86 ON RODS. 



rence to the hickory, it being very light and elastic ; the 

 top must be made of logwood that is straight grained, 

 and made very fine it must be fixed to the bottom 

 by a long neat splice, tied with fine waxed string, 

 but some will have the.ni made in three parts, fixed toge- 

 ther by brass ferrules for convenience of carriage. The 

 bottom end of the rod must be made so thick that it will 

 fit easily in the hand, and taper much for about a foot 

 above the handle, then gently to the top end ; it must 

 likewise be ringed from the top to within half a yard 

 from where the reel is fixed on ; the nearer the rings are 

 placed towards the top the less liable the line is to swag. 

 For large rivers and lakes a fly-rod about twelve feet 

 three inches long is a very good length. Bottom and 

 dibbing-rods should be from thirteen to fifteen feet long 

 and a little stifferthan fly-rods. Trouling-rods shou'd 

 be from twelve to thirteen feet long, and rather stifFer 

 than bottom-rods, w T ith broader and larger rings. There 

 has lately been invented a new kind of ring for trouling- 

 rods, and may be purchased at the tackle-shops. There 

 are two-handed salmon-rods made from sixteen to 

 twenty feet long. Your lines for salmon and large 

 pike fishing should be about forty or fifty yards long, 

 and finely tapered. Trout lines must be from eighteen 

 to thirty yards long, and rather much tapered for about 

 twelve yards, the thickest part being from twenty-four to 

 twenty-six hairs thick, and run down to four hairs at 

 the point. These lines must be free from knots, other- 

 wise they will not run through the rings. They may be 

 purchased at the tackle- shops any length you may think 



