On Wed, 1 Apr 2009 09:23:09 -0400 alexander <[email protected]> wrote:
> I will try to locate John Downing's posts to FoRMHI quarterly. I recall > his trace of the catgut went through the english fly-fishing tradition. > The matter here is that from somewhere in the lost 16th or earlier > century the leader was called catgut. One particular avid fly-fishermen > by the name Pepush actually published a rave about using lute minikin > as a leader, as the best there is. Later on in the 1700s (? can't > remember exact chronology) it is advertised that the leader is made of > the silk caterpillar gut, stretched (the worm is not allowed to spin, > it is pickled in vinegar before it is ready to cocoon, and the sacks > are stretched, to produce a clear not unlike nylon, single filament). > Spain in particular became the center of production of these stretched > catguts. Ever since this kind of leader is alternatively called silk > gut and catgut, even today. I am in possession of a few of such guts, > one about 90 some cm long. Its' diameter is .42 mm. It is clear as a > dew. One peculiarity of the silk gut is, to tie a knot, it has to be > moistened, then it becomes flexible enough to hold a tight knot. As it > is, it is very flexible and stiff to the finger. alexander To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
