The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1857-07-04
Manufacture of the Great Cable.

The London Times of the 9th gives the
following description of the mode of manu-
fact ring the cable for the Atlantic 'Tele-
graph, at the works of Messrs. Glasses u
Co.:
Since our last notice of the progress Of
this or eat undertaking, with the exec ton OF
a short interval Of forty hours last Monday
and Tuesday. the work has advanced 'nces-
sanity day and night. The " strand, &C o.
ing and e serving" machines, which revolve
with such astonishing rapidity, and whose
noise can be heard even to the centre OF the
river. have done their work well, and spun
an additional 800 miles of cable. Nea ly
900 miles are now completed, and at least
l.2OO would have been ready could the wire
drawers have supplied the wire as fast as the
machines consumed it, But that, unfortu
nately, has not been the case, for the daily
consumption Of fire wire has been greater
than all the wiredrawers of England could
furnish, and the consequence is that less is
ready for shipment than was wished or an
ticipated. The making of the two shore
ends of the cable is well advanced. Those
portions, viz: for ten miles from the New
foundland and fifteen miles from the Irish
shore, are being manufactured Of immense
strength in order to resist the action OF the
waves over rocks, and dangers from vessels,
anchors &c They are made of II No.
wires, forming cable II inch in diameter,
and weighing about six tons to the mile
The size of the wire used in these ends grad
ually diuiinishes as deep water is reached, so
it tapers down where it joins to the diameter
of the main pOrtin of the cable. These NO.
l wires are welded on to No. 2. which are in
turn, Joined to No. ), and so Oh, as shallow
water and liability to accident are decreased.
At those ends the gutta percha and "sew-
ing" of creased and tarred hemp are also
chance of accident from compression of the
outside spiral iron casing.
The manufacture of the centre portion of
the cable has also begun. In order to avoid
risk from the first strain at starting, about
five or six miles of the centre will be made
of the strongest steel wire. In place oftwist-
ed strands the cable will here be bound with
Is No Is solid wires OF steel, so that this
part of the telegraph will, it is asserted, bear
the weight OF twelve tons with safety, or
nearly twice the amount of dead strain that
is likely to come upon it at the outset.
1t seems by the following from the same
paper thai the catching of herring is to be
faciissted by the submarine telegraph
At Messrs. Glasse & Elliot's yard, fine
submarine cable is being made for the Nor
wegan Government This is, as far rs we
are aware, probably the first electric ts!e-
graph which has ever been used for fishing
purposes. During the fishing season the
shoals of herring enter the iordS of Norway
at most unexpected intervals, and at places
where often not more than one or two fish.
ing boats are to be found. Before the boats
from the surrounding bays and fiords can be
summoned to the spoil, the herrings have
generally spawned and are away to the sea
again. To preyeat theee repeated disappoint-
ments and losses to tbs fishermen. the Nor
wegian Government is about to Jay sub
marine cable along some fifty miles Of the
coast most freQuented by the shoals, with
land static S at short distances communica-
ting with the fishing villages. The instant
the Shoal is seen in the ofing, therefore, and
it can always be known at distance by the
whales which surround it, message will be
sent along the coast, telling each village and
firod or bay which it has entered. Alas for
the poor behring's What will become of
them now that science enters the deep
against them, and there enemy lurksi in their
watery home? They may elude whales and
fishing boats, defy tides, winds and waves,
but what can they do against the electric
current? They will splash heedlessly over
the queer looking rope on the bottom, with
ont thinking that it is telling their numbers
and the way they have takea and guiding
their pursuers to the destruction OF them all.