CAB 
of cedar, but seldom of deal, or any otlier 
wood of a soft texture. The drawers may 
be from fifteen to thirty inches in length, 
the same, or nearly the same, in breadth, 
and about two or three inches in depth. The 
cork with which the bottoms are lined must 
be chosen as tree from cracks and holes as 
possible ; it should be also glued into the 
drawers to prevent its warping, and be filed 
or cut very level ; and after this the irregu- 
larities on the surface of the cork should be 
rubbed down with pumice-stone, till the 
whole is rendered perfectly smooth, before 
the paper is pasted over it. The paper 
should be of a fine smooth and even grain, 
but neither veiy stout nor highly stiffened 
with size, lest it should turn the points of 
the pins, when placing the insects in the 
drawers. The top of every drawer must 
be covered with a plate of glass, to prevent 
the admission of dust or air. This plate is 
usually fitted into a frame of the same size 
as the drawer, and is made either to slide in 
a groove, or let in on a rabbet ; the latter 
contiivance is much the best, because in 
sliding the glass along the groove, if any of 
the pins happen to stand so high as to touch 
the frame-work, the insects will be injured 
by the jerk, or, as more fi-equently happens 
in this case, be broken to pieces. On the 
contrary, when the frame falls in upon a 
rabbet, it is of no consequence whether the 
edge of the fi-ame sinks into the drawer be- 
low the level of the heads of the pins on 
which the insects are placed or not ; it is 
only necessary to observe, that the glass 
does not press upon the pins, since it is the 
glass only that can come in contact with 
them. 
CABLE, a thick, large, strong rope, com- 
monly of hemp, which serves to keep a ship 
at anchor. 
There is no merchant ship, however 
weak, but has, at least, three cables; name- 
ly, the chief cable, or cable of the sheet- 
anchor, a common cable, and a smaller 
one. 
Cable is also said of ropes which serve to 
raise heavy loads by the help of cranes, 
pullies, and other engines. The name of 
cable is usually given to such as are, at 
least, three inches in diameter ; those that 
are less are only called ropes of different 
names, according to their use. 
Every cable, of what thickness soever it 
be, is composed of tliree strands, every 
strand of three ropes, and every rope of 
three twists ; tlie twist is made of more or 
CAB 
less threads, according as the cable is to be 
thicker or thinner. 
In tlie manufacture of cables, after the 
ropes are made, tliey use sticks, which they 
pass first between the ropes of which they 
make the strands, and afterwards between 
the strands of which they make the cable, 
to the end that tliey may all twist the bet- 
ter, and be more regularly wound together ; 
and also to prevent them from twining or 
entangling, they hang at tlie end of each 
strand and of each rope a weight of lead or 
of stone. 
The number of threads each cable is com^ 
posed of is always proportioned to its length 
and thickness ; and it is by this number of 
threads that its weight and value are ascer- 
tained; thus a cable of three inches circum- 
ference, or one inch diameter, ought to con- 
sist of 48 ordinary threads, and weigh I9g 
pounds ; and on this foundation is calculat- 
ed the following table, very useful for all 
people engaged in marine commerce, who 
fit out merchant-men for their own account, 
or freight them for the account of otliers. 
A table of the number of threads and 
weight of cables of different circumterences. 
Circumf. 
Threads. 
Weight. 
3 inches. 48 
4 
5 
.... 121 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
... 952 
15 
....4372 
16 
...1244 
17 
...1404 
18 
19 
20 
Cable, sheet anchor, is the greatest cable 
belonging to a ship. 
Cable, to splice a, is to make two pieces 
fast together, by working the several threads 
of the rope, the one into the other. 
Cable, pay more, is to let more out of the 
ship. Pay cheap the cable, is to hand it out 
apace. Veer more cable, is to let more 
out, &c. 
CABLED, in heraldry, a term applied to 
a cross, formed of the two ends of a ship's 
