Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1858-10-28
Why will not the Atlantic
Gable Work.

Communication through the cable is not
yet restored, and will not be until the shr a
end at Valentia is repaired. Whether this
will have the desired effect remains to be
seen. In the meantime, the scientific world
is again reused into discussion ofthe caus-
es AMI possibilities of failure. Mr.. Babi-
net, of the French Institute, writes to the
Paris Dbais to say that, in conversation
which recently took place between himself
and several eminent French electricians,
the conclusion was come 10, that it was
next to impossible to obtain satisfactory
result from such conductor as the Allan
tic cable. 1t appears that the electric
current running around a wire surrounded
by other metallic threads produces pow
erful electrical discharge, which give sig
nalssltogether foreign to the dispatch trans
mitted. The same thing took place before
vers. when the cable was first laid across
the Channel. but was obviated by the
weakness of the return currents, by en-
ploying an apparatus not 100 easily acted on
by the discharge of the fluid. The tele-
graph between France and Algeri, howev-
err, still presents the same difficulties. 1t
is nearly the same thing that would take
place in a room where the echoes are very
powerful: where, after utterlng one sound
the speaker must wait until the echo has
died away. 1t took twenty hours to send
the message of Queen Victoria to the Pres
ident. In connection with the discussion
we give below letter from gentleman in
Louisiana. who presents some novel ideas
on this subject. Practical electririans will
be able to Judge whether its suggestions are
of importance.
St. Joseph, La. Sept. 18th, 1858.
Editors of Day Book.
l have lately made exp,rin to with a
section of the Atlantic Telegraph Cable,
the result of which are in my opinion of
the utmost importance. If you think them
worthy of Insertion in your Journal, you
are at liberty to use them. procured a
section of the cable last June from friend
in Liverpool. 1t was 54a inches in length.
l applied to its entire surface, by the use
of machinery constructed for the purpose,
a pressure equal to 10000 pounds to the
square inch. l then applied the galvanic
current to it WHILST under this pressure,
and found that it was almost impossible to
pass the fluid through. On removing the
pressure the fluid was transmitted with as
much facility as it was prior to the appli-
cation of the pressure. am not informed
of the greatest depth to which the Atlantic
Cable has sunk 1 should like to learn in
order to estimate the MAXIMUM pressure
existing upon its surface. 1t is this pres
sure which partly destroys the insulation
produced by the gutta percha in the cable,
and so much obstructs and weakens the
fluid in its passage across the Atlantic?--
There seems to be some plausibility in the
hypothesis, and the result of nay expert
ments strongly indicates that such may be
the fact.
l would like to open communication
with some of your correspondents upon
this subject. and send them more detailed
statement of my experiments, accompanied
by drawings of the machinery made use OF
in effecting the pressure. 1t is really a
curious piece of mechanism and was in
vented by an educated Choetaw INDIAN
| have discovered substance superior TO
guta percha as an insulator, cheaper, more
durable, sufficiently elastic for all purposes.
and very slightly affected by any pressure
which l could bring to bear upon it. If
any of your friends are curious in this
matter. will take pleasure in imparting to
them all my information upon the subject.
Respectfully.
ROBERT Y. SMYTHz.