308 AMATEUR TACKLE MAKING, ETC 



logwood, Brazilian lance, etc., etc. It is never 

 advisable to make all the parts of a rod from the 

 same wood. They should be graduated according to 

 strength, nature, and quality. There is invariably 

 great divergency in the nature of the same species 

 of wood when grown under different conditions. 

 Thus Cuban lance is below the yellow variety found 

 in South America in general utility. The distinction 

 in quality, in one and the same variety of wood, is 

 not generally so strikingly marked as to enable the 

 manipulator to cut the butt from the same log as the 

 top. An amalgamation is, therefore, mostly adopted, 

 the lighter woods of fair strength being used for the 

 butt, medium for the middle joint, and the very best 

 and most select for the tops ; but we would commend 

 a still closer application of this rule, by the adoption 

 of the same routine in the tops, good wood being 

 used at foot, better up to second splice, and the very 

 best it is possible to procure for the tip of the top. 

 This may appear superfluous perhaps to some ; the 

 bean stick epoch, in the career of many anglers, 

 appears to leave primitive longings for unpermissible 

 things. We would remind such that perfection is 

 only to be attained by trifles in construction ; it is 

 purely by keen application to these that sterling and 

 permanent improvement is achieved. 



The length and number of joints decided upon, the 

 wood and sizes of ferrule chosen, the first step is to 

 take off the four corners (presuming the wood to be 

 square), of the butt with a "jack plane," there are 

 then eight smaller ones to be taken off in like 



