638 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [84] 



a heavier one being mounted we Lad no further trouble in that direc- 

 tion, although we had to contend with greater inertia incident to the 

 increased weight. This i's of no great importance in moderate depths, 

 but when the weight of wire and its attachments approximate to that 

 of the sinker, every pound of extra weight in the reel detracts from the 

 simplicity and reliability of the apparatus. 



Passed Assistant Engineer George W. Baird, U. S. X., of this vessel, 

 proposed an improved reel, which would not only be stronger and lighter, 

 but would avoid the necessity of throwing off and putting on the belt 

 when a sounding is taken. (Plate III.) Mr. Baird describes this im- 

 portant addition to the sounding machine as follows: 



" It is made of aluminum bronze, cast b}' the Cowles Electric Smelt- 

 ing and Aluminum Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, and finished by D. 

 Ballauf, of Washington, D. C. This metal is reported, after tests by re- 

 sponsible engineers, as standing a tensile strain of over 100,000 pounds 

 per square inch, and is represented as being as strong as the best steel 

 as regards compression and torsion. 



"The reel is cast in one piece and the rims are strengthened by 

 numerous ribs which do not materially increase its weight. 



"The objections to the old reel are its great weight and consequent 

 inertia when revolving at high speed, as in sounding; the delay incident 

 to putting on the belt, and working the water of condensation out of 

 the steam cylinder when starting to reel in; also the necessity of ship- 

 ping the cranks and heaving in the first few fathoms by hand. 



"These objections were kept in mind while making the, present design. 

 The bronze reel A and cast-iron pulley D are mounted on the shaft B. 

 The pulley is grooved (d) to carry the belt. The original frames CC 

 are used. The pulley D is driven from the same engine and belt which 

 drove the old reel; with the new reel in use the engine is kept running 

 all the time, revolving the pulley D in a direction to reel in the wire. 



"The pulley D has its rim beveled and fitted to a corresponding sur- 

 face on the reel A, and when pressed together will, by its friction, carry 

 the reel with it. The pulley D may be pressed against A, or withdrawn 

 from it through the intervention of the clutch lever E and crank F. 

 The open end of the lever E, which permits the pulley and reel being- 

 lifted out of the frame without the lever E being disturbed, is the de- 

 sign of Lieut.-Commauder Z. L. Tanner. To retard the velocity of the 

 reel when paying out wire the lever G and its attached brake (shown in 

 dotted lines) are provided. The operation of the machine is as follows: 

 Turn the crank F to the left, which withdraws the friction wheel D 

 from its contact with the reel A, when the latter being freed will re- 

 volve and pay out the wire by gravity. The engine is then started and 

 the pulley D revolved in the opposite direction, i. e., the direction to 

 reel in the wire. When the sinker reaches the bottom the crank F is 

 quickly revolved to the right, which throws the friction in gear and 

 starts the reel A to winding in the wire. 



