June 3, 1880.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



351 



in every respect. Nos, 3 and 4, the latter being the 

 entailer, are the proper sizes, The "Inibrie'' reel, also 

 made by this firm, although a multiplier — ami a mpsl ex- 

 cellent one, by the way — has an adjustable click which 

 allows of its beng :is:d also for flyfishing And. the 

 hngler who is the fortunate possessor of one of these reels 

 can use it in black bass fishing for either bis minnow rod 

 or fly-rod. 



Wm. Mills & Son's reels are unexcelled, cither brass, 

 German silver or rubber; they are fitted with protecting 

 bands to prevent the line from catching on the handle. 

 Their thirty or forty yards reels are the correct sizes for 

 black bass lly -fishing. 



The "Leonard reel" is probably the lightest metal click 

 reel manufactured, ami holds a great deal of line for its 

 size, being of good -width. It also has a Hush handle to 

 prevent fouling of the line ; two and ahalf inch diameter 

 is the preferred size for black bass angling. 



Conroy, Bissett & Malleson, of New York, A. B. Ship- 

 ley & Son, of Philadelphia, and Bradford & Anthonv, 

 Of Boston, also furnish the best reels and oilier tackle for 

 fly-fishing. I think it but simple justice that all of these 

 houses, who are by an honorable competition doing so 

 much for the angler in the way of producing the most 

 elegant and suitable tackle, should be brought" tu the no- 

 tice of the angling fraternity occasionally by those who 

 have used their goods satisfactorily. 



The click reel is placed at the extreme butt of the fly-rod, 

 below the hand-grip, where it adds much to the balance 

 and general working of the rod. As the click regulates 

 Ehe rendering of the line, and as the narrowness oi the 

 reel obviates the necessity for guiding the line in reeling, 

 it is placed out of the way, at the extreme butt, and 

 " where it will do the most good." A rei - e ■■ 

 be placed underneath the rod, and not on top, as "is 

 often done. 



FLY-LINES. 



The reel line for fly-fishing must necessarily be heavier 

 than the line used in bait fishing, the greater weight of 

 the former being required to east objects so light and 

 delicate as artifical flies, while in the ease of the 

 small and light bait-lute, the minnow, swivel and sinker 

 give the required weight for casting. Increased weight 

 is obtained by increase of the caliber of the fine ; so a 

 fly-line is consequently of a larger size then a bart-lin?. 



Formerly, the twisted or plaited hair, and hair and 

 silk lines were employed altogether by the bestanglers for 



fly-lines, but they have heenahnost entirely superseded 

 by the really elegant tapered and enameled waterproof 

 braided silk luie. The latter is the fine par excellence for 

 all kinds of fly-fishing, being smooth, round, polished 

 and perfectly waterproof, and is just stiff and heavy 

 enough to favor a perfectly straight cast, without looping 

 or kinking, qualities that are peculiarly essential to this 

 mode of angling. Those who have used die old-fashioned 

 fly -lines, are prepared to speak feelingly and apprecia.t- 

 ingly concerning the great superiority and excellence of 

 this line. 



They are made in.several sizes for salmon, black bass 

 and trout fishing; are very strong and serviceable, and 

 can be purchased in lengths of from twenty-five to one 

 hundred and twenty yards. They are fashioned with a 

 regular and gradual taper from the reel end to the fly-end, 

 the fly-end being only about one-half the Caliber of the 

 reel-end; salmon lines usually taper both ways from 

 the middle. They are usually stained of a greenish-olive 

 hue, which harmonizes well with the tints of the waters, 

 sky and foliage. From twenty-five to thirty yards is 

 the right length, and the size should be either E or F, 

 which correspond with Nos. 3 and 4, some dealers 

 designating the sizes by letters, others by numerals. 



The silk and hair line is still used to some extent, but 

 it is o t ien to many objections. At best it is a weak line, 

 and soon rots and becomes worthless by use, even with 

 good care. The ends of the hairs become fraved and 

 separate after a time, and are a constant source of annoy- 

 ance by sticking out at various places on the line, pre- 

 venting it from working smoothly and lively through 

 the rings of the rod. When used for black bass angling, 

 the size suitable for trout fishing will answer, and the 

 length should be about thirty yards. 



Next best to the tapered' enameled silk line, is the 

 oiled braided silk lino ; though this is not tapered it is a 

 good, strong and useful line, and is used by many ang- 

 lers in preference to all others. It is tinted' of a similar 

 the. enameled line, and altogether is a very 

 satisfactory fly-line, being heavy enough, and withal. 

 cheaper than the tapered line. Letters B and F, or Nos! 

