14 



ANGLING 



slide vice, and a few fine - pointed, strong dubbing 

 needles. 



Silkworm gut, from the finest to the strongest ; and 

 salmon gut single and twisted. 



Length of the white and sorrel hairs of stallions' tails. 



And lastly, a variety of fly-hooks. 



Of course fancy has a great deal to do with all 

 arrangements of this kind. We find no two fishers alike 

 in this instance. Some anglers prefer one kind of hooks, 

 some another; we have the London hooks, the Kirby 

 sneck, and the Limerick bend. A fair assortment of 

 essentials should be the guide. 



PISHING-EODS 



A good fishing-rod is one of the essential instruments 

 for the angler, and one to which he commonly pays the 

 greatest attention ; and this is more particularly the 

 case in London, and in other large towns, where articles 

 of this kind can be procured of the best quality and 

 most polished workmanship. But in remote country 

 districts, where there is often the best angling, we may 

 daily meet with the frequenter of the streams furnished 

 only with a straight hazel rod, or perhaps two rudely 

 spliced together, following his vocation with ardour and 

 success. It is often surprising, and not a little instructive 

 withal, how necessity sharpens the intellect of the 

 angler; and how he shifts on, from the simplest and 

 rudest implements, and really procures a fair day's sport 

 under the most apparently discouraging circumstances. 

 Every person who has visited the rural districts of 

 England and Wales, with the rod in his hand, must 

 have seen many instances of this kind, and felt a sort 

 of inward self-reproach, that with all his superior outfit, 

 he could not hope to surpass the success of the simple 

 but indefatigable rustic craftsman. 



The qualities which a good and handy rod must possess 

 will, of course, vary with the nature of the angling. 

 There need be no very great difference between a salmon 

 and a trout rod, for fly-fishing, except you fish in very 



