46 DAYS AMONG THE PIKE AND PERCH 



tablespoonful of gold size say half a pint altogether- 

 is a good dressing for a line. The line, board, and all that 

 it is wound on, should be put in a shallow tin or dish, of 

 only sufficient size to comfortably hold it, then pour some 

 of the mixture, as given above, cold on the top of it, just 

 enough to well cover the line. Let it remain there three 

 or four days, then turn it upside-down, and soak it for a 

 further three or four days, until the oil goes completely 

 through it, board and all ; then carefully remove it from 

 the board, and have a frame, something like a picture- 

 frame, handy, and let the line run through a bit of flannel 

 held tightly in the hand, at the same time winding it 

 carefully on the frame, which should be long enough to 

 admit of the line being wound so that the coils do not 

 overlap one another ; this will be an aid to its rapid drying. 

 Take care that no lumps are sticking to any part of the line. 

 It can then be hung up in a dry, cool place, where the sun 

 cannot shine on it ; and possess your soul in patience, for 

 several weeks must elapse before it is ready for use. 



Before winding on the reel, it will be an improvement 

 to stretch it down the garden path or any other convenient 

 situation, tying either end to a gate-post or tree ; and get 

 a sixpenny packet of King's Ceroleum, and put a little 

 bit of it, about the size of a small walnut, in a bit of dry 

 flannel, and rub the line smartly with this from end to end, 

 taking care that no lumps are left on simply a surface 

 dressing and that is all ; then finish off with a little bit of 

 chamois leather, smoothing the surface of line from end to 

 end until it has a slight gloss. 



This is the very best dressing to give a line j in fact, one 

 of my old friends would not think of using a line of any 

 sort, let alone a pike line, unless so treated, as he always 

 maintained that it added a couple of seasons' hard wear 

 to the life of the line. 



Pike lines should always be plaited silk ; the Nottingham 

 or Derby twist is not so good. Many years ago we found 

 the latter had such a tendency to kink and snarl up ; and 



