It was estimated that a length of about 2500 nautical miles would be enough to allow for all contingencies, and the construction of the cable was commenced in February 1857, and completed in June of that year. It is difficult to realize the gigantic nature of the task of making a cable of such dimensions. The length of copper wire used in making the conductor was 20,500 miles, while the outer sheathing took 367,500 miles of iron wire; the total length of wire used being enough to go round the Earth thirteen times. The cable was finally stowed away on board two warships, one British and the other American. The real troubles began with the laying of the cable. After landing the shore end in Valentia Bay, the paying-out commenced, but scarcely had five miles been laid when the cable caught in the paying-out machinery and parted. By tracing it from the shore the lost end was picked up and spliced, and the paying-out began again. Everything went well for two or three days, and then, after 380 miles had been laid, the cable snapped again, owing to some mismanagement of the brakes, and was lost at a depth of 2000 fathoms. The cable had to be abandoned, and the ships returned to Plymouth. In the next year, 1858, another attempt was made, with new and improved machinery and 3000 miles of cable, and this time it was decided that the two ships should start paying-out from mid-ocean, proceeding in opposite directions towards the two shores after splicing their cables. On the voyage out the expedition encountered one of the most fearful storms on record, which lasted over a week, and the British man-of-war, encumbered with the dead weight of the cable, came near to disaster. Part of the cable shifted, and those on board feared that the whole of the huge mass would break away and crash through the vessel’s side. Sixteen days after leaving Plymouth the rendezvous was reached, the cables were spliced and the ships started. After the British ship had paid out 40 miles it was discovered that the cable had parted at some distance from the ship, and the vessels once more sought each other, and spliced again ready for another effort. This time the cable parted after each vessel had paid out a little more than 100 miles, and the ships were forced to abandon the attempt.