Leaders. 127 



finally to endure four and a half pounds, and that with 

 but trivial loss in length. Had he used the leaders he in- 

 tended, their excessive thickness and unnecessary obtru- 

 siveness would doubtless have seriously lessened his 

 chances of success with the grade of fish he had come so 

 far to take; while had he employed the others, how great 

 would have been his disappointment when every decent 

 rise he had must have been followed by the loss of the 

 fish, his flies, and a portion of his leader. The fault lay 

 not with the quality of the gut, for that was good enough ; 

 but at some time since these leaders were made, they had 

 been subjected to maltreatment when dry, breaking the 

 fibre, and thus rendering the leader worse than useless 

 until the damaged part was eliminated. The most care- 

 ful and critical ocular inspection would have given rise 

 to no suspicion how defective these leaders really were. 

 Actual test alone could detect their weakness. 



Take another instance from my own experience. Some 

 years ago I purchased a bundle of gut, which, though 

 small in diameter, was of uncommon length, as well as 

 of unusual excellence in every other respect. It was 

 justly regarded as a great prize. Having abundance of 

 other colors, I prepared to dye this lot in a decoction of 

 red onion-peel, under the mistaken impression that a 

 brownish-yellow tint was the least visible in brown wa- 

 ters. The dye did not seem to bite readily, so the aid 

 of heat was sought to hasten the process. This had the 

 desired effect, and a very satisfactory color was obtained. 

 Half a dozen leaders were made from it in the hurry in- 

 cident to the last day or two of preparation for a some- 

 what protracted fishing-trip, and with them in my fly- 

 book I set out. Arriving in the evening, the next morn- 

 ing we began our preparations for fishing, when these 



