TACKLE AND FISHING GEAR. 55 



entirely out of ebonised mahogany, and, therefore, very light : 

 a four inches and a half reel weighing only ten ounces. By 

 shifting the small nut on the left-hand side plate, this reel can 

 be made either ' plain' or 'check,' the former being intended 

 to favour the casting of the bait ' from the reel ' in the Notting- 

 ham style, already alluded to. In construction the reel is also 

 approximate to the Nottingham reel, consisting of a barrel, or 

 winder, freely revolving on a steel pivot or centre pin, which is 

 fast to the frame. Attached to the non-revolving or fixed 

 (left-hand) plate is a brass frame or 'cage,' supporting the hori- 

 zontal bars, between which, as in ordinary reels, the line passes. 

 This frame or cage is ' recessed ' into a groove in the revolving 



FIG. 2. SLATER'S PERFECT COMBINATION REEL. 



barrel. The left-hand, or back plate, and the frame or cage, 

 therefore, remain stationary, while the barrel or winder revolves 

 independently of them. A catch is provided in the front or 

 revolving side plate, or barrel, by which the latter can be readily 

 taken off the pivot for oiling and cleaning. It is in this sepa- 

 rated condition that the two portions of the reel are shown in 

 the engraving. The ' Slater reel ' is, in fact, a Nottingham reel 

 with bars, and it is principally in relation to the Nottingham style 

 that its advantages except in its extreme lightness are appa- 

 rent. The revolution of the side plate and axis is so arranged 

 as to present the same perfect freedom of movement claimed for 

 the old-fashioned open Nottingham reel, whilst at the same 

 time obviating the inconvenience of the line constantly hitch- 



