132 AMATEUR RODMAKING 



yew became so scarce in Europe that bow- 

 makers were compelled to turn to other ma- 

 terials, they began to glue two varieties of 

 tough wood together, and such bows were 

 called backed bows, to distinguish them from 

 self bows, or those made of one piece of wood. 

 It is said that the old-time rodmakers em- 

 ployed bowmakers to help them, and as these 

 men were probably experts in making backed 

 bows, it is likely that they suggested splitting 

 canes to obtain excellent material for rods or 

 parts of rods. 



If Phillipe, the gunsmith of Easton, Pa., 

 was the originator of split bamboo rods in 

 America, as it is claimed he was, it is just pos- 

 sible that he, too, obtained the idea from one 

 of the old bows; for at that time it is likely 

 that imported bows were more common in 

 America than imported fishing rods. 



It has also been suggested that Phillipe 

 might have seen an English rod made of three 

 strips of cane glued up, and at once concluded 

 that a better rod could be made of four than 

 three strips. But it is not likely that he was 

 a copyist, since Dr. Henshall mentions several 

 articles that he made, as well as rods. Living, 

 as he did, far in the interior, it is more reason- 

 able to believe that he worked out the four- 

 strip idea without assistance of any sort. 



