Jan. 18, 1908.] 
IOI 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
bethabara. The latter comes from Africa by way 
of Liverpool, whereas lancewood in large quan¬ 
tities is brought up to New York by the coast¬ 
wise vessels trading in Southern waters. It 
costs less than bethabara, and is much easier to 
work. It is not so heavy as bethabara. In the 
rough it is easier to select good stock than is 
the case with bethabara. But it is “softer” and 
more resilient in equal diameters, and has not 
the steely snap and quick recovery that char¬ 
acterize the other variety mentioned. In ad¬ 
dition to this it is prone to take set; in other 
words, to warp permanently, and this fault is 
more marked on damp than on dry days. 
There are so many varieties of wood avail¬ 
able, and all more or less excellent for rods, that 
the beginner may be tempted to try others than 
those recommended. But my advice is that he 
confine his first experiments to either dagama or 
bethabara. Then, after he has acquired some 
knowledge of squaring, rounding and finishing 
solid wood, and fitting hand grasps, ferrules and 
tops, he may feel safe in making a split bamboo 
rod, since this will be the goal of his ambition. 
Good Calcutta bamboo is very difficult to ob¬ 
tain. Japanese bamboo is inferior to it, and I 
would not advise its use. Nearly all of the Cal¬ 
cutta bamboos are marked with alternate bands 
or patches of natural and scorched enamel. Two 
varieties are commonly known. The so-called 
“male” bamboo has thicker walls than the 
“female” and is generally chosen for this rea¬ 
son. Careful experts tell us, however, that in 
this thick-walled bamboo the strength diminishes 
more rapidly from enamel surface to hollow cen¬ 
ter than in the thin-walled bamboo. The enamel 
or rind is tough and hard. Under thib the cells 
increase rapidly in size and their walls diminish 
in strength, the inner part being more pith-like 
than in the thin-walled bamboo, whose cells are 
smaller and their walls stronger. 
Various reasons are given to account for the 
burning of the bamboos by the natives of India. 
The late Henry P. Wells, who studied the ques¬ 
tion carefully, gives six reasons, as follows: A 
religious ceremony; roasted over a gridiron to 
kill borers; also to burn off adhering leaves and 
vines; for ornamental purposes; accidentally 
burned in firing jungles to destroy creeping 
vines; seared with hot irons in straightening. 
He leaves it to his readers’ fancy to decide. 
J. J. Hardy, himself a rodmaker, in his “Sal¬ 
mon Fishing,” says the natives lay the more 
crooked canes in fires made of grass and leaves, 
to soften before attempting to straighten them. 
“While this firing doubtless solidifies the sap and 
hardens the cells greatly,” he writes, “it destroys 
fully 50 per cent, of the bamboos for rodmaking 
by burning through parts of the outer skin, the 
effects of which may be seen in the very dark 
blotches. Where this appears the material is 
worthless, all the original structure having been 
destroyed. It has been very difficult to persuade 
the natives to adopt special methods of heating 
for the purpose of straightening, in order to 
avoid this overburning; but it is satisfactory to 
know that better methods, under strict super¬ 
vision, are now being employed.” Mr. Hardy 
says it is not unusual to split up thirty to fifty 
culms and test the strips before sufficient good 
material for an 18 foot salmon fly-rod is obtained. 
In passing it is interesting to note that Mr., 
Hardy claims there are good reasons to believe 
split bamboo rods were made long ago in Eng¬ 
land, and that as early as 1700 “bamboos were 
brought from India by officers of the army, and 
made into rods in London.” 
The bamboos obtainable are generally iJ 4 to 
i l A inches in diameter at the large end and only 
four or five feet of each one can be used to 
advantage. 
The specific gravities and weight of various 
woods mentioned are given by Mr. Wells as 
follows, the standard being distilled well water: 
Specific 
Gravity. 
Snakewood .1.3718 
Bethabara .L2140 
Greenheart (dark) .1.0908 
Jucara prieto .1.08 
Lancewood .'._1.0335 
Six strip split bamboo.9915 
Four strip split bamboo, enamel inside .9678 
Greenheart (light) .9643 
Dagama .90 
Hickory . 7963 
\yeight. 
