THE GAME FISHES OF THE WOELD 



have landed a fifty pounder ; but it is too hard work. Major 

 Traherne's rod was of greenheart, in three pieces, said by Dean 

 Sage to be but sixteen feet in length. 



It is not my purpose to go into the minutiae of tackle. The 

 angler should go to the best tackle men in England and America, 

 and wiU be given the best advice. Always remember to buy a 

 rod, greenheart or split cane, that balances well and bends from 

 tip down equally and in proportion. There is the same something 

 in foils. I have several that do not balance, while another fits 

 the hand and ' feels ' right. This feeling right is an essential 

 in a rod. The English streams are usually so small that the 

 casting is done from the bank, as on the Tweed. I recall my 

 first impressions of this delightful little river, about fifteen miles 

 from Peebles or at the Edinburgh Salmon Club. I was charmed 

 with its beauty, but confessedly amazed at its size. No name 

 was more familiar since boyhood, and I knew the old angling 

 song : 



' Tweed Fob Ever ! 



I 



'Let ither anglers choose their ain. 



An' ither waters tak' the lead, 

 0' Hielan' streams we covet nane, 



But gi'e to us the bonnie Tweed ! 

 An' gi'e to us the cheerfu' bum 



That steals into its vaUey fair — 

 The streamlets that at ilka turn 



Sae saftly meet an' mingle there. 



n 



'The lanesome Tala and the Lyne, 



An' Manor wi' its mountain-riUs, 

 An' Etterick whose waters twine 



Wi' Yarrow frae the Forest hills ; 

 An' Gala too, and Teviot bright, 



An' mony a stream o' playfu' speed ; 

 Their kindred valleys a' unite 

 . Amang the braes o' bonnie Tweed. 



