If the cable is not long enough, a second one must be joined to it. This is preferably done by passing the ends to a small boat. The junction is made, either using a junction box with Turk’s-heads and taped joints, or opening back the armor for about 5 feet from the ends, making taped joints, protecting them with tape, and then rewrapping the armor and seizing the ends with wire. Care must be taken to join the proper conductors of the two ends. In the meantime the distribution box boat with a detachment of one noncommissioned officer and five men takes the distribution box and moves out to the spot marked by the buoy. It picks up the buoy and makes fast to the anchor line. The planter continues laying the multiple cable until it reaches the distribution box boat. The multiple cable is then cut and the end passed to the distribution box boat, usually by a heaving line. The cable is lashed to the boat; a Turk’s-head is worked upon the end and then secured in the distribution box. As a precautionary measure for the recovery of the distribution box, should it be lost overboard during mine planting, it is well to have the multiple cable buoyed about 100 yards in rear of the distribution box. In case it may be desired not to use the distribution box at once, the separate conductors of the multiple cable should be tagged, tested, and insulated. The cable should be buoyed and dropped overboard to be recovered subsequently. =Identifying, tagging, and testing the conductors of the multiple cable.=—_Tagging._—In the casemate the conductors are separated, carefully identified, tagged, and attached to the corresponding terminal of the terminal bar on the operating board. The mine switch for No. 19 is opened and the telephone terminal attached to its stud so as to use No. 19 for communicating with the distribution box boat. The ends in the distribution box boat are separated, one terminal of a boat telephone is attached to No. 19, and the other earthed either by attaching to the cable armor or to an earth plate hanging overboard in the water. Communication is thus established with the operator in the casemate. Nos. 1, 13, and 19 are picked out easily; the remaining ones are tagged in contraclockwise direction. _Verifying the tagging._—The casemate is then notified that the boat party is ready to check the tagging. This is done as follows: The power switches on the operating board are all closed, except 19, and direct current put on the cable by closing switch No. 3 up. The casemate operator then directs the boat party to earth in regular succession the various conductors. This is done most quickly by touching the conductor to the cable armor. The corresponding automatic switch on the operating board should drop. Any errors in tagging detected by this test should be corrected at once. This test also checks the continuity of circuit of each conductor.