To penetrate and adhere to the yarn the tar must be heated to 200° or over. This work is begun in tanks from which the liquid feeds into the long copper-lined troughs where the tarring takes place. Through these “coppers,” so called, run steam pipes to further regulate the temperature. Excessive heating would cause the loss of the tar’s good qualities, and to prevent this the supply in the “coppers” must be freshened frequently. The picture on the next page illustrates how the yarns unwind from the bobbins, onto which they have been wound in the spinning process, and pass on into the “copper.” The plates which keep the yarns under the tar are shown elevated above the surface to give a clearer idea of their operation. As the heavily saturated yarns come from the “copper,” they are compressed between two rollers, adjusted to leave in the yarn as much or as little tar as needed for the particular goods being made and to turn back the surplus. The pull which carries the yarn through the tar and between the rollers comes from two large drums around which the yarns travel preparatory to reeling onto friction-driven receiving bobbins. Goods of nine-thread size and under are usually tarred in the completed rope form, but the process is essentially the same as with the yarns. Visitors to our tar-houses frequently remark upon the rich golden brown of our tarred goods. Those who use and sell them have come to look upon that color--an outward sign of right materials and methods--as the Plymouth mark of the weather-resisting qualities contained in the goods. [Illustration: YARNS ENTERING THE “COPPER”] [Illustration] CHAPTER V FORMING AND LAYING OF ROPES AND CABLES--ROPEWALK METHOD Before taking up the strictly modern machines so largely used now in the final processes of rope-making--the forming of strands, laying of common ropes and closing of cable-laid goods--we shall describe the ropewalk method of performing these operations as it is practised today. For making tarred goods in all but the smaller sizes the walk has certain advantages not afforded by more advanced methods. It also provides efficient equipment for turning out the largest ropes, which would otherwise require special machinery. The long alleys or grounds where the work takes place are usually laid out in pairs, one for forming, the other for laying and closing. Each ground has a track to accommodate the machines and an endless band-rope which conveys the power. At the head of the forming ground stand frames holding the bobbins of yarn. The yarns for each strand first pass through a plate perforated in concentric circles. This arrangement gives each yarn the correct angle of delivery into a tube where the whole mass gets a certain amount of compression. [Illustration: CORDAGE MANUFACTURE BY THE ROPEWALK METHOD YARNS PASSING FROM BOBBINS THROUGH PERFORATED PLATES “TOP TRUCK”--LAYING PROCESS FORMING MACHINE--MAKING STRAND