fastened to the frog's body by a lashing of fine cord 

 or thread. Sometimes the frog is skinned. All of these 

 plans are cruel, and should not be encouraged. 



