42 FLY-FISHING AND FLY-MAKING. 



so much of the best grades that are, if judged by a strict 

 standard, unusable, I will relax this dictum so far as to 

 say that the flat gut, and that which is, from some rea- 

 son, brittle on being bent, need alone be absolutely con- 

 demned. The spotted gut, if fairly round, may be bene- 

 fited by a soaking in warm water. Thereafter, it should 

 be lightly stretched, and after this, and when it is quite 

 dry, it may be rubbed quickly and gently with chamois 

 leather. This polishes the surface, and makes its appear- 

 ance much more presentable than would otherwise be the 

 case. If, however, the gut breaks on bending, with a 

 greenwood fracture as the surgeons term it that is, 

 splinters up but does nofc separate, reject it ruthlessly ; 

 it is no good, and will lose you a fish when you least want 

 it to do so. 



There are ever so many methods of making leadors^ 

 but generally the single gut ones are tied. Those that are 

 whipped together with silk are very neat when new, but 

 if they are used on a rocky-bottomed river, speedily be- 

 come the reverse. The whipping ravels up and becomes 

 insecure. The same objection applies to those having 

 knots and whipped ends, and also to those joined by the 

 "buffer " knot, which simply consists of two " fisher- 

 men's" knots drawn, tight but not close together, the inter- 

 vening space being whipped with fine silk. The virtue of 

 the arrangement lies in the fact that no sudden strain 

 can come directly on the knots, but must pass through the 

 silk, which, of course, is not absolutely unyielding. 

 Hence, the leader never snaps suddenly at the junction. 

 So far, the idea is good but, as I have said, liable to the 

 objection that the knot frays. 



