FIG. 2.--CABLES USED ON FIJI-NORFOLK ISLAND-QUEENSLAND AND NEW ZEALAND
SECTIONS. Full size. Core 130/130.
This picture shows cross-sections of a cable which runs from Vancouver,
B. C., to Australia and New Zealand. A cable is not laid with a
uniform cross-section. On the floor of the ocean, perhaps miles below
the surface, the cable rests quietly and is not moved by storms
which generate great waves on the surface of the water. As the cable
approaches the shore, the movement of the water goes deeper and the
cable must be made heavier to prevent it from being worn by movement on
the bed of the ocean. Where the cable passes over a rocky bottom, it is
made much larger in diameter and is heavily armored.]
[Illustration: Here is the cable steamship “Colonia” laying the shore
end of a cable. Note the row of floats upon the water which carry the
cable until the end in the cable office is firmly fastened. When this
is accomplished the floats are removed and the cable sinks to the
bottom.]