FISHIN(;-LINES. 255 



all parts. By the time the car has reached the foot of the walk each 

 of the 2-4 strands has received the proper twist, so many turns to 

 the inch. The strands are then gathered up in groups of tliree and 

 tied to spindles on a tender or second car at the foot of the walk. 

 This tender is operated by rope-belfes from the machine at the head 

 of the walk. When the strands are secured to the eight spindles of 

 the tender the car starts back to the head of the walk, leaving the 

 tender to twist the strands into cords. It follows them up, very 

 slowly, to allow the cords to contract in length as they are twisted. 



If this twisting of the cord as a whole were all the twist given, the 

 cord would only be a string, the strands would be simply collected 

 in a round form, and would have but little power to resist an un- 

 twisting tendency when wet or cut into pieces. But after a strand 

 is formed, if some additional twist be given it, the fibers are bent and 

 stretched until they acquire a strong reactionary force. They seek 

 continually to straighten and contract themselves, and if the ends of 

 the strand be kept from untwisting while it is given some slack, 

 the strand will double up on itself, and then twist in the opposite di- 

 rection from that of the first twist. In the cords thus formed the 

 strands have lost as much of their twist as was required to form the 

 cord ; hence, they have lost the most of their reactionary, spiral 

 tendency. But if the strands be given some additional twist to com- 

 pensate for this loss, while the whole line is given its twist, the re- 

 actionary force of each strand will make it intertwine closely with 

 the others, and hold them together in a compact, permanent twist. 



A fish-line differs from a string in having just tliis additional twist 

 of the strands. For this object, the machine at the head of the walk 

 continues to twist the strands, while the tender twists the line. The 

 line is given a little superfluous twist merely for the sake of forcing 

 the strands to assume a smooth, compact service ; some of this stiper- 

 fluous twist comes out when the line is wet, but the line can not be 

 opened or untwisted without removing and untwisting each strand. 

 It is readily seen that the amount of twist has a great effect on the 

 strength of a line, for too little twist fails to bind the fibers together, 

 and too much subjects them to uneven and destructive strain. 

 Hence, machinery, by securing the utmost accurac}^ makes the most 

 perfect lines in this respect. And it also makes them rapidly and 

 cheaply. If the threads were perfectly even and clean the lines 



