Carson daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1873-1877, 1873-06-22
ATLANTIC TELEGRA PLY.

Writing from Portland, English Chan
ne,, on the I'D ,.,ti.no, the correspond
ent Of tie London Standard says:
The Great Eastern has for the second
time commenced one of those great lab
OTIS which astonish the world, viz: to lay
new Atlantic cable from Valencia to
Hearts Content, Newfoundland, and
then to return and pick up and repair
the broken Atlantic cable Of 1865. The
| cable has, it is believed, quite parted at
| a distance the tests show to be SO miles
off Valencia and in 1900 fathoms of va
ter. 1t has parted at a depth of more
than two miles beneath the Atlantic. The
Great Eastern came to Portland On We'd
nes!ay afternoon and anchored. inside
the east end of the breakwater, in about
eight or nine fathoms. The Great East
ern draws about twelve feet of water,
but has yet to take COCO tons of coal,
which viii bring her down to thirty-four
feet six inches. At this depth she viii
have eighteen inches less immersion than
when she started with the cable for In
dia. Or than when she rounded the Cape
of Good Hope in very bad weather. The
cable is Just 2, 500 miles long, and roughly
to average about three and half tons
per mile-that is to say, the shore end
weighs eighteen tons per mile, the inter-
mediate portions ten per mile, and the
deep sea portion thirty-seven cwt. per
nil, 1,,k owl = ri .x,-f -,
The cable is of three different sizes for
Quoting wires and the insulation are the
onter casing of iron wires that the diff
ference of weight consists. The cable
is much the same as the last that was
laid, except that its insulation is higher
The counter conducting wire is seven
strands of copper. This is insulated by
thin coats of gutta percha, with one coat
of Smiths compound between each.
Around the core are eight strands Of gal
vanized iron wire, each covered with tar
red hemp, and over all comes a coating
of Clark's compound of silica and tar,
which is must useful, but makes the
whole RESEMBLE a tarred stick. Of
course this description mainly applies to
the deep sea-that is the greatest portion |
of the cable. The intermediate portions |
though made ON the same pattern. are |
cased in with five times heavier wire.
while the shore ends are almost solid |
iron. The breaking-strain of the deep |
sea portions is six and a half tons-the |
of the intermediate cable /
is at least twice that All the present !
cable is slowed in four tanks on board
the Great Eastern. The first tank, which |
is seventy-three feet in diameter, and
feet deep, contains 547 miles.
The main tank, which is seventy-eight
feet in diameter, or about as large almost
rs the circus at Astley's, contains 1910
miles. The third and fourth tanks,
" hich are nearly the same size of the
first tank contains almost to a mile the
same quantity. AL the tanks are kept
filed with sea water, butthere are means
for letting it off in case Of the ship get
ling into a beam sea and rolling much.
This, however, has never yet arisen, and
The contingency is not looked forward to
now. With the expedition go three
steamers, the Robert Lowe, the Edin-
burgh, and the Hibernia. The Robert
Lowe only takes intermediate cable. OF
this the ship has thirty-eight miles-that
is to say, 500 tons-which, with Goals
and other apparatus, makes a fair load
Tor her. The Edinburgh and Hbenia
take the cables which are to be laid from
Placencia Bay, near Hearts Content,
1irect across to the little town of Sidney,
near Cape Breton.