FISHING 61 



It is generally advisable, if not absolutely 

 necessary, for every angler to possess some 

 slight knowledge of the theory and use of knots 

 before he goes confidently forth to the chase. 

 It will perpetually happen to him that he is 

 called upon to join two lengths of gut together, 

 to repair a broken line, attach hooks to casts, 

 and so on; and clumsy fingers often entail the 

 escape of a big fish and the loss of an expensive 

 fly or a valuable bait. 



Without becoming involved in an extensive 

 dissertation on the properties of knots and 

 the science of knotting, I may perhaps assume 

 the truth of the self-evident proposition that, 

 if any plane dosed curve have double points only, 

 in passing continuously along the curve from one 

 of these to the same again, an even number of 

 double points has been passed through, and 

 therefore knots which can be deformed into their 

 own perversion may justly and without exag- 

 geration be termed amphicheiral or even para- 

 dromic — or indeed anything you like. This 

 fact being once established, we may pass on to 

 the consideration of a knot invented by my 

 Uncle Noel, which fulfils all these conditions, 

 has been found invaluable on a score of occa- 

 sions, and can therefore be strongly recom- 



