PRACTICAL FLY-FISHING. 39 



and the sugar-wood log burns brightly in the grate, there 

 is nothing so enjoyable as the pages of a Prime's "I go 

 a Fishing," or the many genial and truly idyllic sketches 

 of a Francis, a Mather, or a Cheney. 



The following endeavors to meet the case of the angler 

 who wants to know, and to see at a glance the inf orma- 

 tion he seeks, or where he can get it. What is here set 

 down is the result of a long experience, and has been 

 "boiled down" with a merciless severity, till the essence 

 is alone presented. 



THE EOD, KEEL AND LINE. 



The modern fly-rod, as represented by the American- 

 made solid and split cane weapons, approaches absolute 

 perfection as nearly as it is possible for any mundane 

 implement to do so. The catalogues of any of the tackle 

 makers will furnish particulars, and it is not necessary, 

 in a little work of this kind, to do more than indicate 

 the general characteristics of what the author, himself, 

 prefers. 



My favorite rod, therefore, is a split cane hexagonal, ten 

 feet long, with the Orvis patent reel seat, which allows of 

 the reel being instantly adjusted. One peculiarity of all 

 Orvis' rods (which is the make I prefer) is that they are 

 made with ferrules without dowels. These never loosen 

 in the casting (because they fie true), and this cannot be 

 said of any other rod with dowels. In English rods with 

 dowels and the ordinary brass ferrules, which never fit 

 accurately, it is necessary to tie the joints together with 

 soft thread, as they would infallibly fly apart if not so 

 tied. This results, first, from the imperfect fit of the 



