THE LAYING OF SUBBIABINE CABLES. 143 



This length laid turned out to be 3,458 nautical miles, the 

 longest cable in the world. This Company also laid for the 

 Commercial Pacific Cable Co. the Honolulu to Manila section 

 of 5,800 nautical miles. 



The cable ship "Cambria," of 1,800 gross tonnage, owned 

 by this Company, was built in 1904 to take the place of the 

 "Britannia," purchased by the Eastern Telegraph Company for 

 use as a repairing ship. The "Scotia" made considerable history 

 in cable laying under the Telegraph Construction Co. This vessel 

 was the last of the great Cunard paddle steamers, and after a 

 long Atlantic service was converted to screw and adapted for 

 cable work. Finally she belonged to the Commercial Pacific Cable 

 Co. as a laying and repairing steamer, and was lost on the 

 Catalan Shoal, Guam Harbour, in the Ladrones, in March, 1905. 



Between 1900 and 1903 the Telegraph Construction Co. laid 

 cables completely round the world. The direct cable from 

 England to the Cape — that is, touching at islands only, not the 

 coast — was laid in 1900, and afterwards extended to Australia 

 by way of Mauritius, Cocos, Fremantle and Adelaide. The 

 Cocos to Fremantle line was submerged in the deepest water 

 yet encountered in cable laying, its route crossing that portion 

 of the South Indian Ocean known as the " Wharton Deep," 

 with a depth of 3,500 fathoms. In 1900 the cable from Ger- 

 many to New York was laid. The girdle round the earth was 

 completed in October, 1902, by the laying of the Pacific cable 

 between Queensland, Norfolk Island, New Zealand, Fiji, 

 Fanning Island and Canada. 



This system of cables totalled up to 29,000 miles and, includ- 

 ing other smaller cables made in the same period by this famous 

 Company, there were 37,000 miles of cable produced, equal to 

 an average of 40 miles per day throughout the three years. In 

 times of greatest pressure the speed of manufacture exceeded 

 60 miles per day, thus surpassing all records to that time. 



The next cable ship in order of size is the " Stephan," of 

 6,050 gross tonnage, owned by theNorddeutsche Seekabelwerke. 



The cable ship " Silvertown," belonging to the India Rubber, 

 Gutta Percha, and Telegraph Works Company, is illustrated 

 herewith from a photograph (Fig. 68). She is 350ft. long, 

 55ft. broad, and 34ft. 6in. deep, is fitted with engines of 1,800 

 I.H.P., and steams at a speed of 10^ knots, with a consumption 