1 cubic foot. 
85.74 
75.88 
68.18 
67.30 
64.59 
61.96 
60.49 
60.26 
56.10 
49.77 
Sportsmen’s Show Tournament. 
A fly- and bait-casting tournament will be 
held during the Motor Boat and Sportsmen’s 
Show, in Madison Square Garden, New York 
city, Feb. 20-March 7 exclusive of Sundays. 
The rules and schedule of events are given 
below: 
Rule 1. All competitors shall pay an entrance fee of 
$1 for each and every event. 
Rule 2. All contests will be governed by two judges 
and a referee. In case of a disagreement between judges, 
the referee shall decide, and his decision shall be final. 
Rule 3. The referee shall determine the order in 
which contestants shall cast by lot and shall time all 
contests. 
Rule 4. The referee shall notify each contestant of 
the order of casting, and contestants shall be ready to 
cast when called upon. .Should a contestant not appear 
promptly when called upon, he shall be disqualified from 
the event and his entrance fee forfeited. 
Rule 5. The referee shall not take the time in any 
event until the contestant has taken his place upon the 
stand and given the word “Ready.” 
Rule 6. The casting time for all distance fly events, 
except when otherwise specified, will be ten minutes 
for each contestant. No allowance of time will be made 
for any accident which is the fault of the contestant. 
Rule 7. In events where rods are limited by weight, an 
allowance of three-fourths of an ounce shall be made for 
rods with solid metal reel seats (except aluminum). An 
allowance of three-fourths of an ounce will also be made 
for an independent handle, providing the handle and butt 
joint of rod are each made with the regular ferrule, and 
the rod, exclusive of the handle, is of tl\e usual three- 
piece model. 
Rule 8. Except when otherwise specified, rods shall 
not exceed 11% feet in length, and must be held with 
one hand. 
Rule 9. Lines must not be weighted. 
Rule 10. Leaders, unless otherwise specified, must be 
of single gut and must not be weighted. 
Rule 11. Hooks shall not be used smaller in size than 
No. 12 standard sproat, and the point and barb must be 
removed. 
Rule 12. When the style or method of casting is 
specified in any event, no other will be permitted. 
Rule 13. Any disagreement or dispute, not covered by 
the general rules or the specific rules for any event, 
shall be referred to the judges and referee, whose de¬ 
cision shall be final. 
Thursday, Feb. 20, 8:30 P. M.—Event 1.—Single-handed 
fly-casting for distance. Open to all, except those who 
have cast 60 feet or more in any club or tournament 
contest. , 
Friday, Feb. 21, 2:30 P. M.—Event 2.—Single-handed 
bait-casting for distance. Five casts shall be made over 
head with % ounce weight. The longest cast to count. 
Contestants will be allowed one preliminary cast. Cast 
must be made from free running reel. Should cast fall 
outside of tank it will count as a cast, but will not be 
scored. Open to all, except those who have cast 100 
feet or more with % ounce weight in any club or tourna¬ 
ment contest. * 
8:30 P. M.—Event 3.—Single-handed fly-casting for dis¬ 
tance. Open to all except those who have cast 76 feet 
or more in any club or tournament contest. 
Saturday, Feb. 22., 2:30 P. M.—Event 4.—Single-handed 
dry-fly casting for accuracy. The contestant shall cast 
at 30-inch targets placed 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 feet from 
the platform. He shall begin to extend the line by mak¬ 
ing a reasonable number of preparatory casts in the 
air, not allowing the fly to touch the water. When the 
line is extended, he shall allow the fly to fall as near as 
possible to the center of the target. The fly must be 
allowed to float upon the water until the judges signal 
that the cast has teen scored. He must then retrieve 
the line as delicately as possible and cast at the suc¬ 
ceeding target in a like manner until one cast has been 
made at each target, making five casts in all. If the fly 
strikes the target the cast shall be scored as perfect, 
h or each foot of distance, or part thereof, by which-the 
fly misses the target, to be east at, a demerit of one 
shall be counted against the contestant, and should the 
fly fail to float, an extra demerit of one shall be counted. 
