The Washington times., 1908-07-12

eating and drinking. otherwise he VIII /
be unable o bear the pressure and |
strain con- -quent on his work.
The pressure Of sea water Is O.44
pound per square inch for every foot
In depth. so that al a depth Of ninety
feet the diver viii have to sustain
pressure OF forty pounds on each square
/ inch over the whole surface Of his body,
the average Of which is about I.4O0
square inches; therefore the weight 10
he borne will be twenty-five tons plus
the ordinary atmospheric pressure Of
nine tons. equal 70 total load Of thirty
four tons; but as this Is equalized both
inside and outside his body he viii not
/ experience much discomfort. The first
/ thing that a diver does is 10 see that the
/ air pump is in working order, and prop
I erly lashed or otherwise secured. TO
the launch; also that the air pump.
I upon which his life depends. and the
/ lifeline are IN a satisfactory condition.
Boots Twenty Pounds Each.
The diver next puts the helmet on
temporarily and blows through the air
I inlet and outlet valves TO see that they
I work properly. are clean and not COW
/ cred with verdigris (the diving dress
\ has previously been tested BY filling IL
/ with water and allowing It 10 remain
! full for d certain number Of hoursJ.
/ He then divests himself OF his coat and
! cons the thick. white wooden under
/ clothing, which consists OF two pairs OF
| stockings which reach up 10 his hips,
Two pairs OF drawers, two vests or fer-
! seys ans a red wooden cap-aH 70 keen
/ MIN warm Next he gets with assist
| ance) into the diving dress through tho
1 AZ
! two th-cknesses OF strong cak-tanned
cotton twill, with a lining Of vUlcanized
/ RED rubber between the cloth LAYERS.
/ and is fitted with rubber toecaps. wrist
| ''1nds and neck collar. To assist the
! hands through the rubber wristbands
Z they must be well soaped- The boots
are next put on These are made Of
/ thick leather Uppers with leather straps.
/ fixed 10 heavy brass soIes shaped like
| clogs They weigh from 10 ID % pounds
each The EUnmetal corselet. forming
! N one piece the breast and back plates.
is now put on over a pad which rests
| on the divers shoulders, the rubber
collar Of the dress, which has either
or j holes in II. is pulled over the
studs in the cOrselet and secured bv
/ sunmetGl collars or clamps fastened.
/ down oy wing or fly nuts. Lead v-efghrs
weighing from 80 TO 40 pounds each are
hooked onto the corselet. one in front
and the other at the back. The helmet
/ which IS made OF timed copper. weigh
/ Ing 70 pounds per square foot and hay-
/ Ing a double thickness Of copper on ton.
/ IS next screwed on by turning II round
| one-eighth O. a circle. The total weight
| Of the helmet and cOrseIet is about A
! pounds.
Suit Weighs I64 Pounds.
The diver is now assisted 10 the SIDE
Of tie boat. for he has a difficulty in
walking with total load OF about i5a
| pounds on him A leather belt with
sheath knife is fastened round his
waist. round which also the lifeline IS
attached; the air supply pipe. which en-
/ tiers at the back Of the helmet. is pass
ed under his left armpit and attached 70
/ the helmet by a piece Of rope.
/ II the water is very cold. and he is
likely 70 be down for some considerable
time, ne puts on a pair Of wooden gloves
/ and over these q pair of red rubber
gloves The diver now receives his final
instructions. the men commence 10
work tEe air pumps, and his front face
plate. with glass ave-eighths OF an inch
thick, IS screwed o.. The sensations
experienced by him when that Is done
| are rather curious. for ne Is now ccnn-
FIeteIy shut out from the world and
can hear nothing but the beats Of the
air pumps and the 'pish-tish" Of the
air as # enters al the back Of his hel-
met. from whence II is conveyed 70 the
/ front aud spreads over the glass plates
/ to prevent them from becoming logged
through condensation of his breath. IN
shallow water ne descends by means
OF either an ordinary or a rope ladder.
But for deep water diving a strong
rope attached to 2 easrron sInker Is
let down until the weight touches the
bottom. The diver can then swarm
Land-over-hand, down or UP the rope
with ease: or he may be lowered q
i means of n lifeline or in a bOatswain's
chair 4 few taps on the shoulder is
the signal for the diver 10 descend.
Great Air Pressure.
/ This he does very slowly. for when the
air pressure Is first put on he feels
I rather uncomfortable There is a sing
ing sensation in the ears. to get rid
Of which he gulps down the incoming
air with his saliva in mOUthfUls. This
viii cause the noise 10 vanish. eqUHi9-
rum having been restored in the in
! terror and on the exterior Of the body
AS he goes down, should the singing
/ noise recUr, he comes up again a few
steps and rests until II disappears As
he descends the water is first OF a
greenish color; but the lower he goes
down the darker II becomes until he
reaches the bottom Of the sea, where
the darkness is sometimes intense. es-
! pecIaIIy should the water be muddy,
he IS obliged to feel his way about.
The first thing the diver does on reach
ing the bottom is to give one pull 10
, the life line. which informs the man
holding the other end in the boat
whose duty it is to keep in touch with
the diver and watch the pressure
/ gauge) that 'AII is right" and next to
. / regulate his air outlet valve attached
. 10 the right side of the helmet; he turns
this valve until the air escapes with
, ! lust sufficient velocity to allow the
, | weight of the helmet to bear lightly on
| his shoulder for il must be under
| stood that the diver IS extremely buoy
| ant IN the water. and too much air Will
| cause him to rise OF the bottom Of the
sea.
His Life Line.
, !