CHAPTER XIII 



ON THE HISTORY OF THE SPLIT BAMBOO ROD 



WHEN and where were split bamboo 

 fishing rods first made, and by 

 whom? This is a question that has 

 been discussed in the press of Great Britain 

 and America for very many years. It is gen- 

 erally conceded that the idea originated in Eng- 

 land, but the three-section rod was the only 

 development of the idea there; while on this 

 side of the Atlantic if all available testimony 

 is trustworthy the four-section rod came first, 

 and the hexagonal method followed very 

 shortly, to stay. 



Whether the four-strip rod as made in Eng- 

 land was copied from those made here is un- 

 known, or so it seems, but the evidence at 

 hand points to that conclusion, since the four- 

 strip rod was commented on in the English 

 press of the early 70*5 as something new, 

 whereas four-strip rods had been commonly 

 made here for a number of years previously. 

 The first mention of glued-up bamboo rods 

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