THE SPLIT BAMBOO ROD 137 



I never had the good fortune to use one, but 

 have handled them often and listened to the 

 raptures of experts on their merits; on their 

 good qualities I believe I can say nothing that 

 they do not deserve, but their price is neces- 

 sarily high, from the care with which the cane 

 has to be selected and put together.' " 



The late William Mitchell of New York 

 City said that the first split bamboo rod that 

 he ever saw or heard of was made by William 

 Blacker of London, and to order, for James 

 Stevens, of Hoboken, N. J. Mr. Mitchell re- 

 paired this rod in 1852, and made a rod for 

 its owner in the previous year, keeping a rec- 

 ord of both dates. In the American Angler 

 of May 19, 1883, Mr. Mitchell gives these 

 additional data on the subject: 



u About 4 1 860 E. A. Green of Newark, N. J., 

 made the first complete split bamboo rod. This 

 date cannot be far astray, for Mr. Green made 

 that is, glued up for the trade a few; and 

 I find my record, made at the time, to be Sept. 

 16, 1863. These rods were made in four sec- 

 tions. . . . In 1863 or 1864 Mr. Murphy, 

 an acquaintance of Mr. Green, commenced to 

 manufacture split bamboo rods for the trade. 

 These were in four sections. 



" The first rods constructed in six sections 



