194 SALMON AND TROUT. 
have been selected, and have been allowed to soak in cold 
water for some hours, take the two that are to form the first 
link, and having made the loop that is to connect this with 
the reel line, whip the strands tightly together (this need net 
be done closely) with well-waxed silk, from the knot where the 
loop has been made down to nearly the ends of the strands. 
Knot to the next link and remove the whipping, when it will 
be found that the strands will lie evenly together and any strain 
that is put on will be equally shared by both. Commence 
whipping from the last knot made in the manner above men- 
tioned, and continue until the casting line is complete. I my- 
self never use anything but single gut, unless fishing in big 
rivers, but I make up my own lines and take great care to use 
only the strongest gut. 
Not long ago I discovered what I thought was a new method 
of fastening strands of gut together without knots, but I have 
since found that the invention was not a new one, and that 
my plan had been adopted years ago by Mr. Cholmondeley- 
Pennell, and described in his book ‘The Modern Practical 
Angler.’ His principle and mine are identical, although some- 
what differently carried out. Zhe result, however, is that in 
both cases the fastening together of the gut in a casting line ts the 
strongest part of tt.' 
On testing a line so constructed with strands of ordinary 
salmon gut, dry, it broke at a strain of 15 lbs. in the middle of 
one of the links and not at the fastening. 
Another line of apparently the same strength, the links of 
which were fastened together by knots in the ordinary way, broke 
at a knot ata strain of 74 Ibs. A third, again, made of two 
strands of the strongest picked gut, untwisted, without knots, 
pulled the index of my steelyard down to 20 lbs. without 
breaking. J am certain it would have stood a strain of several 
pounds more, but I was content with such a result, and I feel 
satisfied that such a line would hold the biggest salmon that 
1 See description of the knot, p. 45 (chapter on ‘ Tackle’), 
