120 A SAGA OF THE SEAS 
ing oxidation of the iron sheathing of cables; this was in con- 
nection with their work for the British Government in laying 
a cable to India by way of the Persian Gulf. Varley, who 
helped Field later in the electrical technique, estimated that 
an Atlantic cable should transmit eight words a minute—and 
possibly as high as thirteen. Such an optimistic prophecy was 
ridiculed, but was afterwards fulfilled despite the slowing 
tendency of self-induction. 
The short cables laid by British engineers during this pe- 
riod also brought to light a large fund of information of 
which the early pioneers had been largely ignorant. The 
failure of the Red Sea cable, laid by Lionel Gisborne with 
the cooperation of the Turkish and British governments, 
showed what to avoid. Its construction was too fragile for the 
rough places where it lay, and the sections were laid too taut 
without enough slack for an uneven bottom. So faulty was 
this cable that a complete message was never sent through the 
entire length, and the different sections failed one by one. 
The British Government’s loss of a large sum of money in 
this abortive undertaking spoiled official enthusiasm for sev- 
eral years after 1859. 
In 1864, however, the success of the cable to India by way 
of the Persian Gulf revived public hopes and clarified the 
technical procedure. The long Mediterranean cables be- 
tween France and Algeria, and between Malta and Alex- 
andria, had also taught a number of lessons to the British 
engineers in charge. Moreover, the merger in 1864 of the 
two leading firms of Glass, Elliott & Company and the Gutta 
Percha Company into the new Telegraph Construction & 
Maintenance Company brought into cooperation the most 
experienced veterans in the making and laying of cables. ‘To 
Field’s great joy this strong corporation promptly subscribed 
for such a large block of Atlantic Telegraph stock that no 
more subscriptions were necessary. Over half of the new issue 
of six hundred pounds was taken up by these contractors. 
