214 STEEPED BASS. 



friend steps on and breaks it, answer as well as any other, 

 and one that costs three dollars is in every particular as 

 good as one worth forty. The light bamboo jointed rods 

 of our ancestors are no more to be had ; the makers say 

 it is impossible to get the cane of the proper taper, and 

 rods of ash and hickory have come into fashion. The 

 latter will answer every purpose, but as they are sure to 

 warp, the guides should be double, so that the line can 

 be shifted from one side to the other. Patent standing 

 guides are all the fashion with us, though the English 

 use the old-fashioned rings made large. Of course we 

 prefer our own invention. The funnel-top should be 

 large, and for a valuable rod, or a particular gentleman, 

 should be made of agate. They are infinitely superior 

 to the old-fashioned ring-top still used in England. Avoid 

 having many guides ; they create friction, and three or 

 four will answer every purpose. 



If you are a gentleman and a man of fortune, of lavish 

 hand and open heart, you should use what is called a 

 grass or raw silk line, buying a new one every two 

 weeks, by which time it will be rotted out. It does not 

 kink or over-run, works beautifully, and will enable you 

 to cast ten yards further than with any other ; but it is 

 not strong at best, will rot immediately if not dried after 

 the least exposure, and costs money. If you are a poor 

 or a careless man, buy a new flax line every year, and 

 throw it away in the Fall, after being disgusted with it 

 all the season. If you are neither of these, buy a plaited 

 silk line of one hundred yards ; be sure and get a new 

 one, and take care of it. 



Lines may be preserved from rotting by being dipped 