The total of such demerits divided by 5 and deducted 
from 100 shall constitute the score. Highest score wins. 
Should the fly be whipped off or strike the water while 
making a preparatory cast, the contestant shall be dis¬ 
qualified. Flies will be furnished by the referee. Open 
to all. 
8:30 P. M.—Event 5.—Two-handed fly-casting for dis¬ 
tance, with grilse rod. Rod must not exceed 13 feet in 
length. Leader unrestricted. Fly to be furnished by 
referee. Open to all. 
Monday, Feb. 24, 2:30 P. M.—Event 6.—Single-handed 
fly-casting for accuracy. A target will be placed 30 feet 
distant from platform and under an overhanging bush, 
which shall extend for 3 feet over the target and be 3 
feet above the water. The target to be of the concentric 
ring pattern and to score as follows: 10 (bullseye), 9, 
8, 7, 6, 5, 0. Highest score wins. Each contestant will 
be allowed five preliminary casts, when he shall give 
the word “Ready” and proceed to cast for record. Should 
he fail to give the word or notify the judges after making 
five preliminary casts, the judges shall note the sixth 
and subsequent casts for record. Open to all. 
8:30 P. M.—Event 7.—Single-handed switch fly-casting 
for distance. Championship class. Rods must not weigh 
more than 4 ounces. For allowances see Rule 7. An 
obstacle will be placed 15 Let behind the contestant. 
Open to all. 
Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2:30 P. M.—Event 8.—Single-handed 
bait-casting for distance. Five casts shall be made over 
head with % ounce weight. The longest cast to count. 
Contestants will be allowed one preliminary cast. Cast 
must be made from free running reel. Should cast fall 
outside of tank it will count as a cast, but will not be 
scored. Open to all except those who have cast 150 feet 
or more with a % ounce weight in any club or tourna¬ 
ment contest. 
8:30 P. M.—Event 9.—Single-handed fly-casting for dis¬ 
tance, under forward obstacle. Contestant must cast 
beneath an obstacle which will be placed across the tank 
30 feet from the platform and 6 feet above the water. 
Open to all. 
Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2:30 P. M.—Event 10.—Single- 
handed bait-casting for distance under forward obstacle. 
Five overhead casts shall be made with a % ounce 
weight beneath an obstacle which will be placed across 
the tank' 30 feet from the platform and 15 feet above the 
water. The longest cast to count. Contestant will be 
allowed two preliminary casts. Cast must be made from 
free running reel. Should cast fall outside of tank it 
will count as a cast, but will not be scored. Open to all. 
8:30 P. M.—Event 11.—Single-handed fly-casting for 
distance. Rod must not weigh more than 5 ounces. 
For allowances see Rule 7. Open to all except those 
who have cast 85 feet in any club or tournament contest 
with a rod weighing 5 ounces or less. 
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2:30 P. M.—Event 12.—Single-handed 
fly-casting for accuracy. Five casts to be made at each 
of three targets, placed 40, 60 and 60 feet from plat¬ 
form. Targets to be of concentric ring pattern and to 
score as follows: 10 (bullseye), 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 0. Highest 
score wins. Contestant will be allowed to extend line to 
and make three preparatory casts at each target when 
he shall give the word “Ready” and cast to score. 
Should he fail to give the word “Ready” the judges will 
score the fourth and subsequent casts for record. Should 
fly be whipped off, time will be allowed to replace same. 
Leaders must be used in this event, and shall not be 
less than 3 feet in length. Open to all. 
8:30 P. M.—Event 13.—Single-hand switch fly-casting 
for distance. An obstacle will be placed 15 feet behind 
the contestant. Open to all except those who have cast 
75 feet or more in any similar club or tournament contest. 
Friday, Feb. 28, 2:30 P. M— Event 14.—Single-hand 
bait-casting for accuracy. Fiv.e casts shall be made over 
head with % ounce weight at each of three targets placed 
