hooks of the spinning machine, as shown in the woodcut, and hanging on the 2 lb. lead, turn the handle briskly round,

FIG. 23.-Spinning Machine or Jack.

checking the too rapid twisting of the strands by the scored top held in the left hand, or your fingers, until the twist reaches as far as the top will allow, which is then to be removed, and a knot made on the end to prevent the link untwisting. A three-pronged kitchen dinner fork will answer the purpose of the top, but practice enables everyone to dispense with either, dividing the strands with the fingers of the left hand only. The spinning machine is fitted with a screw spill which you can fasten in a heavy block of wood and place on the table before you, or into a shelf or mantel

piece at a convenient height. Make the snood part of the line of white hair, three hairs less in each strand, transparent preferable, length 9 feet.

It is a very good plan, when you have selected your hairs sufficient for a strand, to tie one end of them round with fine thread or cotton, and put them to soak in water for half an hour before using. By preparing a number of such strands you will make greater progress in the manufacture of the line. A single hair when doubled should raise a pound and a half weight. If on testing a lot of hair, it will not do this, the hank of hair must be rejected as too weak.

Twist half your links from left to right, the other from right to left, and when knotting them together, be careful to join those of a different twist, for the opposite action of the links will prevent fouling; to make sure of this, tie them up in separate parcels, and label them right and left. In making up these lines, take a link from each parcel alternately. I have dwelt strongly upon this point, as on the careful application of the principle of alternate twist, the useful working of these lines entirely depends, for in this respect they differ from all others.

As the hooks of these twisting machines are sometimes rather widely placed apart, it often entails a loss of two inches on each link, to avoid which take three pieces of thin brass wire, and making an eye at one end turn the other into a hook one inch deep in the bend, passing the eyes over the hooks of the machine, fasten your hair to them, for they will draw together as the hair twists up and prevent waste of material. By having the tail end of the hair towards you, you will use the longest first, shortening in regular succession, and thus put the hair to the best advantage. When the tail is reduced to a foot in length, it is no longer considered worth twisting. Some fishermen prefer the lines two stranded only, which practically are equally as good as three-stranded lines; supposing both well made I cannot see that either has the advantage of the other.

Black hair is in use for the greater part of the line, twentytwo fathoms in length, at the end of which 9 feet of white is attached, the black of two or three strands, of ten or twelve hairs in a strand in the case of three, but of fifteen or eighteen in the case of two strands, the white as forming the greater part of the snood of three hairs less, in order to make it a little finer ; whilst for sinkers leads of the shape of a piece of tobacco-pipe, a little barrelled in the middle, half an ounce or more in weight, are placed at every two fathoms, and are of course kept from slipping up or down by the knots which occur in the line.

To the end of the white hair is fastened a yard of white snooding, and to this two lengths of double twisted Salmon gut with the hook. The line thus comprises in all twenty-two fathoms of black hair, with the pipe-leads, to be threaded on

whilst knotting the line together, nine feet white hair and three feet white snooding with the two lengths of double gut.

A reel is necessary upon which you will wind your line, and may be either a square of cork of 6 inches to each side, or a frame of like dimensions; if a frame, it may be made 8 inches by 6, or according to the owner's fancy. Many will say that snooding is of itself fine enough, but the majority of fishermen are of a different opinion, unless the fish are very numerous and large; almost all fishermen at the present time use gut both for Pollack and Bass or Mackerel, fineness of tackle in a proportionate degree to size of the fish being quite as necessary as in freshwater fishing. At least four of these lines will be required, and one of the same length without leads; these latter lines are more frequently made of only two strands of hair, but of the same strength, length of snooding, &c., as the preceding. One of these only should be used with the others, and always over the stern of the boat. In the Channel Islands all these lines are known as 'Flottants,' answering to our term 'Drift Lines,' and their use has received due attention under 'Drift or Tideway Fishing,' pages 62 and 76. The various leads used as sinkers can be obtained ready made from the makers (see advertisements at end of the volume), but the method of making them is described in case my readers should like to cast them, or be inconveniently situated for procuring them, at home or abroad.

Pipe-leads and Moulds. To make the Pipe-leads, take two pieces of freestone exactly alike, and of a square form, and fitting two of the surfaces carefully together, separate them and describe a cross upon the surface of one, and mark on the side the position of the four points of the arms; now place the other piece on it, and with a carpenter's square make also four perpendiculars to the plane of the cross, on the sides of the pieces, which will of course enable you to describe two more crosses on the under and upper surfaces of the portion of freestone. Separate the pieces, and hollow out half the proposed dimensions from each surface, exactly in the centre on the line of the cross, and on the transverse line of the cross on one side

make a hole about the thickness of the small end of a tobaccopipe stem to pour in the lead.

Make also a small furrow lengthways through the mould, and place in it a piece of wire well greased, an eighth of an inch in thickness. You can now pass a few turns of twine round the pieces of freestone, to keep them together, and cast your first lead, and if your work be true, your best plan will be to drill four holes for the insertion of pegs, to hold the pieces in their places. Half-ounce and ounce leads are useful sizes. The pear or fig-shaped plummets for Mackerel-fishing may be made in this manner also; but still a better plan, if you intend to follow sea-fishing much, is to get these moulds made in iron by an iron-founder, and keep them by you.

In Guernsey, as there is a constant demand for these kinds of leads, they are kept on hand by the plumbers.

To Knot the Links together.-Take two links of a different twist, unlay an inch and a quarter of the ends, drawing them

b

FIG. 24.-Knotting hair links.

through your teeth to flatten out the whole of the twist in order that they may make a snug knot. Place them in the left hand overlapping each other six inches, as shown in fig. 24, a, and turn each end twice round the fore-finger and the other link, as shown loosely at b; then put the end through and tighten the

knot, not by pulling the end, but by pushing the knot as far as it will slide, as shown at c, and having done the same with the end of the other link, draw the two knots together, tightening the knots by taking first one and then the other end between your teeth and pulling with a steady strain on the link, also gently biting the knots to make them draw home in the turns as neatly as possible. Do not cut the ends off too short, but leave them of about two straws' breadth. Measure your twelve feet distances and put on the pipe-leads when required; they should be allowed to run loosely between the knots; if not, the line may rot from damp under them. In addition to these directions, it is well to obtain instruction from old sailors, fishermen, whip or tackle-makers, when opportunity offers.

To Knot Gut Links together.-Previously to either spinning or knotting gut soak it ten minutes in lukewarm water. Spin with the -pound lead, and set it revolving by hand, the gut usually having insufficient power to start the lead. In knotting lay the ends to overlap two inches, turn them round your left fore-finger and put the ends twice through, when draw tight and cut off ends. This knot is not so short in the nip as the ordinary one used for gut, and gives more strength in the join. The following article written for the 'Field' I reproduce as àpropos to the subject.

A DAY'S DRIFT-LINE FISHING OFF GUERNSEY.

On a fine morning in spring I joined a friend for 'a day's drift-line fishing' off the rocky coast of Guernsey. As we pull out to our fishing-boat we observe the fishermen just starting with their Sand-Eel seine to procure bait for themselves and their confrères, who in common with themselves are making for the Mesuriaux rocks, which, on the falling tide, are much frequented by shoals of Sand-Eels.

A run of five or six minutes brings us to the rocks just outside the harbour, where we find eight or nine boats awaiting their supply of bait. The net has been already shot, and is being hauled by the men in two boats, each having a rope attached to one arm of the seine; but the net itself is now