THE CABLE SHIP ON BEPAIRS. 



279 



every two wires alternately if small, or every one alternately 

 if large wires, are snipped off short, so as to exactly butt the 

 ends of the right wires. The alternate pairs of 

 wires remaining on the left side, which are all 

 about 60ft. in length, are then laid in turn on the 

 right side, corresponding pairs of right wires being 

 unlaid to receive them. Take, for instance, one 

 such pair. It is first of all noticed which pair of 

 right wires lies in the same lay as the pair of left 

 wires we are considering. This pair of right wires 

 is then unlaid for some distance, say SOft., and the 

 corresponding pair of left wires threaded in under 

 the seizings, so as to lay in the place thus vacated 

 for them. One wire of the left pair, and one wire 

 of the right pair, which lie in the same lay, are 

 then snipped off so that their ends lie exactly butt 

 together. The single right wire that remains is 

 then further unlaid, and is followed up by the re- 

 maining left wire, which is laid in the place vacated 

 by it. This is continued for about SOft. further, 

 when the ends of both wires are snipped, so as to lie 

 butt together. The next alternate pair of wires is 

 then taken and treated in the same manner ; this 

 time the wires being cut at shorter distances than 

 the above, ao that the butted ends do not all lie 

 near together; The next pair follows, and the 

 wires are cut at still shorter distances than the 

 preceding ones, and so on to the last pair ; the pro- 

 cedure in this respect being similar to that in 

 manufacture, when no weld in any of the sheathing 

 wires is allowed to be nearer than ten feet to any 

 other weld in the same or any other wire. With 

 the left wires 60ft, long as given above, and with 

 16 sheathing wires as shown in the illustration, 

 there would be eight wires carried over on to the 

 right side, and the butt joints between these and 

 the right wires would be at distances of nearly 8ft. 

 apart. 



The appearance of the splice so made is represented in 

 Fig. 164, where the left wiras are shaded, so that their course 



