June, 1919 
FOREST AND STREAIM 
289 
I have tried lots of times to see how 
close I could put the light on" the frog, 
especially a small one, before he would 
move. Sometimes I could touch him 
with the light before he would jump. 
After a little practice you will catch 
practically all of them. 
S. W. Jones, Tennessee. 
THE KNOTLESS GUT LEADER 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream: 
W ILL you kindly give me all the 
available data on the manufac- 
ture of the “knotless gut” lead- 
er? There are several brands, I believe, 
such as the “Joe Welch,” the “Telarana 
Nova,” and what is called “Japan Gut.” 
I have heard assertions made that 
these are none of them (silk worm gut) , 
yet I have a hazy recollection of reading 
something to the effect that they were. 
I will appreciate all the information 
you can conveniently furnish as to the 
methods of manufacture, relative 
strength, and general comparison to the 
standard tied gut leader. 
Forest and Stream continues to ar- 
rive on schedule and is enjoyed as much 
as ever. 
J. H. Howell, California. 
This material has been imported from 
Japan for some time under various 
trade names. Robinson & Company, of 
Glascow, Scotland, makes up a grade 
knoum as "Telarana Nova,” the agent in 
this country being Mr. Joe Welch, of 
Pasadena, Calif. It is also known under 
the name of "Scotia Gut,” as well as 
"Japanese Gut.” 
Recently the Government analyzed 
this product for the purpose of deter- 
mining the basic materials, with a view 
of establishing a duty, and as I under- 
stand it, the appraisers now recognize it 
as 78 per cent rate silk, coated with a 
shellac like solution that protects it the 
same as in the manufacture of enamel 
lines. The quality is determined by the 
number of coats thereon, the cheaper 
grades having four coats, and the better 
grades or higher quality havnng as high 
as nine and ten. There is absolutely not 
a vestige of silk worm gut in it. The 
initial strength is much greater than the 
gut and has the advantage of running 
more uniform in its tensile qualities. 
Some of the higher grades, that is, 
those with nine and ten coats of the 
solution, are guaranteed to be stiffen 
than the corresponding sizes of gut. 
Those, however, that I have personally 
experimented with do not show this qual- 
ity to equal the leader for the reason 
stated. When thoroughly soaked, it will 
not "lay” a fly as readily as uAth the 
gut, that soft flabby tendency being the 
objection. — [Editors.] 
A GOOD FISH STORY 
T 0 the Editor of Forest and Stream : 
T HAVE just read with great interest 
the article in your February number 
by Mr. Leonard Hulit on the “Leopard 
of the Lake.” In my young days, I am 
not very old yet, I lived in the northern 
part of Schleswick-Holstein, Germany. 
On my father’s farm were many small 
waterholes, about an acre in size. Also 
a small river. These abounded in either 
the pike or the pickerel, I do not know 
which, but I think they were the former. 
There where two favorite methods of 
catching them : One was with a copper 
wire snare on the end of a pole. While 
the pike was standing almost on the 
surface as described in the aforesaid art- 
icle near the edge of the pond or stream, 
we would sneak up to him and very care- 
fully put the snare over his head and 
pull him out. The other method was 
to shoot the fish with a .22 rifle. 
Speaking about the “bill of fare” for 
his lordship I once caught a fish of about 
12 pounds that had a fish of his own 
kind of about three pounds in his stom- 
ach. This one in turn had one of his 
own kind that was about six inches long 
inside of him. 
All three fish were in fairly good con- 
dition. It certainly proves that the pike 
or pickerel is no respector of persons or 
rather of fish and are truly cannibalistic. 
It has never been my privilege to catch 
this fish in this country, but many trout 
have fallen to my fiy. I am looking for- 
ward to a good season this year. 
W. H. Lovenjen, Washington. 
HUMMERS AS FLY CATCHERS 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream: 
W E have plenty of humming birds in 
our yard all season long. Indeed, 
we plant certain flowers just for them. 
As our yard is wired in, it is a great 
resort for birds. The hummers that visit 
us rest on clothes line, twigs and fence- 
wires. So we often observe them when 
they are doing things not ordinarily 
credited to them. 
Early this year we noticed a hummer 
that kept flipping off his perch, into the 
leaves of an apple tree. Curiosity brought 
a glass into play and it was seen that he 
was catching flies on the wing, just as 
a kingbird does. Only his flies were tiny 
midges. This caused us to keep an eye 
on the hummers to note their fly-catching 
propensities and we have found that they 
are at it all the time — will stop in their 
journey between two blossoms to nip a 
small fly whenever opportunity offers. 
Many of their seemingly aimless darts 
here and there are for the purpose of 
catching midges on the wing. But the 
midges they hunt so are so tiny that 
one needs quick eyes to note the object 
of their pursuit. 
Next time you come across a clump 
of Oswego Tea on your rambles, bring a 
root home and give it a corner. It will 
stand any sort of hardship and thrive. 
It will do better on good ground. It will 
make a splash of scarlet against the 
fence or shrubbery border. And the 
hummers will flock to it. A root of 
Oswego Tea replanted late in fall even 
will bloom the next spring, or one taken 
in spring will bloom the same summer. 
George Gilbert, New York. 
A GOOD CANOE COVER 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream : 
1 AM enclosing a picture which may 
prove of interest to some of your read- 
ers as I have noticed inquiries in your 
magazine as to keeping the contents of a 
cover adjusted on a canoe 
canoe dry while paddling in rough water. 
The picture shows a silk waterproof 
cover which I designed and had made. It 
entirely covers a canoe and has egg-like 
cockpits with sleeve which ties around 
waist under an “oily” coat, making it im- 
possible for any water to get into the 
canoe. These covers have stood severest 
tests, as for instance, loading a canoe 
until about 1% inches of freeboard re- 
mains and then paddling across lakes 
three to five miles wide during a “blow.” 
The waves would wash and stop clear 
over the caanoe, but no water would get 
in. I have used them also in running very 
heavy rapids. In the latter we were al- 
ways careful to arrange the cockpit so 
that we could get clear of it quickly in 
event of hitting a rock, which is the only 
danger the cover will not provide against. 
On rivers and lakes, even during a bad 
“blow” or in deep, heavy rapids, having 
the cockpit sleeve tied with a slip knot 
around waist is not dangerous, as a canoe 
will not upset providing it is properly 
loaded and a correct ballance established. 
I might tell you that on a Hudson’s Bay 
trip we had no fear in crossing bays 
ten miles wide and in two or three cases 
were out of sight of land entirely. The 
cover kept everything snug and dry. 
W. F. Currie, Toronto. 
Showing the waterproof silk 
