586 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [74] 



of equal strength to the wire itself. This has been overcome by the 

 American expeditions in the manner described below. 



A piece of small rope, called the stray line, and measuring from 10 to 

 15 fathoms in length, is spliced to the lower end of the wire for the at- 

 tachment of the sinker. It is discussed farther on. 



The following account of the method of protecting the wire during 

 storage is taken from Commander Sigsbee's description : " When the 

 wire was received in sealed tin cans, the latter were painted and stowed 

 below in a safe place, after which only an occasional inspection or 

 touching up of the outside of the cans was necessary. When it was 

 supplied to us in coils, wrapped with oil paper, we would parcel each 

 coil with soft canvas and then apply several coats of paint before stow : 

 ing them below. Once when we wished to stow away a spare reel con- 

 taining several thousand fathoms of wire, and had no tank available, 

 we left the coil upon the reel, covered the upper layers with old washed 

 flannel saturated with sperm oil, spread tallow over the flannel to a 

 depth of half an inch, and then wrapped the whole reel in old canvas 

 and stowed it below in a cool place. Our methods in this respect an- 

 swered the purpose for which they were intended. * * * A simple 

 method of stowage and supply of wire would be to transfer the commer- 

 cial coils, as soon as they are received, to special cast-iron reels or 

 drums, capable of holding four or five times as much as the ordinary 

 sounding reels. In winding the wire to the supply-drums the splices 

 might be completed at once, which would give the advantage of always 

 having the supply in very long lengths, from which losses could be 

 quickly replaced at sea or in port. These drums, when wound with 

 wire, might be kept in tanks of oil or lime-water. * * * The wind- 

 ing of the wire from a turn-table is a slow operation and can best be 

 done in port. 



"The preservation of the wire when on the working reel is an impor- 

 tant point, but presents no serious obstacle to the use of wire for sound- 

 ing. When not on our lines the sounding-reel and its wire were kept in 

 a cylindrical tank of galvanized sheet iron, containing sperm oil. The 

 tank is built up inside so that, as nearly as possible, there is but a film 

 of oil beneath and at the sides of the reel, while on top it is covered to a 

 depth of about one or two inches. The cover is a flat, circular piece of 

 sheet-iron, riveted all around its edge to the under side of a wrought- 

 iron ring, the latter being perforated to receive screws projecting at 

 regular intervals through a second wrought-iron ring or flange, fastened 

 around the inside of the top edge of the tank. In the center of the cover 

 is a square hole, through which the axle of the reel is allowed to pro- 

 ject. A sheet-iron cylindrical water-tight cap, to fit over this hole, is a 

 desideratum. It should be about 6 inches in diameter and 4 inches high, 

 so as to cover the stray line, which, being connected with the wire, is 

 rove up through the central hole and coiled down upon the tank when 

 the reel is stowed. The cover of the tank when in place is set up firm 



