LIFE-ROCKETS are cylinders of metal carrying a small projectile in front and an ex plosive mixture in the rear for propulsion and arc so framed because used to communicate be tween a distressed ship and the shore. These are especially useful where no lifeboat can be had, or where it cannot be used on account of the roughness of the sea. They are available, however, only at moderate distances from the shore. By means of them a rope is thrown either from the ship to the shore, or from the shore to the ship, generally the latter, and when communication is thus established a slinging ap paratus may bring the crew ashore one by one. Of the primitive projectiles for life-preserving purposes, one of the simplest is the heaving stick, which can be discharged by hand, but cannot be relied on for distances greater than 50 yards. A piece of stout cane two feet long, one end loaded with two pounds of lead and the other attached to a thin line, is whirled ver tically twice or thrice, and then discharged.
Kites have been tried, but cannot be relied on with certainty. The first trial of the explosive rocket is believed to have been in 1791 by Ser geant Bell, of the English artillery, who fired his projectile from the ship to the shore, but it was soon perceived that it was better to fire from the shore to the ship. John Dennett, of Newport, Isle of Wight, is believed to have been the first to use rockets with success. His faking box for paying out the line is still util ized. The rocket is fired in the same way as a signal rocket, but has a light cord attached de signed to fall across the ship. This is hauled in by the crew and brings a start rope strong enough to carry a breeches-buoy (q.v.). A light mortar or gun firing a projectile is now generally preferred to the life-rocket. See