8 LINE—COLOUR—-MATERIAL—LENGTH. [PART I. 
Colour should also be looked to, but it is 
a minor consideration. Of all faults that of 
“kinking” is the most fatal to sport and temper. 
Ifa kinking line does not make a man swear, I 
don’t know what will. The best lines are made of 
silk, or mostly silk. As good as any that I have 
seen were made by Mr Edward Lees, Golden Sal- 
mon, Nottingham, price a penny a yard. The line 
should be dressed occasionally, and that, not by 
being merely dipped, as London tackle-makers are 
apt to do it, but by having the composition well 
rubbed in with the hand. The Thames fishermen, 
who spin much, are good hands at this. I should 
recommend any one ordering a new spinning-line, 
not to have it shorter than a hundred yards. It is 
not often that so much is required, but it may be 
occasionally found extremely useful to have a 
reserve on the reel, as for instance in the case of 
hooking a large fish from a weir, when you may 
have to go a long way round before you can bring 
him down stream to land him; or again your 
hooks may get foul under the camp-sheeting, when 
you may save your tackle by going round and get- 
ting a pull on it from the opposite direction. At 
the close, or more frequently at the commence- 
ment of a season, you will find it necessary, if your 