 3 and 4, are suitable sizes. 



Next in order is the braided linen line, either water- 

 pro- £ or plain. Where economy in price is a necessary 

 gbjeot, this is the best line to select, though the angler 

 should bear m mine that the best is the cheapest, for he 

 knows full well that to no other class of goods does this 

 maxim apply with more force than to fishing tackle. 

 Tins fine is strong, firm and round, and is capable of long 

 and hard service, if proper care is taken to dry it 

 thoroughly always after using, It is well adapted 

 for making a nice, straight cast, and will not curl or kink. 

 It is usually stained a light shade of slate, or a grayish 

 drai >. Letter E. or No. ' 3, is about the right size. 



Some fly -fishers use the ordinary braided raw, or boiled 

 silk fines, "which, while being the very best lines for bait 

 fishing, are not so well adapted for fly -lines on account 

 of their light weight ; the medium sizes, however, answer 



I tolerably well. Letter E, or No. 3, is the correct size, 



i when used for black bass liy-fishing. 



All fishmg lines that are not absolutely waterproof 

 should be carefully dried after use ; and even waterproof 



• hues would be much benefitted by an ailing previous to 

 putting away. Even the best lines become weak and 



I worthless through want of proper and judicious treat- 

 ment. It is impossible to make a line that is indestruct- 

 ible, or waterproof against mildew or rot, though many 

 angler- seem to think to the contrary, judging from the 

 ■able manner' in which they use 

 then, ; then, when the line fails, they blame the uianu- 



I facturer. 



LEADKRS. 



Black bass leaders should be six feet long, and com- 

 posed of the best single Spanish silk-worm gift, heavy and 

 Strong.hard and round. The gut lengths should be perfectly 

 clear and sound, quite smooth, and without inequalities 

 or rough places. The rod-end of the leader should be com- 

 posed of a large-sized gut, the next length a trifle smaller, 

 and so diminish by a gradual taper to the fly-end, The 



several lengths should be neatly and firmly knotted to- 

 gether by what is technically known as the double water- 

 knot. The ends should be cut off closely ; or. if the 

 single water-knot is used, the ends should be first wrapped 

 wiih silk, waxed and varnished, and then cut off neatly 

 and Dlbsely, 



If should be remembered that it is necessary to soak 

 and soften the ends of the gut-lengths previous to tying. 

 The water-knot, if correctly tied, can be easily supped 

 apart and the snell of a fly inserted, when it is to be se- 

 curely drawn together again, the snell having a knot tied 

 on the end to prevent its pulling out; but more of this 

 anon. 



Some leaders are now made with loops for attaching 

 the flies, which is a very convenient and expeditious 



i eh in vogue, and both 



Siaed in selecting the 

 ud excellenca depend 

 ^s of fly-fishing. It 

 ■erv ineli of its length, 

 The leader should al- 

 iral tint : either a 



. but the old method is still n 

 plaits have their advocates. 



Too much care cannot be ex< 

 leader, for upon its soundness 

 much of the pleasure ami suec 

 should be carefully examined in i 

 and the knots closely inspected. 

 ways lie stained some suitable 



slightly greenish, grayish or smoky hue will answer. 

 Strong green tea, diluted ill: ink, or a weak solution 

 of indigo, make good stains. The leader should have a 

 loop at each end, for attaching the reel line and stretcher- 

 fly. 



I will not enter into the details of making leaders, as 

 they can now be purchased so cheaply, and of such su- 

 perior excellence, that the amateur can hardly hope to 

 equal them, even were if necessary. The leaders known 

 as •• mist-colored " are all that can be desired, and the 

 angler can have them sent by mail from any first-class 

 dealer, who wfil select them " upon honor." 'i will only 

 add, beware of double or twisted leaders; they are an 

 abomination to the black bass 11 v -fisher. 



d. A. Hensuall. 



Cyntlnana, Ky., May 2oth. 

 * 



MAINE— Liaeo///, tiftpy 3G//o— In the town of Topsfield, 

 forty miles east from here, is a small lake, nearly two 

 miles long by about fifty rods wide, which is one large 

 boiling spring, having no visible inlet and but one small 

 Stream running from it, in which are the gamiest land- 

 locked salmon and salmon trout it has ever been mv 

 good fortune to struggle with. Prof. Mills and I made a 

 hurried visit to it the other day, fishing from 5 to 9 

 o'clock A.M. We caught, after most exciting sport, ten 

 beauties, the smallest of which weighed two and a half 

 pounds. F. C. 



