For the present we will confine ourselves to those having their origin in the vegetable kingdom, and more especially to those made from hemp and manila.
These are divided into three classes:—
(1). A Hawser-laid Rope, which is composed of three strands laid up generally right-handed (that is, the direction taken by the strands in forming the rope runs always from left to right) (Fig. 1.)
(2). A Shroud-laid Rope, also laid up right-handed, but consisting of four strands (Fig. 2) with a heart in the centre.
(3). A Cable-laid Rope, which is composed of three right-handed hawser-laid ropes laid up together left-handed, so that it may be said to consist of nine strands (Fig. 3), or it may be formed by three left-handed ropes laid up right-handed (Fig. 4).
In Fig. 4 we show a more complete analysis of its construction (in this case a right-handed cable-laid rope).