Year: 1865

machines in the presence Of a large num-


Der of distinguished visitors who hsd as


sembled TO do honor to the occasion. eAI


the most distinguished electrieisns sDC


engineers and all theu leading scientific


gentlemen who have 90 long watched and


aided to the utmost of their power the pro-


motion of this great scheme, we're present


As mere sight there was, Of course, very
| little 70 be witnessed-much lese, ID fact


than might have been seen at she works


any day in the twelve months past. Only
| one machine had half mile to complete


that is to say, TO case the core with Mr..


Wrights most ingenious and simple patent


of wire enclosed with strands Of hemp


which form the outer covering. - When


all the visitors were assembled this


was started, and the core wound regularly


and slowly through the centre Of the ma


chine, which, revolving round at great


speed, completed the outer cases of hemp


and iron. Working ct fourteen hours per


day, each machine is able thus to cover


four miles an hour, the average rate of


manufacture for the four machines having


been about seventeen miles per day. as


the cable is drs En out Of the maehine, it


passes through a gusgs which presses 1t


nrmly, and then out of the msnutAcsory


away to the tanks, where it Is coiled under
water, and every change in its electrical


condition noted with care and minuteness


that have certsinly never yet been applied


to any other cable. From first to last


indeed, it has been subjected TO . series


of the most searching electrical tests, the


standard of insulation being fixed


at resistance per nautical mile equsl to


100000 Siemen's units, st tempers-


ture of IS degrees standard wholly un-
precedented in any former work Of the


kind. In actual practice these tests, great


As they were, have been considerably ex-


ceeded, and the present Atlantic cable hss


come OUT successfully y from series ofitrizls
Of the most crucial character The results


which have been obtained have been due


mainly to the searching investigation into


the qualities of insulating substances which


is now practicable by means of the beauti-1
ful mirror galvanometer Of Prof. Thomp-
son. t r- C


Toward five o'clock the last few fAthoms


Of the great coil began to be drawn into
the machine, and in q few minutes after
the end was wound up self acting bell
rang to give notice that the machine was
empty, and almost at the same moment
the end came down into the tank, and the
last coil Of the cable was slowed away.
The next great object of interest was the


inspection Of the psying-out apparatus,
which has been already fixed up, and BY
means Of sn endless band, kept constantly
running. This beautiful machine is an
improved snd extedded copy, so far As the
general principle is concerned, of that
used on board the Agsmemnon during
the first memorable attempts lis
great improvements and modifcs.
tions, however, are very great. Though \
stronger and much larger, 1t is very much
lighter, being made almost entirely of
wrought iron. 1t has six leading wheels,
round which the cable passes In deep
grooves before reaching the msin wheel
or drum, from which it will be finally sub
merged. Each groove in these six wheels
is surmounted by Whist is termed jockey
pulley-thst is to say, 8 solid wheel, which
Keeps the rope down In the groove and
prevents it overriding or getting out of
place. The main drum is about seven /
feet in diameter, and in paying out will
have three coils round il, with q guiding
piece of Wrought-iron pressing on them
TO Beep them compsctly together.
As the friction on the guider is
great and constant, duplicrte is crowded
IN case Of hentiDSI which can De put IN gear
with the rest ofthe machinery without the
slightest stoPpage Of any part. A second
drum has also been fitted In case of any,.
thing going wrong with the first. Each of
these drums is fitted with 8 distinct set of
simple and most ingenious brakes, invent
A hvrM NJ v.r1r1A FNn ha At /
The ordinary condition of these brakes is
to maintain sufficient check upon the
drum to keep strain of ssy 30 cWt. or 20 |
cwt- upon the rope, going out, but it con-
stsntly happens that q sudden rise Of the
ships stern from a wave gives the
cable strain that requires instant removal
Of the brakes to remove it The simplicity
of the apparatus for opening and shutting
the brakes is most beautiful of all Opposite
the dynomimeter is placed 8 tiller-Wheel,
and the man in charge of this never lets il |
20 nor slackens in his attention for an in
slant, but watches the rise and fall of the
dynsmimeter, as q sailor at the wheel
watches his compass A single movement
of this wheel to the right puts the breaks
on, q turn TO the left opens them. The
whole machine on Monday worked beauti-
fully, and with 60 little friction that when |
the breaks were removed weight of zoo
lbs. was sufficient to draw the cable
through it.


In order to guard against any possible
sources Of accident, every preparation has
been made in case Of the worst, and in the
event of very bad weather, for cutting the
cable adrift and buoying it. For this pur-
pose wire rope of great strength and no
less than five miles long, having distint-
i've mark at every loo fsthoms will be ta-
ken in the Great Eastern. This, of course
is only carried in case of desperate events
arising, and in the earnest hope that not an
inch of it will ever be required. If its SER
vices should be wanted, the cable would be
firmly made fast to its extremity, and
go many hundred fathems Of the wire rope
to the depth of water the cable
was in, measured out. To the other end of
the rope an immense body would be at
tsched, and the whole then cut sdrift and
left to itself till better weather. In the ex-
perimental cruises which were undertaken
before the starting of the last Atlantic ex-
pediLion, this attempt at buoying the cable
was often tried in the deep water of the
Bay of Biscsy, but never with any great
success, and in very deep water il would
be most forlorn hope, indeed, to try it st
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