Maine Trout.— Mr. D. J. Flanders, Gen. Pass. Agent, of 

 the Boston and Maine Railroad, is a disciple of Izaak 

 Walton and an expert fisherman. He captured on the 

 Upper Dam. Rangelcv bakes. Inst fall a trout weighing 

 til lbs. Under Mr. Flanders' supervision the angling tour- 

 ist is always well treated on the Boston and Maine road, 

 which is the favorite route among those who have once 

 been over it. The rates of excursion tickets from Boston 

 and return, as now issued, are : To Andover, $9 ; South 

 Arm, $12 : Middle Lam, $13 ; Upper Dam, $14 : Indian 

 Rock, $16.25; Upton, $11 r; Greenvale t Ran gelev Lakes), 

 ,•61:2.50: Indian Rock (Rangelev outlet), $13.15 ;" Indian 

 Bock (in via. Phillips, out via. Andover, or vice versa), 

 $15.35; Forks of the Kennebec, $13 ; Mt. Kineo House, 

 $15 . 



♦ 



^ Maine Trwjtint!.— Newport, Me., May 24f7t.— Have 

 just returned from a trout fishing trip" to Kingsbury 

 Stream, which empties into the Piscataquis at Abbot 

 Village, on the Moosehead Lake road, The water is a 

 little too high yet for first-class fishing, and is still dis- 

 colored by surplus water from the swamps. No trout in 

 eddies or deep holes, but all on the ripples, feeding on 

 winged ants, of which insect their throats were full, and 

 thev in consequence, were somewhat fastidious in regard 

 to the lures presented ; but the flight lasts only three or 

 four days. We counted 100 trout as the. result "of a little 

 over half a day's fishing with two rods after returning all 

 the smallest ones. By the time this reaches you trout 

 fishing will be nearly at its best in the upper part of the 

 State. I think the black flies are going to be unusually 

 plenty and uncommonly savage flu's spring, and would 

 advise all anglers not to venture into the woods without 

 tt liberal supply of green tar and sweet oil, mixed in pro- 

 portion o( three parts of the latter to one of the former ; 

 it is by far the best preparation made to keep off flies, 

 lasting four times as long as oil of pennyroyal or pepper- 

 mint. It is also excellent for improving the complexions 

 of those whose occupations keep them within doors, as a 

 single day's application will give them a color which 

 would cause a Piute to blush with envy. Penobscot. 



Blue Fishing.— Riverside House, Forked River, N J., 

 May 2,%th — Plenty of bluefish now in the bay near 

 the' Riverside House, catches of twenty-five or thirty 

 being the average per boat the past week. They run 

 from two to four pounds and make fine sport. Weather 

 warm, and we look for good fishing of all kinds from 

 this time. A. 



Shad akd Fly. —Plainfield, N. J., May 28th.— It has 

 long been a question of veracity on the part of the dis- 

 ciples of izaak Walton, especially in this section, as to the 

 possibility of catching shad with hook and line. That 

 question is. however, settled at last in the affirmative. 

 Last Friday, three gentlemen, members of the Mew Jersey 

 Game and Fish Protective Society, visited the Uaritan 

 River,mthe vicinity of the dam below Bound Brook, with 

 two purposes in mind. One to see that the law was being 

 obeyed regarding the hauling of nets at that point, anil 

 another to whip the stream with flies for dace, perch aud 

 Bunfish. While enjoying the latter sport, the writer was 

 so fortunate as to have a shad strike the lead fly, and 

 after a tussel of some fifteen minutes succeeded in land- 

 ing the lis. fhich weighed 3$ pounds. The rod used 

 was a nine- ounce Orvis. Although much heavier black 

 bass have been lulled by this rod, In season, we must say 

 that this shad possessed great strength, and gave more 

 sport and excitement in its capture. Keep the nets out 

 of the river and rare sport is in store for the anglers. 



PENN6YLTABIA— Qreswfiile, May SSM,— The Shenango 

 River abounds with black bass, and the fishermen are 

 preparing themselves for the 1st of June, for then if is 

 legal to catch. 



the fennel 



— Address all communications to "Forest and Stream 

 Publishing Company, New York." 



THE BEAGLE JUDGING. 



THAT we have printed the below communications in 

 full, in spite of their very outspoken critioisims of 

 the late bench show judging, is the best evidence we ran 

 oiler that it is our aim to afford the largest liberty to our 

 correspondents consistent with the limits of our space, 

 when they do not themselves overstep the limits of 

 propriety. In our mind, no healthy subject can be 

 injured by proper ventilation, but at the same time the 

 true object of such airings must not be lost sight of. 

