158 



SUBMARINE CABLE LAYING AND KEPAIEING. 



ropes in turn, so that the strain comes gradually on the stern. 

 The ship in the meantime is manoeuvred round to clear the 

 bows from the cable and swing stern on, and is then set on her 

 course and resumes paying out as before. 



If the cable parts at any time a mark buoy is immediately 

 slipped and moored. The ship then takes up a position 

 by bearings from the buoy, lowers the grapnel, and steams 

 slowly across the line of cable backwards and forwards 



Fig. 76. — Touking's Key. 



until the lost end is recovered. The end is then spliced to 

 cable in tank, and paying out resumed. 



-'-^- Returning now to the test room on board, it has been mentioned 

 that the ship reverses the current every hour. For this pur- 

 pose, and also for reversing the galvanometer when required, 

 there are several forms of reversing switches in use. As a 

 galvanometer reverser, the switch shown in Fig. 75 is much 

 in use, and generally connected and fixed near to the short- 



