82 WONDERS OF THE DEEP 



A modern diving suit is a model of ingenuity 

 and skill, every device and precaution being taken to 

 ensure the safety of the occupant. The diver puts on 

 the lower part of his elastic, water-proof, rubberised 

 suit like he does a pair of trousers. A highly- 

 planished copper shoulder-piece fixes tightly to the 

 shoulders, and thus forms a firm base for the helmet. 

 When this has been donned, the helmet is adjusted 

 very carefully to the breast-plate, to which it is fast- 

 ened by means of metal screws. After the diver's 

 boots, each of which, by the way, has a lead or gun- 

 metal sole, and weighs from fourteen to sixteen 

 pounds, have been buckled on, the diver is in an 

 air-tight suit, which envelops his body from the neck 

 to the toes. The sleeves, it may be added, are made 

 in such a way that they form a water-tight joint at 

 the diver's wrists. 



The helmet, which is the last part of the diving 

 suit to be adjusted, is provided with a flexible air tube, 

 through which air from above is pumped to the 

 diver by means of a pumping machine, usually worked 

 by hand. It also contains an arrangement by which 

 the foul air breathed out by the diver can escape, and 

 when the diver is under water this can be seen issuing 

 in the form of a series of bubbles. These bubbles are 

 very anxiously watched by those on board, for their 

 regular appearance affords an indication that all is 

 well with the diver. Should they, from any cause, 

 cease to appear, this shows that something has hap- 

 pened, and the diver must be raised to the surface at 

 once. The helmet is generally provided with three 



