the principle of variatio delectat, some of my readers may, perhaps, like to do so. It looks well' on paper :

To a quarter of a pint of 'double boiled cold-drawn ' linseed oil, add one ounce of gold size. Gently warm and mix them well, being first careful to have the line quite dry. While the mixture is warm, soak the line therein till it is fully saturated to its very centre, say for twenty-four hours. Then pass it through a piece of flannel, pressing it sufficiently to take off the superficial coat, which enables that which is in the interior to get stiff. The line must then be hung up in the air, wind, or sun, out of the reach of moisture, for about a fortnight, till pretty well dry. It must then be re-dipped to give an outer coat, for which less soaking is necessary; after this, wipe it again but lightly, wind it on a chair-back or towel-horse before a hot fire, and there let it remain for two or three hours, which will cause the mixture on it to 'flow,' as japanners term it, and give an even gloss over the whole. It must then be left to dry as before; the length of time, as it depends on the weather and place, observation must determine upon. By this means it becomes impervious to wet, and sufficiently stiff never to clog or entangle, the oil producing the former quality and the gold size (which is insoluble in water) the latter; while the commixture prevents the size becoming too hard and stiff. A trolling-line should be thus dressed every season at least.

For re-dressing a line, whilst in use or when out of reach of tackle-shops, the following is, perhaps, the best plan that can be tried :

Stretch the line tightly, and rub it thoroughly with white (common candle) wax. Then take a little 'boiled oil,' which can be got at most oil and colour shops, and placing it on a piece of flannel, rub the line well over with it. This will have the effect of making the line flexible, and will give a finish to the dressing.

It cannot be denied, however, that there is always some little uncertainty in the effect of oil dressings, especially when manipulated by amateurs; and I have on several occasions had lines returned after re-dressing-and that too from very careful hands-which from some reason or other seemed to become in parts almost immediately rotten,-a result, as far as I could judge, only attributable to the effect of the new dressing.

One great point certainly is never to put the line into too hot a mixture; a temperature in which the finger can be placed without inconvenience should be the maximum. Curriers always, I believe, wet their leather before applying oil or grease, which is otherwise supposed to 'fire' it, as it is termed. Truefit recommends the same precaution to be taken before greasing the hair of the beard, and it is possible that there may be some analogous effect produced on silk under particular conditions, even when the oil is not heated beyond the proper temperature.

Be this as it may, however, I believe the fact that silk lines are not unfrequently 'fired' or burned in some way whilst dressing is indisputable; and until some one can discover a remedy we must be content to pay a little oftener for new trolling-lines. In most other respects the oil dressing seems to answer capitally, being neat, very fairly waterproof, and easily applied.

One great safeguard against premature decay we do know ; and that is, never under any circumstances to put by a line wet, nor unless thoroughly dried. Attention to this simple precaution will save expense, and not a few of those precipitate partings between fish and fishermen, which are so painful to at least one of the parties concerned.

With regard to the substance or thickness of trolling-lines it is difficult to give suggestions in the form of letterings or numberings, inasmuch as there is great variation in the enumeration of their different sizes by different line makers. What may be described, however, as a line of medium substance, rather than either very stout or very fine, gives, on the whole, the best results. If too fine the friction caused by passing through the rod rings very soon rubs off the dressing, and renders it untrustworthy, and if too thick it will not run with the necessary freedom for long casts, especially where light baits are used. Moreover, the very stout quality has also the disadvantage of being very conspicuous a line of invitation,' as somebody calls it, which the fish are not usually in a hurry to accept.

A very important item in the perfection-or imperfectionof all spinning and other pike tackle is the Swivel. Owing to

imperfections in the manufacture of new swivels and the results of rust or wear and tear upon old ones, a swivel very often ceases to work properly, a fact which is generally first made known to the troller by the kinking and twisting up of the line, entailing much trouble before it can be rectified. With a view to remedying this inconvenience, I suggested in the 'Modern Practical Angler'1 the substitution of two swivels joined in one (or a double swivel')-wide cut-by which the probability of the accident alluded to is reduced to a minimum. In fact, two swivels like that shown in the engraving will be found ample for the purposes either of spinning-traces, or for gorge or live-bait tackle.

DOUBLE
SWIVEL.

