ONE-PIECE RODS 91 



agate top, rub the rod with coach varnish on a 

 rag, and suspend it on a brad in an airy or 

 sunny place free from dust until it is dry. If 

 it is crooked, let it hang with a heavy reel in 

 place. 



Tie the guides on with cord, attach a reel, 

 and practice with the rod until you are satis- 

 fied either that it suits you or that it needs 

 reducing a trifle in places where it seems too 

 stiff. 



Just here it is well to quote the late Major 

 Traherne, who, in " The Badminton Library 

 on Salmon and Trout," said of the greenheart 

 salmon rod: 



" I am at a loss how to describe it, but its 

 virtue lies in an equal distribution of strength, 

 in proportion, from the butt to the point. A 

 heavy butt, with no spring to it, and with a 

 weak top, is of little use for casting purposes 

 beyond a certain distance. The spring should 

 be felt, to a certain extent, to the bottom of 

 the butt when casting; and I consider a rod 

 which does not possess this quality of little or 

 no value." 



This applies to all rods, whether for lure or 

 fly-casting; but in finishing the bait-rod it is 

 well to remember that for quick, snappy cast- 

 ing the taper from the middle to the tip-end 



