The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1865-02-17

ouUf0 0DUb, WHICH WILL W A1Oot uSaSStve,
and in length some thirty miles. The
factory now turns out fourteen miles .
day Of completed rope, which, in four
months time, will give ono thousand
three hundred and fifty miles at the
present rate Of working, though, Of
course, as the days grow longer so in
proportion will the hours Of labor. 1t
is considered, therefore, that the work
would be we'll advanced if two thousand
miles had to be completed instead Of one
thousand five hundred.
Two hulks have been placed at the
disposal of the company by the Adni-
rally, the Iris and the Amethyst As
soon as the Iris, now off the works, is
filled with her quantu n Of two hundred
and fifty miles, she will be towed down
to the Great Eastern, and the, Amethyst
will take her place, and in this manner,
for the next four months, the shipment
of the cable will be continuous. The
cable is wound on board these hulks at
the rate of little over two miles per hour,
and as the days arc short, and there is,
little night work, the rate of shipment
is not much ahead of manufacture
During this winding on board the hulks,
as during every other process, the tests
for insulation and conductivity are
continued with the same scrupulous
care.
The interior of the Great Eastern is
undergoing important alterations to fit
her for her new duties as a cable ship
The great object with such ships is to
get as few coils of cable as possible, to
have it all in one. Large, however, as
the Great Eastern is, she could never
hold the Atlantic cable in one coil, for,
apart from its weight, which is five thou
sand tons, its bulk in one mass would be
gigantic, coil fifty eight feet in diamc~
ter and nearly sixty feet high, enough to
fill Ashlcy's Theatre from the ground of
the circus almost to the roof 1t is dis
posed, therefore, in three circular tanks,
one aft, one amidships and one forward.
Each of these tanks is of solid wrought
ron, watcr-tight, built on what is s'llcd
the thirty~foot deck, and with some mi
mute differences which are not worth
mentioning, all arc as nearly as possible
alike in size, namely, fifty eight feet di-
amcter and twenty feet high.
The forward tank is, from tho shape
of the ship, smaller in diameter than
those amidships and aft but the heights
of all arc alike. This tank is entirely
finished. The after tank is about three
parts complete; but no commencement
has yet been made with that which will
occupy the midship portion Of the YES
sci, further than the removal Of the
cabins, decks, and, indeed, the entire in
terror portion of the ship. In order to
sustain the enormous additional weight
which will be placed on the decks when
the whole Of the cable is on board, the
deck on which the tanks are erected is
being strengthened by system of knees
and deck beams, while the lateral press
ure of the cable against the sides of the
tanks will be overcome by an arrange
ment of beams and supports, with the
object of combining the dead weight of
the cable to the centre of the ship, and
preventing, or, rather, overcoming the
outward pressure of the enormous mass
when the vessel is rolling-as the Great
Eastern does roll-at sea.
This, not tho least important portion
of the work, is being executed by Mr..
Canning, the company's engineer, to
whom is also coniidcd the general super
intcndcncc Of the equipment OF the
vessel; the experience that gentleman
gained in assisting to lay the former
Atlantic telegraph cable being of great
advantage in making tho necessary pre-
parations for the present undertaking.
The three tanks will hold respectively
eight hundred and seventeen thousand,
eight hundred and three and six hundred
ard thirty-thrco miles Of cable, giving
total length Of two thousand, two hun
drcd and li(ty-thrcc miles. No final
arrangements have yet been made as to
the rules to be followed in laying the
cable, but it will, Of course, be com
menccd from this side of the Atlantic,
and carried across to Newfoundland, to
get the benefit of the western winds,
which generally blow in summer.
Stcaming against head wind, the
Great Eastern is as steady as arock. The
rate of stcaming across will never exceed
seven knots an hour, and at this rate the
great object Of the expedition ought to
be accomplished in from ten to eleven
days. All will, however, depend on fine
weather, which, tickle enough every
where, is trcbly so on the North Allan
tic, as the terrific gale encountered by
the last expedition sufficiently proved
Agaist this misfortune, however, no care
or skill, on the part of the company, can
guard, and at present this seems the
only cloud over the prospects Of the new
Atlantic tclegraph.-London Times, Ja>
injury 81.