The first transatlantic cable was laid in 1858 after two failed
attempts. How was a 1858-cable laying across the Atlantic
constructed? The cable manufactured was composed of seven copper
wires closely connected or twined together, and protected by an
exterior of three coats of gutta percha. Outside this again were
six strands of yarn, and finally an external coating of wire,
making the cable eleven-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. Its
flexibility was so great as to allow of its being tied around
the arm without injury, and its strength such that, if suspended
vertically in water, it will bear six miles of its own length
before breaking. How was it laid? The laying of the great
Telegraph cable has necessitated the invention of new and even
complicated machinery, while at the same time the accidental
failure of the first attempt has brought about changes and
improvements in the construction of the breaks and drums. We
engrave, from drawings by our own correspondent, a complete
representation of the machinery