ROPE. A general name for all kinds of cordage formed by twisting together a collection of vegetable or animal fibres, or metallic wires. The term is more correctly applied to cordage which is above an inch in circumference, the smaller sorts being designated by the names of twines, cords and lines. The inven tion of ropes or cordage is of very ancient date ; indeed, the art of twisting the hairs of animals, tough grasses and vegetable fibres existed among the rudest people. There are several varie ties of rope, including Manilla, Sizal, cotton, hemp, and cordage made of different kinds of grasses. The coir-ropes of Ceylon and the Maldive Islands are made from the fibrous husks of the cocoa nut, the Manilla rope from the fibres of a species of the wild ban ana. There are other vegetables which have fibres of great tenacity, but the cannabis sativa or cultivated hemp, and the linus usitatissimum or flax are preferred, the fibres of both pos sessing the necessary qualities of flexibility and tenacity in a re markable degree. The fibres of the hemp are first twisted to gether to form a thread or yarn, and these yarns are then com bined by twisting them into a strand, and three strands are com bined in like manner, and form what is properly known as a rope. The fibres should be so arranged that each in the finished rope.
shall offer the greatest resistance to its being torn asunder in the direction of its length. There are, of course, further operations connected with the manufacture of rope, such as forming the strands into hawser-laid ropes, and these again into cable-laid ropes. It is easy, however, to recognize the fact that, considering the many uses to which ropes are applied, the possibility of having specific rules for their manufacture is entirely precluded. Some require greater flexibility ; others, again, impenetrability to water ; in some, strength is of primary importance, but a standing rule regulates all the various manufacturing processes—never to make use of so much twist as will impair the strength of the fibre. Soaking in hot tar will prevent the decay of the rope, but the am plication of tar will oftentimes reduce its strength, especially in hot climates. Duhamel says that untarred cordage in constant use is one-third more durable than when tarred ; it retains its strength when kept in store, and resists the ordinary influence of the weather one-fourth longer than when tarred. In the manu facture of rope, flax fibres are used for small lines and cords only, and hemp for all kinds of cords, from the smallest to the largest_