Lines. 51 



CHAPTER III. 



LINES. 



FORMERLY lines for fly-fishing were made of hair, and 

 were twisted. These were superseded by a mixture of 

 hair and silk, the latter added to increase the strength, 

 and tone down the excessive roughness which charac- 

 terized the line made of hair alone. Again the twisted 

 line was found liable to kink, and braiding the strands 

 was substituted for twisting, to overcome this. But at 

 the present day the only line used in this country for 

 this purpose, is one braided from silk alone. 



Both " raw " and " boiled " silk are used, the raw silk 

 being the silk as spun by the worm, and with the gum, 

 exuded in that process to unite the filaments into the 

 form of a cocoon, still adhering to it; and boiled silk 

 being, as its name implies, the former boiled to dissolve 

 and eliminate this gum. 



Italian, Chinese, and Japanese silk are all used for 

 line making. Italian silk, when raw, comes in hanks 

 resembling in form and size the common woollen yarn 

 of country stores. It is of a most beautiful golden 

 color, resembling in the sunlight the hair of the giddi- 

 est of blondes. It feels somewhat harsh to the touch 

 very much like linen thread and lines made from it par- 

 take of this characteristic. Chinese silk differs from the 

 Italian in appearance in the hank, being white in color, 

 a little coarser and harsher to the feel, and somewhat 



