Part 4 (1/2)

But before an enterprise so vast and so new could be commended to the commercial public of Great Britain, there were many details to be settled The mechanical and scientific problems already referred to, whether a cable could be laid across the ocean; and if so, whether it could be worked, were to be considered anew The opinions of Lieutenant Maury and of Professor Morse were published in England, and arrested the attention of scientific men But John Bull is slow of belief, and asked forwas too vast to be undertaken rashly As yet there was no experience to decide the possibility of a telegraph across the ocean The longest line which had been laid was three hundred lisharded as a fault by those who consider that in proportion as they are slow to embark in any new enterprise, are they resolute and deter it out

To resolve these difficult proble authorities of Great Britain, and of her most eminent scientific men To their honor, all showed the deepest interest in the project, and gave it freely the benefit of their knowledge

First, as to the possibility of laying a cable in the deep sea, Mr

Field had witnessed one attempt of the kind--that in the Gulf of St

Lawrence the year before--an attempt which had failed His experience, therefore, was not encouraging If they found so , how could they hope to lay one of two thousand miles across the storineers To solve the problem, required experiments almost without number It was now that the most important services were rendered by Glass, Elliot & Co, of London, a firun within a few years the manufacture of sea-cables, and was to write its name in all the waters of the world Aided by the skill of their ad, they nowto them every possible test At the sae Parker Bidder, both of whom manifested a deep interest in the success of the enterprise

Not less cordial was Mr Brunel, who ard to the form of the cable, and thethe Great Eastern; and one day he took Mr Field down to Blackwall to see it, and, pointing to theon the banks of the Thames, said: ”There is the shi+p to lay the Atlantic cable!” Little did he think that ten years after, that shi+p would be employed in this service; and in this final victory over the sea, would redee the difficulties to be encountered, was that of finding a perfect insulator Without insulation, telegraphic communication by electricity is impossible On land, where wires are carried on the tops of poles, the air itself is a sufficient insulator A few glass rings at the points where the wire passes through the iron staples by which it is supported, and the insulation is complete But in the sea the electricity would be instantly dissipated, unless some material could be found which should insulate a conductor sunk in water, as completely as if it were raised in air But what could thus inclose the lightning, and keep it fast while flying froain it see of this great enterprise, and provided in the realm of nature every material needed for its success It was at least a happy coincidence that only a few years before there had been found, in the forests of the Malayan archipelago, a substance till then unknown to the world, but which answered coutta-percha, which is impenetrable by water, and at the same time a bad conductor of electricity; so that it forraph passing through the sea In the experiments that were rander use to which it was to be applied, no reater service than Mr

Saratefully reraph

The mechanical difficulties rereat scientific problee be sent two thousand ht devise so a cable across the sea, but of what use were it, if the electric current should shrink fro inquiries to resolve this probleentleanization of the Atlantic Telegraph Cohted for his part in laying the Atlantic cable in 1858, and Dr Edward O Whitehouse, both well known in England, the forineer, and the latter for his experinetis He had invented an instruister the velocity of electric currents through subentlemen were full of the ardor of science, and entered on this new project with the zeal which the prospect of so great a triuht inspire With theuished countryman, Professor Morse Fortunately he was at this tiave his invaluable aid to the experiraphic coreat distances under the sea The result of his experiments he communicates in a letter to Mr Field:

”London, Five o'clock AM, ”October 3, 1856

”My dear Sir: As the electrician of the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Coratification that I have to apprise you of the result of our experile continuous conductor of more than two thousand miles in extent, a distance you will perceive sufficient to cross the Atlantic Ocean, froeraph Office in Old Broad street, for connecting ten subterranean gutta-percha insulated conductors, of over two hundred th of ht, when the telegraph is not commercially e, by actual experiment, the question of the practicability as well as the practicality[A] of telegraphing through our proposed Atlantic cable

”This result had been thrown into some doubt by the discovery, more than two years since, of certain phenomena upon subterranean and submarine conductors, and had attracted the attention of electricians, particularly of that most ehted investigator of electrical phenomena, Dr Whitehouse; and one of these phenomena, to wit, the perceptible retardation of the electric current, threatened to perplex our operations, and required careful investigation before we could pronounce with certainty the coraph

”I a result of a long series of experi upon this subject, the experiht, which I witnessed this nets, as entle instruments--have most satisfactorily resolved all doubts of the practicability as well as practicality of operating the telegraph fronals at the rate of two hundred and ten, two hundred and forty-one, and, according to the count at one tiraphic register, (which speed, you will perceive, is at a rate coeous,) these results were accoees which will not occur in the use of our subht with reeable collaborators, Dr Whitehouse and Mr Bright, without sleep, you will excuse the hurried and brief character of this note, which I could not refrain fro settle the scientific and commercial points of our enterprise satisfactorily

”With respect and esteem, your obedient servant,

”Saain, confir his former impressions, thus:

”London, October 10, 1856

”My dear Sir: After having given the deepest consideration to the subject of our successful experinalled clearly and rapidly through an unbroken circuit of subterranean conducting wire, over two thousand ive you the result of my reflections and calculations

”There can be no question but that, with a cable containing a single conducting wire, of a size not exceeding that through which orked, and with equal insulation, it would be easy to telegraph froht to ten words perrates of speed at which orked, depending as they did upon differences in the arrangement of the apparatus eher rate than this is attainable Take it, however, at ten words in theten words for name and address, we can safely calculate upon the transe in three es in the hour;

”Four hundred and eighty in the twenty-four hours, or fourteen thousand four hundred words per day

”Such are the capabilities of a single wire cable fairly and moderately computed

”It is, however, evident to nals themselves, aided by the adoption of a code or system constructed upon the principles of the best nautical code, as suggested by Dr Whitehouse, we may at least double the speed in the transes