102 FISHING TACKLE 



A brass clearing ring was the older form. A 

 hinged brass ring- with cord attached was slipped 

 down the rod and line as near the entanglement as 

 possible, and usually the major part of the tackle 

 could be saved. 



" Sport is the glow of perfect health," says Emer- 

 son, " but the acumen of the naturalist, the skill of the 

 sportsman, and the genius of the craftsman all go to 

 the making of the angler." Few lack the fishing 

 instinct; perhaps it is a heritage from prehistoric man, 

 which usually breaks out like the measles in boyhood 

 days. It is a sport and a health-giving recreation to 

 which there is no age limit a communion with 

 nature, full of nameless joys. 



