APRIL 11, 1884.] 
SCIENCE. 
arranged a sounding-machine, worked by engines, 
and the electric-light apparatus. From the foremast 
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Fie. 2,— Plan of the sounding-apparatus. 
a beam or crane projects beyond the vessel to carry 
the dredges or trawls. 
was devised by Mr. 
Thibaudier, and auto- 
matically registers the 
number} of metres of 
cable run out, and 
stops when the sound- 
ing-cup reaches the 
bottom. Fig. 3 repre- 
sents a part of this 
apparatus, and fig. 2 
the plan of another 
part, in order the bet- 
ter to show its action. 
It is composed of a reel 
(P, fig. 2) on which 
were rolled ten thou- 
sand metres of~ steel 
wire one millimetre in 
diameter. From the 
reel the wire passes 
round a wheel, B, ex- 
actly one metre in cir- 
cumference: from 
there it runs down to 
a wooden slide, A, 
moving along the 
sheers, mounts to a 
fixed block, K, and 
reaches the sounding- 
cup S after having 
The sounding-apparatus used 
Bs os 
i———" 
wheels, showing the number of turns made. 
449 
One 
registers the units, the other the hundreds (fig. 4). 
The latter is graduated to meas- 
ure ten thousand metres. Each 
turn of the wheel B corresponds 
1o one metre, the number indi- 
cated by the register represent- 
ing the depth. On the axis of 
the reel there is a brake. <An- 
other brake, / (fig. 2), is worked 
by a lever, L, at the extremity 
of which there is a cord, C, 
which is fastened to the slide 
A, When the vessel rolls, and 
the tension of the steel wire 
supporting the sounding-cup 
increases or diminishes, the 
slide is slightly Jowered or 
raised along the sheers: in this 
movement it acts more or less 
on the brake, and consequently 
regulates the rapidity: of un- 
rolling. When the sounding- 
cup touches the bottom, the 
running-out of the wire, sud- 
denly relieved of its weights 
(which sometimes amount to 
seventy kilograms), instantly 
stops. 
The action of this apparatus 
is easily understood. 
Fie. 4.—Register of 
sounding-line paid out. 
The sounding-cup and its 
Fig. 3.— General view of the sounding apparatus. 
crossed a guide, g. The wheel B carries at its axis 
an endless screw, which sets in motion two toothed 
weights are arranged 
within the ship. Some 
one is stationed at the 
lever L (fig. 2). The 
register is put at zero. 
Every thing being thus 
arranged, the brake is 
freed, and the unroll- 
ing continues until the 
bottom is reached. 
While sounding, the 
vessel is kept motion- 
less by means of its 
engine, that the wire 
may remain as vertical 
as possible. When the 
bottom is reached, one 
has only to read the 
indication on the regis- 
ter to know the depth. 
Connected with the 
axis of the drum is a 
little engine to raise 
the sounding-cup when 
relieved of its weights. 
The sounding - cup 
(fig. 5) consists of a 
long and stout iron 
tube having two cham- 
bers, placed one on 
the other, and perfectly independent of each other. 
In the upper compartment there is a metallic rod, 
