A substitute method for connecting the wire mooring rope to the shackles is to bend the ends of the mooring rope by means of a small vise around a galvanized iron thimble and fasten the end by two bolted clips. =Wire mooring rope.=—This is the highest grade of ¾-inch galvanized-steel wire rope, consisting of 6 compound strands, each made of 19 wires, the whole laid around a steel center. Its breaking strength when new is about 18 tons. Its weight per running foot, submerged, is about eight-tenths of a pound. It is used for mooring mines to mushroom anchors. =Marline-covered wire mooring rope.=—For mooring mines to the automatic anchors and for raising rope marline-covered wire rope is used. This rope consists of five outer strands wound around a central hemp core. Each of the outer strands consists of a small twisted wire rope wound around with four strands of marline. One end of the rope is prepared for attachment to the mine by passing it over a thimble and fastening it to the standing part by means of two clips. A shackle joins the thimble and the bail of the mine. The other end of the rope is made secure to the reel of the anchor. The breaking strength of ½-inch marline-covered rope is 17,000 pounds, that of ⅝-inch marline-covered rope is 27,000 pounds. The weight per running foot of the ½-inch rope is 0.5 pound, that of the ⅝-inch rope is 0.8 pound. The weight of this rope submerged is about 60 per cent of its weight in air. About 155 feet of the ½-inch and 85 feet of the ⅝-inch marline-covered rope can conveniently be wound on the 6-inch reel of the 1,500-pound automatic anchor. =Marline-covered wire distance weight rope.=—For attaching distance weights to the automatic anchor ¼-inch marline-covered wire rope is used. This rope is identical in pattern with the marline-covered wire mooring rope. =The distribution box, 19-conductor.=—This is a circular, cast-iron, disk-shaped box which receives the end of the multiple cable, in which taped joints are made between the separate conductors of this cable and the single-conductor mine cables, and from which these mine cables radiate. It is about 27 inches in diameter and weighs about 300 pounds. It consists of two parts, a bowl-shaped bottom 6 inches deep inside and a slightly curved lid. The latter has an iron ring in its center by which the box is raised and lowered. Eight pins, fastened to the bottom, fit in corresponding holes in the edges of the lid and are slotted for keys by which the two parts are fastened together.