268 FLY-FISHING. 



split bamboo tijj ; of cedar, with a lance-wood tip ; and 

 of split bamboo throughout ; and were all of the best 

 workmanship and perfect representatives of their 

 kinds ; the contestants were some of the best anglers 

 of the State, and nothing occurred to mar the plea- 

 sure of the contest or to disparage the correctness of 

 the award. The prize was won by the cedar rod, 

 which was twelve feet three and one-half inches 

 long, and weighed, with heavy mountings, fourteen 

 ounces ; and the greatest distance cast with the right 

 hand was sixty-three feet, although the allowance 

 carried the official return to sixty-eight feet ; and 

 with the left hand the absolute distance was fifty- 

 seven feet. 



This was only the beginning of these contests, 

 which have been kept up yearly since at the meet- 

 ings of the "State Association for the protection 

 of Game," and have occasionally been instituted 

 under private auspices. Amonj; the most notable 

 of the latter was one held in the Central Park of 

 Hew York by the "Forest and Stream " newspaper. 

 At this contest, the longest distances were reached 

 which had ever been officially reported, although 

 not up to the famous casts made by Mr. Seth Green, 

 before the records were reliably kept and which had 

 been disputed. Unfortunately, however, the plat- 

 form was raised above the water, so that a correct 

 comparison with previous casts cannot bo made. 

 The performance, great as it was, has since been 

 surpassed and now it is established, that by proper 

 practice and with a rod especially adapted to the 



