60 FISHERIES OP THE UNITED STATES. 



WILLIAM MITCHELL, 26 Vandam street, New York City : 



Split bamboo rods of the same class average from 1 to 3 ounces heavier. [A'ee 

 "HenshalPs Booh of the Black Bass," or ' ' Forest and Stream," January 2, 1879.] 



"The average leverage, holding the rods at an angle of 30° from the hori- 

 zontal, is fairly two-thirds of the foregoing. Rod No. 1 is a standard black 

 bass rod. Upon a No. 2 was caught and killed, without gaff or net, a salmon 

 which weighed 33 pounds. No. 3 is the "standard" trout rod at present 

 in this part of the country. A "standard" rod of 1843, made for Daniel 

 Webster (sent in for repair), has also been tested: Length, 12 feet; weight, 

 17 £ ounces; weight of reel and line, 7 ounces; leverage, 5 pounds. As the 

 reel is above the hand, this rod of 1843 is not so strong, nor will it stand 

 work, nor can it cast as far as the 11-feet standard of to-day. A 10 ounce 

 rod is now almost as obsolete as that one of 1843. 



A fly rod of 11 feet in length, weighing 6£ ounces, having on it a No. 4 

 reel and line weighing 4f ounces (grip above reel, of course), the leverage 

 is 22 ounces, that is, if the rod be held level ; upright, of course, there is no 

 leverage ; if the rod were held most of the time at an angle of 45°, the av- 

 erage power exerted would be 11 ounces ; but the rod is held lower, nearer 

 30°, and it is safe to say that, on such a light rod, a power of over more than 

 one pound and a half is constantly straining on the muscles. 



The principles of a good fly rod have been reduced to axioms by William 

 Mitchell, of New York, who is the father of the American fly-rod manufact- 

 ure. His axioms are : 



1. The less number of pieces in which a rod is made, the more perfect 

 will be its action, and the less its liability to get out of order. 



2. The more homogeneous the materials of which the rod is made, if it 

 have sufficient elasticity and strength, the longer will it stand the neces- 

 sary strain without injury. 



3. The more impervious to the action of water, dampness, or change of 

 atmosphere, the longer will the rod retain its elasticity and perfect action. 



4. All weight in wood or metal in a rod, above the grip, which does not 

 strengthen the rod, weakens it, and, with all weight added below the grip, 

 to balance the rod, is so much useless weight. 



5. When, in any given rod, under the necessary strain, any part does not 

 bend, that part does not bear irs proportion of the strain, and the latter is 

 transferred to the next adjacent weaker part (which is the spot where the 

 rod will break, if at all) ; so that an absolutely perfect rod should be springy 

 from tip to heel-plate of butt. 



6. The rod possessing sufficient elasticity and strength, with lightness, 

 and which is the least liable to get out of order from any cause, and which, 

 when broken, is the easiest to repair (right on the stream), is the nearest 

 to perfection that a rod can be made. 



The "Mitcheix fly rod," with patent handpiece, is the only fly rod 

 having perfect spring from tip to heel-plate, and is the lightest and strong- 

 est fly rod made. 



The original and only maker of the celebrated McGinnis black bass rod." 



MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY, Cambridge, Massachusetts : 

 Publications upon ichthyology and marine invertebrates. (60.) 



CHRESTEN NELSEN, Gloucester, Massachusetts: 



Patent preservative for canvas, manila rope, and netting. (5.) 

 Specimens of canvas, rope, and netting, preserved with the fluid. (5.) 



