THE FASCINATION OF IT 29 
march of events in the angling world since 1875, 
and said: “Anglers have multiplied exceed- 
ingly.” What must be said now? The answer 
is: The number of anglers in 1920 is greater 
than ever it was. During the war, books on 
fishing were sent out in large numbers to men on 
active service, and to this fact a London fishing- 
tackle maker, with whom I was having a chat, 
attributes in part the many additions to the 
anglers’ ranks, This fact also is partly re- 
sponsible, in his opinion, for the present com- 
parative scarcity in the supply of angling books, 
though of course during the war the making 
of sporting books had to give way to sterner 
work, and there have been few new books on 
angling for several years. Several large London 
second-hand bookshops report a brisk demand 
for angling books. Customers divide these books 
into two classes: the strictly technical, and the 
descriptive and reminiscent. The book which 
combines the merits of both kinds seems sure of 
a demand. Books on the art of fly-tying were 
in especial demand throughout the war, such a 
subject being a rare relief to the mind in mono- 
tonous spells or sparemoments. British prisoners 
in Germany were keen on these treatises, “so 
that they might spend the weary hours of captivity 
in making flies against the day when they would 
again wield a rod.” 
Some of the favourite books on fishing await- 
ing reprint soared in price, a notable instance 
being Lord Grey’s “Fly Fishing,” published 
