24 DRESSING OF KEEL-LINES. 



quence of a hugely-knotted casting-line, cannot be reeled 

 up tight enough to slacken ; and in this case the fish, 

 somewhat recovering his strength, begins to flounder 

 lustily on the sand, and presently jerks the hook out 

 of its hold ; when the newly-escaped prisoner uncere- 

 moniously scuttles off like a " gone coon," if not to 

 "ocean's coral caves," at all events to "river's shady 

 pools." 



DRESSING OF KEEL-LINES. 



Some sportsmen prefer rendering their reel-lines 

 impervious to water by soaking them in a waterproof 

 solution, by which they are supposed to be not only 

 protected from the injurious action of damp, but also 

 rendered lighter when in use, in consequence of not 

 being soaked with water. However useful such a pro- 

 tection may be to heavy salmon, I object to it for trout- 

 ing lines, as it will render them inconveniently stiff, and 

 materially interfere with the delicacy required in casting. 

 For the information of such as choose to submit their 

 lines to this process, I give the following recipes, as 

 being the best hitherto known with this warning, that 

 boiled linseed oil alone, which is the article most com- 

 monly used, accelerates the decay of all cotton or silk 

 fabrics. 



No. 1. -Baltic linseed oil, 1 pint ; whitest india- 

 rubber, 3 oz. ; bees' wax, ^ oz. ; gold size, 1 table- 

 spoonful. 



