The next process in the formation of a rope is the making of the strand. This may be composed of any number of yarns—in a cable twelve inches in circumference there are eighty yarns in a strand, and in the very largest rope cables three hundred and sixty; however, few if any ropes are now made of the last dimensions, as chain cables have superseded hempen cables of large size; the latter being, in the present day, seldom more than twelve inches in circumference, except for Her Majesty’s navy.
The making of the strand of a rope is now performed by machinery. A frame consisting of a great variety of bobbins, each loaded with yarn and posted upon a pivot so as to rotate easily, occupies one end of the factory; the ends of all these yarns, from twenty to eighty, are made to pass through an equal number of small holes in a convex plate attached to the central machine, and then combined into one close group. This group next passes through a tube, whose diameter is such as to compress the yarns into close contact, and lastly is wound on a large reel attached to the machine. Meanwhile the twist is given to the strand by a remarkable arrangement—the whole of the machinery from the tube to the reel rotates round a horizontal axis, and in so doing imparts a twist to the strand, which is passing round the various wheels. The different arrangements are very beautiful. In the first place each bobbin rotating separately on its axle, gives off just as much yarn as the strand requires, so that all become equally strained by the outer yarns being somewhat longer than the inner. Then the arrangement of the holes in the plate and of the tube bring all the yarns to their proper position in the strand, and lastly by changing the wheels in the machine, the strand becomes more or less hard by twisting at a more or less acute angle. If the strand be drawn more swiftly through, while the machine is revolving with a given velocity, the intensity or closeness of the twist is diminished, if less swiftly then the twist is increased. Such are some of the beautiful results of machinery.
To twist the strands into a rope is called “laying” a rope. In the laying walk a revolving wheel placed near the end is provided with hooks, whereon the three strands to form the rope are fixed. These hooks are made to rotate by the action of the wheel, its prime mover being horse or steam-power. At the other end of the walk all the strands are fixed to one hook, which revolves in an opposite direction to the others. To equalize the hardness of the twist or lay, a conical or rather bee-hived piece of wood called a “top” is inserted between the three strands—groves being cut in the surface of the “top” for their reception. This “top” thus placed prevents the strands from twisting, except in the direction of the smaller end; while a man stationed immediately behind, compresses the rope by a simple piece of apparatus, and causes the twist to become hard and firm. The “top” as the rope closes behind it is slowly urged on from one end to the other—if small it is managed by a top-man, but if large it is supported on a carriage, as in the engraving. No difference exists in making a larger or smaller rope, so far as the principle is concerned. The three strands are twisted round each other in the same manner by an apparatus more or less powerful according to the size of the rope.
From three such ropes as these a cable is formed in precisely the same manner, the three being fixed to three revolving hooks at one end, and one at the other, and a travelling top being used to regulate and harden the twist. In the twisting process it is natural that the rope should gradually shorten as it is formed; provision is made for this shortening in the arrangement of the apparatus. The wheels to which the three strands are fixed on three separate hooks is a fixture at one end of the walk, but the other ends of the strands are fastened to a moveable sledge, which is so weighted as to travel gradually up the walk just as fast as the rope diminishes in length.
San Rosalia.
Who has not heard the curious history of San Rosalia, the saint of Palermo, whose name is prefixed to this article? She was, according to the legend, the daughter of William the Good, who reigned in the year 1159. At the age of fifteen she retired to Monte Pelegrino, in order to spend the remainder of her life in religious solitude; and a period of nearly five hundred years elapsed without her ever being heard of. In 1624, a plague, which threatened to depopulate the capital, raged at Palermo. A hermit, whose name is not given in the legend, dreamed that the bones of the saint were on the top of Mount Pelegrino, and that, if they were carried in procession round the walls of the city, the plague would cease. After prayers and supplications, he induced a number of persons to go in procession to the top of the mountain, where the remains of Rosalia were found in a cave. Some say that the body was fresh, and looked as if she had died at the age of fifteen, while others assert that there were only the bones. Which account is the true one Peter Parley does not pretend to inquire; but one thing is certain, that they were carried round the city walls, and the plague greatly ceased. This was accounted as a miracle, and churches were built to her honor. A chapel was erected on the top of the mountain were she was found, and priests appointed to perform divine service.
