av DEEP-SEA SOUNDING. 341 



The wire that I have found suitable is pianoforte 

 wire of the Birmingham gauge No. 22. It w r eighs 

 about 14 J Ibs. to one nautical mile, and bears from 

 230 Ibs. to 240 Ibs. without breaking. The quality 

 of wire which I described to the meeting of the 

 British Association at Brighton was special wire 

 made for the purpose by Messrs. Johnson, the 

 celebrated wire-makers of Manchester. They suc- 

 ceeded in producing a length of crucible steel wire 

 of three miles in one piece, which certainly was a 

 great feat in the w r ay of wire-making. This wire 

 was supplied by them to me as capable of bearing 

 a pull of about 230 Ibs. I tested many specimens 

 of it, and I found that none of them broke with a 

 less pull than about 220 Ibs., and many of them 

 bore as much as 240 Ibs. The wire then fulfilled 

 all that the makers promised, and it had that 

 quality which then seemed of paramount importance 

 a great length in one piece of metal. The truth 

 is, that one of the supposed " impossibilities " was 

 safe splices. However, splices must be made : and 

 in my first trials I succeeded by making a long 

 twist of two pieces of wire together, and running 



