174 Fisnmve in Amertcan WATERS. 
tached to an elastic cord and suspended from the shoulder, 
or a double-jointer, in which the second one slides into the 
first, and is attached by a loop to a button on the breast, is 
the least cumbersome. I have found the hollow wire rims 
the best, and brass is the best metal for them. The hollow 
rim is light, and it does not rust. As to the round and oval 
shapes, they are matters of caprice, and as to the wicker 
frames of wood, they are no lighter than hollow brass wire, 
while they offer fourfold resistance to the water. The rim 
should be large, the meshes large, the twine not too fine, and 
the net itself large. A landing-net, large, strong, and light, 
is one of the angler’s sources of delight. 
Trout Basket.—Let it be plaited or woven from the thin 
outer grain of the willow or osier, very light and large; to 
contain ten, fifteen, and twenty pounds of fish are the sizes. 
They should be stained inside and painted outside, or by 
painting the inside also they are more easily cleaned. Green 
is the color preferred. The shape not very deep, with a hole 
in the lid, brass hinges, a staple extending up through the lid, 
fastened with a padlock. The strap should be of worsted 
webbing instead of russet leather, or if of russet leather there 
should be a pad attached, with straps to slide on the shoul- 
der-strap to the right place. The New York fishing-tackle 
dealers have introduced a new gear, by which the weight 
rests on both shoulders, and the basket is held more securely, 
and is less cumbersome in forest-fishing. The angler’s coat 
should be made with a strap and button on the shoujder, un- 
der which to hold the strap of the trout-basket ; and there 
should be another strap on the coat at the left side, to pre- 
vent the basket-strap from moving, and the basket from 
swinging about while climbing over logs and fences. But 
the great desideratum consists in getting a light and small 
basket, which will contain a great many large trout of your 
own taking. 
Barr Box.—Of course bait-boxes and fly-books are articles 
to purchase at the fishing-tackle stores; and while there are 
