4 DIRECTIONS FOR SPINNING—ROD. [PART I. 
glad some years ago to obtain that which I now 
offer as the result of actual experience; and, be- 
lieving that the want has not yet been supplied, 
I think it not improbable that others may still 
be in the same case. 
Your spinning-rod (for Trout) should not be 
shorter than twelve and a half, nor exceed sixteen 
feet in length. For boat-work, and indeed when 
fishing from the shore, if the water is sufficiently 
deep along the side next you, and the bank clear, 
one of about thirteen feet will generally be found 
to answer every purpose: but for use off weirs, 
or. from the bank where the water runs shallow 
near the shore, or is grown up with reeds, it is 
generally advisable to have a somewhat longer 
one. 
Cane is the best material for the whole of the 
rod except the top, for which, in my opinion, 
nothing beats simple hickory. A wood called 
“green-heart”’ has been a good deal praised lately 
as a material for tops, but I fancy it is, though 
sometimes very tough and elastic, apt to run 
faulty, and therefore not always to be depended 
on. One great advantage of cane is its lightness, 
a quality which, having due regard to strength, 
can hardly be too much insisted on; for a con- 
