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bability feasible. I commend the subject to the practical con- 

 sideration of our great gut importers, such as Messrs. Carswell, 

 of Glasgow, and Ramsbottom, of Manchester. 



The best gut is the longest and roundest, the evenest in 

 substance, and most absolutely transparent transparent (to borrow 

 Mr. Marston's words) " as glass." 



I conclude these brief observations with a diagram and 

 description of the " Buffer " Knot, for single gut salmon casting 

 lines, and gut spinning traces. The effect of it is to diminish 

 greatly the size and unsightliness of the knot, whilst at the same 

 time making it the strongest instead of the weakest part of the 

 cast. But as no man's witness in favour of his own invention is 

 free from suspicion of bias, I will quote in preference the frank 

 testimony of Major John P. Traherne, whose excellent chapter 

 on salmon fishing in the Badminton Library of Sports has been so 

 widely read and so highly appreciated : 



" Not long ago I fondly imagined I had invented a plan for 

 "uniting the links of a casting line without knots, and was on 

 " my way to the Fishing Gazette office to unfold my secret. My 

 " friend, Mr. Cholmondeley-Pennell, happened to accompany me 

 " on a different business, and on my letting him know what mine 

 " was turned round and said, ' My dear fellow, I am very sorry 

 " for you, but I brought that out years ago in the Modern Practical 

 " Angler, and as we were passing Farlow's shop at the time he 

 " took me in and soon convinced me that he was right and that 

 " his principle and mine are the same, although differently carried 

 " out. Therefore, although I can lay no claim to be the inventor 

 "of the ' buffer knot,' I can honestly say that I had never seen or 

 " heard of it before. 



" It is impossible to invent a better method of fastening gut 

 *' together than that which makes the fastening the strongest 

 ' instead of the weakest part of the casting line, and it is surprising 

 " to me that this method has not been adopted." 



