When planting mines for practice, marline may be used to seize the raising rope to the cable and to lash the cable to the bail and mooring rope. A mousing must be put around the upper hook of the differential block to prevent the block from jumping off the hook when the mine or anchor is tripped. The tripping hook of the differential block on the forward davit is attached to the anchor and it is hoisted and swung outboard clear of the rail. The mine is similarly slung from the after davit by its maneuvering ring or by a rope sling through the latter. Both mine and anchor are lowered as close to the water as conditions will permit. A heaving line is bent onto the free end of the mine cable, generally by means of a clove hitch and two half hitches. The aft detail now removes or cuts the rope lashings of the coil of the corresponding mine cable. A detail sees that the cable and raising rope are held on the gunwale ready for planting. These should not be allowed to trail in the water. A man stands near the mine davit ready to throw the mine buoy clear of the planter when the mine is tripped. (Fig. 13 shows the mine and anchor slung for planting and fig. 14 shows the relative position of the various parts in the water. In these figures the cable should be shown as lashed to the mooring rope.) =The distribution box boat= should precede the planter to the mine field. The distribution box buoy, to which the anchor rope is fastened by a bowline, to the bight of which the raising rope is secured, is taken aboard at the bow, if the tide is coming in toward the box, and the anchor rope is made fast. The distribution box is then raised by its raising rope and secured in the stern. The boat is thus anchored fore-and-aft, perpendicular to the line of mines, with its bow pointed toward the position of the center mine of the group. If the tide is running out from the box, the buoy should be taken in at the stern, the boat being held in position by the raising rope of the distribution box and then by the multiple cable. The anchor rope is finally made fast in the bow. During the planting of mines a man should always stand ready to slacken away on the anchor rope if necessary. [Illustration: FIG. 13.—MINE READY FOR PLANTING.] [Illustration: FIG. 14.—MINE PLANTED.] If the buoy for the distribution box is not in place, the cable must be underrun, either from shore or from a buoy planted for this purpose. This is done preferably with a yawl. The cable is raised, taken aboard, and placed over a roller or rowlock in the stern. The cable is then pulled in over the stern and lowered over a roller or rowlock in the bow. If the planter is to underrun cable, a cathead is put in place and a snatch block is lowered by a raising rope secured to a hoisting windlass. The cable is placed in the snatch block and the planter moves forward slowly. When it is desired to transfer the cable to a small boat the snatch block is lowered into the boat and the cable removed.