Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1865-1869, 1865-06-14
THE ATLANTIC CABLE.
pREPAR ATOMS on BOARD THE GREAT
MISUNDERSTANDING TESTS.


The London Telegraph Of Nay % has the fol
lowing interesting account of the preparations
on board the Great Eastern, for laying the ocean
telegraph cable;
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 1858 AND 1865.
A visit was paid to tie Great Eastern few
DAYS sincs by largo party OF tie directors
friends, and il may be said that all who under
stood the preparations which they saw came
away with greatly strengthened confidence IN
the future OF the new cable. Since 1858, when
the hrst Atlantic line was laid, the advance that
has been made by the scientific world towards
comprebcnding electrical Phenomena Is very
great. IL has been said by man vel qualified
10 speak on the subject, that electric science
has passed, since that time, tom its child
hood to its maturity. So far as the phenomena
connected with long electric circuits were
concerned, We had IN 1858 no knowledge
whateyer The instruments in common use
were unsuited to receiving signals through q
great length of cable, the necessity of providing
Tor the conductor an insula ion 80 per-
feet as TO approach an absolute condition was in.
adequately appreciated. The best preliminary
test Tor a long cable had not been devised, and
the old Atlantic telegraph was laid without hay
inpbeen subjected TO any searching test on shore.
Every body had advice 10 give concerning the
management OF the wire, but no one recommend
ed the precautions which subsequent experience
Logan 10 fail the battery power was augmented,
and electromagnetic induction ctils, which ra-
mildly helped on the destruction of the conductor,
were nut in circuit. No one thought Of "nurs-
ing" the caDle-ot humoring its feeble attempts
AZ articulate utterance, ana OF finding out what
il said rather by listening acutely t.'An by con-
stantly calling on il 10 the language Of tie VIC
toria gallery, TO speak up The old cab g,
however, is dead and gone part OF It has been
picked up and applied TO lgnOblo user, as race
horse past his work may be put into the shafts
of a HansOm; part Of II has been abandoned,
and lies where il may rest till the end OF time, in
the dark uniathOmed caves Oi the deep sea.
Let US turn to the practical present.
SCENES ON BOARD THE GREAT EASTERN.
The Great Eastern looks JUS. now mole like an
engineers workshop thah u seagoing ship. The
vast expanses of her deck are covered with
wooden sheds and piles Of timber. There are
smiths fOFges below, and between the decks you
might fancy yourself in lnacAnis.s factory
The great engines Of the ship, IL Is true, have lost
the fright look Of machinery which is IN con-
stan. us d; and the hus Q dull masses OF iron seem
as eep or in trance. / you descend the ladders
wLicn lead 10 the boilers and iurnaces-Ln eXpe-
dttion which is more ike gong down mine
than any other to which 1t can be compared
YOU lind yourself IN TIE midst OF darkness, soli-
tude ind cold; but IN those Iegtns OF the vessel
where the cable s bsing shppsd and watched
there Is every sign OF Keen vlglant mel igenec.
When YOU understand what Is beng done, you
see something more than tlns-thAt scientific for:
sight OF tee highest order directs every step and
that the thick, taTTy rye, coarse and rough to
appearance, which hes coi!ed away under water
in the tanks OF the chip, Is manufactured, scan
ned and teSied with As much care as the incest
optical instrument in an astronomers obserya-
tory, or the most delicate apparatus Of fragile
glass ever applied to the careful experiments OF
chemistry.