On fatal wings the pouncing bittern soars,
And wafts her pray from the defenceless shores,
The watchful halcyons to the reeds repair,
And from their haunts the scaly captives bear;
Sharp herns and corm'rants too their tribes oppress,
A harass'd race peculiar in distress;

Nor can the muse enumerate their foes,
Such is their fate, so various are their woes

!

CHAP. II.

The best Manner of Making and Choosing Rods Lines, Hooks, &c.

THE best time to provide stocks is in the winter solstice, when the trees have shed their leaves, and the sap is in the roots, for after January the sap ascends again into the trunk and branches, at which time it is improper to gather stocks, or tops; as for the stocks they should be lower grown, and the tops the best rush ground shoots that can be got; not knotty, but proportionable and slender, for if otherwise they will never cast nor strike so well, and the line by reascn of their unpliableness, must be much endangered. Now when both stock and top are gathered in one season, and as strait as possible to be got, bathe them over a gentle fire, and never use them till they are well seasoned, which will be in one year and four months, but longer keeping them will make them better: and for preserving them when made into rods, both from rotting and being worm-eaten, rub them over thrice a year

with sallad, or linseed oil: if they are bored pour in either of the oils, and let them soak therewith for twenty-four hours, then pour it out again and it will preserve them from the least injury. In general the length of the rod is to be determined by the breadth of the river you angle in, but a long rod is always of more use than one too short; provided it is truly made, one of about five yards and a half long you will experimentally find to be quite sufficient. When you have taken your stocks and top from the place that you put them in for seasoning, (where they must have remained sixteen months at least,) match them together in just proportion; and let the rod consist of five or six pieces; if you ferrel it, observe that they fit with the greatest nicety, and in such a manner as when put altogether they may not wriggle in the least, but be in proportion, and strength, as if the whole rod were but one piece. If you bind them together, it must be with thread strongly waxed, having first cut the pieces with a slope, or slant, that they may join each other with the greatest exactness, and then spread a thin layer of shoemaker's wax over the slants, or a glue, which I have set down in the arcana for the angler's use; afterwards you must cut about six inches off the top of the rod, and in its place whip on a smooth, round and taper piece of whalebone, at the top of that a strong loop of horsehair; than the whole will be completed, and thus made will always ply with a true bent to the hand. Your fly rods may be made in the same manner; but note, must be much more pliant than the others, and more taper from stock to top. It is of service to them to lay by some time before you use them.

Your top for the running line must be always

gentle, that the fish may the more insensibly run away with the bait, and not be checked by its being too stiff.

For all fishes that bite tenderly, a rod made of cane, reed, or bamboo, is the best; only be careful when you choose such a one that it will strike well, and that the medium between the ferrel and the joint that goes in, is not cut too fine; for if it is, when you strike a good fish, it is ten to one you will lose some part of your rod, your line, and of course the fish; a misfortune that has often happened to me, before I was acquainted with the above rule.

A general rod, is one which serves for trolling, dibbing, and the ground; for the former purpose small brass rings must be whipped all the way up it, at about a foot distance, for the trolling line to run through; it may likewise be bored in the stock to hold the tops you are not using; that which you use for the troll must be strong, and have a ring on the top whipped on with a piece of quill, to prevent the line being cut when the voracious pike runs off with your bait to his hold: one of the others must not be so stiff, which will serve for carps, tenches, &c. and the other fine and elastic for dace and roach fishing. These kind of rods, which are called bag-rods, and go up in a small compass, are to be had of all the fishing-tackle shops in Lon

don.

These rods when put altogether, should be sixteen feet long, which will do for pike or barbel; they should be ringed to a nicety, using a brass multiplying winch at the butt, and a strong spike, which will be found of great use; for by retiring from the river, and fixing the rod upright in the ground, (by means of the spike)

you will keep a tight line, your rod will play with every stroke the fish makes, and you will easily land him with your net.

Rods for roach, dace, tench, chub, bream, and carp, should not have the top so gentle as those for the fly, but pretty stiff, that the rod may exactly answer the motion of the hand. Roach and dace only nibble, and if you strike not in that very moment (especially if you fish with paste or any tender bait), you miss them because the top is too pliant.

I with much pleasure recommend the angler to that of Mr. William March, of Fleet-street.

Angling Line. To make this Line, first note, that you are to take care that your hair be round and clear, and free from galls, scales, or frets; for a well-chosen, even, clear round hair, of a kind of glass colour, will prove as strong as three uneven scabby hairs; then put them in water for a quarter of an hour, when made into lengths, and you will thereby find which of them. shrink; then twist them over again; some in the twisting intermingle silk, which is erroneous, yet a line of all silk may do pretty well, though I prefer hair in every mode of angling, except trolling, and then a silk line is best. Now the best colours for lines are sorrel, white, and grey; the two last colours for clear waters, and the first for muddy waters, neither is the pale watery green despicable, which is made thus; put a pint of strong alum water; half a pound of soot, a small quantity of juice of walnut leaves, in a pipkin, boil them about half an hour, then take it off the fire, and when it is cold steep your hair in it; or else boil an handful of marygold flowers, with a quart of alum water, till a yellow scum arises, then take half a pound

of green copperas, with as much verdegrese, and beat them together to a fine powder, and put them and the hair into alum water, and let them lie in it ten hours or more, then take them out and let them dry.* Hair is made brown by steeping it in salt and ale. The best way of forming the hair into lines, is with a new-invented engine, to be bought at any of the shops, and is to be used thus. To twist links with this engine, take as many hairs as you intend each shall consist of, and dividing them into three parts, tie each parcel to a bit of fine twine, about six inches long, doubled and put through the hooks which impend from the machine: then take a piece of lead of a conical figure two inches high, and two in diameter at the base, with a hook at the apex, or point; tie your three parcels of hair into one knot, and to this by the hook hang the weight.

Lastly. Take a common bottle cork, and into the sides, at equal distances, cut three grooves; and placing it so as to receive each division of hairs, begin to twist. You will then find the links twist with great evenness at the lead; as it grows tighter shift the cork a little upwards, and when the whole is sufficiently twisted, take out the cork, and tie the links into a knot, and so proceed till you have twisted links sufficient for your line, observing to lessen the number of hairs in each link, in such proportion that the line may be taper,

Never strain your hairs before they are made into a line, if you do they will shrink when used. Your links thus prepared, tie them together

* Hair or gut steeped in gin and ink, become a curious watercolour.