148 THE BRITISH ANGLER'S LEXICON. 



lines need also to be well dried after using, and will 

 be all the better for an occasional rub with deer's fat, or, 

 as some use, the rind of a piece of bacon, or vaseline. 

 Lines can be got either taper or level. Some prefer one and 

 some the other. The double taper lines cast very neatly, 

 and as these are tapered at each end, they can be reversed 

 on the reel, so that when one end gets worn a fresh 

 portion can be brought into active use. The usual length 

 of a trout or grayling line is twenty to forty yards, and that 

 of a salmon line seventy to one hundred and twenty yards ; 

 some like one hundred and fifty yards, and it is well to have 

 plenty, although this requires a large reel and adds weight 

 to the rod. In Norway and Canada, salmon have taken out 

 upwards of one hundred yards of line at the h'rst rush. 

 Always be sure to fasten the line on the barrel of the reel. 

 There is another line called the blow line, which is made of 

 floss silk, not twisted. This is used solely for natural fly 

 fishing, and is not cast in the ordinary way, but allowed to 

 be carried by a gentle wind or breath of air, which, with a 

 little manipulation of the rod, it does beautifully, alighting 

 the natural fly like a snowflake on the spot where the rising 

 fish is making its circular rings on the surface of the water. 

 This practice is principally carried on from boats. (See 

 "Daping.") Lines, when not in use, should be kept in a 

 moderately dry place, lest mildew attacks them, and they 

 should be carefully examined, before the season opens, and 

 tested for strength. 



Liquid Wax is made by dissolving a small portion of 

 ordinary shoemaker's or cobbler's wax in some methylated 

 spirits of wine. Keep in a well-stoppered bottle, and use 

 with a fine earners hair brush. It is useful to put on very 

 fine silk when dressing a small dark-coloured fly ; also for 



