74 SALMON AND TROUT. 
a section of the cane of one of these bamboos used in the con- 
struction of the larger joints, and it will be noticed that the 
fibres, shown by the little spot marks, are much denser at the 
outside than towards the centre, which when the canes are 
green, is merely pulp. It is only, therefore, this outside part, 
or rind, that is used in rod-making, and during the process of 
manufacture the skin must be most carefully preserved from 
injury, whilst the balancing, &c., of the rod has to be effected 
before the various strips are cemented together. This is a. 
matter of great delicacy and diffi- 
culty, as will be understood when it 
is borne in mind how troublesome 
it is to properly balance a rod con- 
structed of even the ordinary solid 
woods where the plane can be used 
after the joints are fixed. Either 
from want of knowledge or proper 
machinery, many so-called cane 
rods are put together so that they 
have to be subsequently filed or 
planed to get the requisite spring, thus removing the most 
essential part of the cane. These inferior rods are then 
painted, or burnt over again to imitate the natural colour of the 
original skin, from which, however, they are easily distinguished 
by experts. The dotted lines outside the V/ in the engraving (fig. 
1) show the shape of the strips as first split out—the interior 
solid line that of the finished strips when ready for jointing after 
having been ‘machined.’ The cement used in the process of 
gluing together is said to be impervious to damp: it is, how- 
ever, I believe, strictly a trade secret. 
Probably one of the reasons why it has been supposed by 
fly fishers that these rods will not stand the heavy work brought 
to bear upon them in salmon fishing is the use of inferior cement 
in the process, and the glue subsequently oozing out of the 
joints in wet weather, thus.tending to make them come loose 
afterwards. In Mr. Kelson’s report on the collection of salmon. 
