128 FISHING GOSSIP. 
by one or other of the receipts, of which each work- 
man has his own favourite. All this could be excel- 
lently well done, once upon a time, by our old friend 
Longhry, the village Mulciber of Ballinacarrigy, 
though he had not had the advantage of graduating 
in the forges of Birmingham or Sheffield. The handle 
may be formed of any light, stiff, bearing wood. Red 
deal, free from knots, answers the purpose well. The 
length should not be less than 16 or17 feet ; and the 
greatest diameter not more than about 23 inches. It 
should be well finished on the bench, and tapered up to 
the top to about an inch in thickness, where it is ter- 
minated by a short bracket or handle turned on the 
lathe. A coat or two of copal varnish will serve the 
double purpose of keeping out the damp and giving 
it a finished appearance. I frequently thought of 
rendering the weapon more portable by constructing 
the handle in two parts; but though I cut a screw 
and fashion brass into all fishing requirements as well 
_as most “outsiders” of the trade, I could never de- 
vise a joint sufficiently light and strong to bear-the 
strains to which the instrument is exposed in actual 
use. I recollect having seen with the late Charles 
Scarisbrick, of Scarisbrick Hall, Esq.— Squirissime 
inter Squiros! requiescat in pace /—stems of the bam- 
boo, which he used in jumping the drains of North 
Moels in his shooting excursions, and which would 
make admirable handles for the sun-spears, if they 
