CABLE is either a large rope, or a chain of iron links, chiefly employed on shipboard to suspend and retain the anchors. Rope cables arc made of the best hemp, twisted into a mass of great compactness and strength. The circumference varies from about 3 in. to 26. A certain number of yarns are twisted to form a lissum; three lissums are twisted in an opposite direction to form a strand; and three strands are twisted (in the same direction as the yarns in a lissum) to form a cable. The number of yarns in a C. of given size is not always alike, because the yarns slightly vary in thickness; but the following is one among many tables which have been prepared relating to cables of 120 fathoms, and of the usual degrees of thickness: Inches i Circumference. Yarns. Lbs.
3.... = 48 — 192 6 = 174. = 696 9 = 393 — 1572 12 = 699 = 2796 15 - = 1093 = 4372 18. = 1574 = 6296 20 = 1943 = 7772 Some cables are made with four strands, but three is the common number. If a C. be
twisted too much, it is stiff; if too little, it is weak. The strength of a C. of 18 in. circumference is found to be about 60 tons; and for other dimensions, the strength varies according to the cube of the diameter. On shipboard, cables receive the names of chitef cables, bower cables, etc., according to the anchor to which they are attached. During the great war ending in 1815, the largest ships in the British navy carried ten cables, most of which were about 2 ft. or a little more in circumference. Although ships sel dom anchor at a greater depth than 40 fathoms, it is not deemed safe to trust the anchor to one C. of the usual length; two are spliced together at the ends. The hempen cables now made are generally 101 fathoms; but 100 fathoms in practical seamanship denotes " a cable's length," and is really the length of a chain cable.