In due course the worthy Scot returned looking more than 

 usually serious, and observed : " It's a' vera weel, but it fechles me 

 just a wee bittie. If ye'r wall be wanting to reech 'em, an' hook 'em, 

 an' get 'cm aboot here men, }'c'r maun ha' a deil off the hinder end 

 an' be pooting it fornenst." 



Tliis little Highland incident is recorded to illustrate that not 

 only were old-fashioned rods over-burdened with wood in the wrong 

 place, but also that, if properly remodelled, they are more reliable 

 than tliose turned out at the present time. Nor is this difficult to 

 realise when we remember that rods are now made of wood taken 

 from the interior of more or less dense forests, whereas they used to 

 be made from trees growing on the outskirts, the trunks of which had 

 been exposed for years to the fine seasoning properties of air and sun. 



Considered from the standpoint of economy, and this is an appro- 

 priate platform from which to ventilate our views on purchasing a 

 rod, the angler must decide for himself whether he wants a rod for 

 some particular mode of casting, or for salmon fishing generally. If, 

 for instance, he wants it solely for the Spey, he is referred to our 

 remarks on the Highland cast in Chapter III. ; for the Dee mediod of 

 casting, he goes to Garden of Aberdeen, or Blacklaws of Kincardine 

 O'Neil ; and if he is bent on visiting the Tay, where preference is 

 given to the poor business of harling, the inference must be that 

 he should select a rod with plenty of " play " in the butt, so that, 

 provided the top joint is not too slight, he is enabled to hasten 

 matters in bringing a fish to the gaff. 



In this connection it is desirable to mention that an ordinary 

 Spey rod is fit for little more than Spey casting. Also, that in harling 

 the line is not cast but iiaid niil frnm a boat rowed b^' two men ; the 