A good many swivels have been invented with some sort of spring loop at one end, to and from which the line or trace can be attached and detachedsuch as the 'buckle,' the 'corkscrew,' 'watch-spring' swivel, &c., &c.-and these, if perfect, would be of the greatest practical convenience in the manipulation of all kinds of pike-tackle. None of the 'hook-swivels,' however, which have come under my notice are free from serious defects, or combine in all respects what is required. These requirements are very simple-first, that the line should be capable of being slipped on and off with the utmost ease and rapidity, and without such careful manipulation by the thumb and finger nail as may, especially in cold weather, make the operation an exceedingly difficult one; secondly, that the line should by no possibility be able to disengage itself accidentally from the swivel; and thirdly, that the arrangement should be small, neat, and sightly-the last desideratum being indispensable for practical purposes.

These requirements, as I have said, are not to be found united in any one of the existing patterns with which I am acquainted, those fulfilling the former failing more or less signally in the last named, and I have, therefore, endeavoured

15th Edit. Routledge and Co., Broadway, London.

to produce such a fastening as will fulfil them. It will be seen, I think, that this is done by the swivel shown in the engraving. Why it should be so a glance at the mechanical arrangement of the swivel will probably suffice to indicate. The thing is so simple that the wonder is that swivel makers or tackle vendors have not long ago hit upon the method, instead of year after year continuing to manufacture patterns of hook-swivels which have only to be glanced at to be condemned. It is claimed for the swivel represented in the cut that, besides escaping the charge of unsightliness, the line can be attached and disengaged SWIVEL in a moment, and that, owing to the 'hook end' projecting towards the centre of the loop, it is impossible that it should work off accidentally when in use. A moment's thought and the most cursory examination will, I believe, show this, but if not, a swivel is not a very expensive item, and probably those of my readers who are enthusiastic in pike-fishing will not grudge the slight trouble involved in giving it a trial in practice.

DOUBLE

WITH IMPROVED ноок.

The attaching of this hook-swivel to the end of the reel line will save time, and add to the neatness of the trace-junction. Mr. Charles Farlow, of 191 Strand, London, is the proprietor of this swivel, and is prepared to supply it made exactly according to the pattern shown in the illustration.

All swivels work best and last longest when of small or medium, rather than of large size, and they should be well oiled before and after use, and kept in oiled paper. The observance of this very simple precaution will double the efficiency of the swivel. Blue swivels show less in the water than bright ones, and are less liable to rust.

I think I may venture to say that no one who has ever attempted to extract a flight of hooks from a pike's jaw with his fingers will desire to repeat that experiment; nor does he need to be reminded that the teeth of the pike are exceedingly

sharp. They have also been supposed by old writers to be poisonous, but the truth is, probably, that, like all punctured wounds, the injuries they inflict heal very slowly and painfully. A disgorger of some sort becomes, therefore, a necessity for every pike-fisher, and especially for the spinner, as he incurs a double danger from the multiplicity of his own hooks. I shall not forget in a hurry an incident which occurred to myself when fishing some years ago in the beautiful waters of Sir Edward Hulse, below Braemore, on the Hampshire Avon. By a great exertion of agility I had just succeeded, after making a cast from an 'impossible' standpoint, in conducting to the side, and thence lifting by the gills up to the top of the bank, a pike of some five or six pounds weight. In the position in which I had balanced myself when casting, the chances had been about equally divided between my pulling him out and his pulling me in. In the excitement, perhaps, of the just terminated struggle, I attempted to extract the flight from his mouth without using a disgorger. The first hook came out all right, but the second, just when I had got it clear, was struck, by a sudden wrench of the pike under my knee, clean into and half through the top of the middle finger of my right handthe flight still remaining attached to the pike by the big tail hook! The only chance of freeing myself from my de facto captor now lay in the untried possibilities of my left hand. At every plunge of the pike the hook in my finger went in deeper; and it was only by a desperate effort that I at last succeeded in wrenching off the penknife attached to my watch chain, the blade of which I opened with my teeth, and severed the gimp below the hook which had got me. It still remained, lefthanded, to break off the hook-one of a triangle-from its shank, which I did with the pair of pliers I always carry in my trolling-case, and finally with the said pliers to force it through. the finger and so out point foremost at the other side. . . . On this occasion I recorded a mental vow against the employment of digital disgorgers for the future!

If, in spite of precautions, the fisherman should, by the