 While it is the universal impression that the animals at 

 the late show were to be judged by Stonehenge's points, 

 we have been told that all the j udges did not construe Rule 

 8 as a direction so to do. The rule in question reads as 

 follows : — 



The scales of points given in the third edition of 

 the '' Dogs of the British Islands,'' by J. H. Walsh (Stone- 

 henge), will be used by the judges, when necessary, in 

 judging the dogs. 



Therefore, cannot it with justice be claimed that in the 

 majority of cases the judges did not deem it necessary to 

 use said points ? 



Whatever may be the adjustment of the differences of 

 opinion in the past, it is patent to us that a reform must 

 at once be adopted for governing the proper judging of 

 dogs in the future. We believe the time has come when 

 there can be no difficult}' in instituting a proper standard 

 of points, and upon findingplenty of good judges, " those 

 to the manor born," to see that the rule of judging by 

 this standard is carried out. We have always been 

 opposed to three judges, and to English judges ; where 

 there is only one, he is veiy careful, for he cannot lay the 

 blame on anybody but himself. Therefore, in the future 

 let us have American judges — let them be specialists, 

 and let each one he detailed to judge his own individual 

 classes. This will narrow the matter down, and in the 

 future we will have our own countrymen to pick to 

 pieces, and thus save our guests— the foreign judges — 

 from the abuse that is always heaped upon their heads 

 by unthinking people the moment their backs are turned 

 upon our shores. 



Turning now to the subject in question, we may say 

 that the standard of perfection of the beagle thirty-five 

 years ago was considered to be from ten to eleven inches, 

 and the latter was the maximum height. Stonehenge 

 advises that they should not be bred under 9 inches, and 

 Mr. Dalziel, in his admirable book, " British Dogs," gives 

 the measurements of two good dogs, one 14f inches and 

 the other- 15 inches. The former authority states that it 

 is said in the time of the Virgin Queen, Bess herself 

 possessed a pack so diminutive that they could be carried 

 in a man's glove. Tins statement, of course, must be 

 taken cum arauo sails. Had we. been told, however, that a 

 pack of beagles had been wont to repose, in the time of 

 the Roundheads, in the hat of Oliver Cromwell, the one 

 now shown in the armory of Stirling Castle, we would 

 have believed it beyond all question. But it is not in 

 this crude way must we size the merry little hound 

 spoken of by Oppian as one of the land of dogs peculiar 

 to the ancient Britons :— 



There is a kind of dog of mighty lame 

 Por hunting' ; worthy of a fairer frame; 

 By painted Britons brave in war they're bred, 

 Are boug-los called, and to the chase are led, 

 Their bodies small, and of so mean ft shape, 

 You'd think tnem curs that under table g-ape. 



It is a mere question of inches— in our opinion we 

 want a practical dog of about 13 to 15 inches for our 

 rough, stony hill-sides, and when they exceed that 

 measurement exhibitors should furnish the judge with a 

 pair of far-seeing glasses, so as to reduce in size the animals 

 before him and spy out in the future his impending fate. 



Gkanby, Conn., May 'Hth. 

 Editor Forest and Stream :— 



By the request of several prominent breeders of beagles 

 I took notes and measurements of entries hi that class- 

 prize winners in particular— and am compelled to say that 

 such unaccountable judging as was shown in the au ard of 

 prizes in that class it has never been my misfortune to 

 witness before. 



An overgrown animal, measuring 16 inches high at 

 shoulder, was given first prize. 



The second prize was captured by another oversized 

 specimen, standing 16*. at shoulder, and. I should judge 

 would turn the scales at 26 pounds. Head had a snipy, 

 whlttled-otit look that was anything but hound-like in 

 expression, and ears were short in leather and set high. 



The «*iving of third prize to a dog standing over 19 

 inches high at shoulder, and that must have weighed 30 

 pounds, is what I wish to say most about. We have read 

 in the works of Stonehenge, Herbert, and many others, 

 that a beagle is a diminutive hound ; in fact, a "pocket 

 edition of the old Southern hound," and should have the 

 long ears " that sweep away the morning dew," and ac- 

 cording to thai high authority, The Fancier's Gazette, 

 should not exceed 15 inches hi height: but the honorable 

 judge did not consider. Size any barrier to success, and 

 gave prizes to oversized animals that wotdd ruin the 

 reputation of any breeder who should send them out as 



Two beagleB recently imported by the Essex County 



