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
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