316 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
precision under all conditions of service; lienee tlie actual resistance imposed upon the 
reel by the friction line becomes a matter of indifference. 
The wire guard r is a T-shaped brass plate hinged to the bedplate a. Its head 
is faced with sole leather and covers the width of the reel between the flanges. The 
leather re.sts fairly on the wire when it is in action and a gentle pressure is maintained 
by a spiral spring attached to the middle of the upright part of the T and to the 
bed-plate a under light tension. The contact of guard and wire takes place at 
the forward lower quarter of the reel and is intended to supplement the action of 
the friction line by supporting the slack turns of wire and causing them to be seen 
more quickly on the upper surface, also to prevent their flying off from the lower part 
of the reel before they are apparent to the eye of the attendant. 
While the relief afforded by the guard is momentary only, it serves to give 
timely warning to the vigilant operator who is speeding his work by veering wire to 
the utmost limit of safety. 
The brahe s is practically indispensable when, from the breaking of a belt or 
friction line, the reel becomes unmanageable and can not be safely stopped by throwing 
the pawl into action. 
The register t is of brass and has three dials marked for units, hundreds, and 
thousands; its gearing engages the worm wheel on the axle of the reel, and can be 
quickly thrown into or out of action, or removed 
from the machine. It registers the number of 
turns of wire paid out, the corresponding num- 
ber of fathoms being found by reference to a 
correction curve or table prepared for each 
reel. 
The reeling engine u is a Copeland & 
Bacon half trunk, designed for the pur^iose, 
6^-inch cylinder and G-iuch stroke; it has a 
light-iron frame, cast in one piece, and is bolted 
secureljMipon the inboard end of the bedplate a. 
The driving pulley v has a V-groove correspond- 
ing to that on the reel j), over which the belt x 
is run; the steam connection w is on the right 
side of the cylinder, and the exhaust valve and 
Cut 38.— Ratcliet crank, front and side steam chest are Oil its left side. 
Flexible hose, or rigid steam and exhaust 
pipes, maybe used, and where the machine rigs out and in it may be advisable to have 
a pipe connection on the deck near it and a flexible attachment admitting of the 
necessary movement. 
The ratchet cranh shi^is on the squared end of the crank shaft of the reeling engine 
and is used to work water out of the cylinder, also to assist in starting the engine 
slowly to avoid sudden and undue strain on the sounding wire; it can be unshipped 
after the engine has been started or left hanging in place, where it will remain in a 
vertical position, the ratchet preventing its revolving with the shaft. Cut 38 shows 
front view and side view of the ratchet crank. It was devised by the writer and 
constructed by Chief Engineer Baird of the Albatross. 
The belt x is of IS or 21 thread ratline stuff, made in the form of a grommet strap, 
with small sewed seizings covering the ends in the splice, to i)revent their working 
