G.—No. 4,

102

Table G. RESULT of EXPERIMENTS made to ascertain the relative DURABILITY and WEAR of NEW ZEALAND and MANILLA ROPE. —Wellington, March and April, 1871.

APPENDIX TO REPORT OE ELAX COMMISSIONERS.

ClECUMFEEENCE. Lesoth. WEianT. S o o I R Description of Rope. § a ■4-J a If 1 i Loss at chafe opposite splice, per cent. | leg 64-) If — 0Q 1 II 4^ i o 3 O fi P4.2 d i O 1 & inches. inches. ft. in. ft. in. ft. in. oz. drs. oz. drs. oz. drs. 20 (Manilla New Zealand (white) (tarred) 1-43 1-25 13 22 17 8 0 55 20 0 1 •47 Not accurate ly noted. 915,000 173 3 100 1-56 1-25 20 2S 18 3 0 775 35 0 3-25 15 13 108 10 14-2 -2 126 -203 28 1,281,000 242.6 134 1-56 1-34 it 22 18 4 1 4-75 76 0 0-75 •34 16 2-4 15 8 9 -0 9-5 - -3 15 686,250 1299 74 ['Manilla ... ... Wct-j New Zealand (white) ... [ „ (tarred) 1-43 112 22 22 18 2 0 4 1-9 1 11 110 Not accurate ly noted. 22 1,006,500 1906 110 1-56 1-18 M 28 18 2 1 075 61 1 0-5 CO 13 9-9 1 12 38 -1 61 -10 20 915,000 1733 100 1-56 1-34 11 22 18 1 1 4-5 79 0 8 3-8 16 14-8 17 0.4 + 0 1-6 + 06 19 869,250 164-6 95 The ropes were run over pulleys fixed on a horizontal shaft at Messrs. Kebbell's mill, and through a block below, to ■which a 561b. weight was attached. Circumference of pulleys, 151 inches ; grooved oul to a diametre of 2| inches. The ropes wcro wetted with salt water poured on them till they would absorb no more, and the wetting was repeated every fourth day, after the ropes had apparently dried. The New Zealand ropes were machine made, from Lloyd's Steam Eopo Worts, near Auckland, and are valued at £45 per ton. The Manilla was purchased in "Wellington, and was the best of the size that could be procured. The results show that the New Zealand white rope, when kept dry will last 60 per cent, longer than tarred rope of the same make, and 34 per cent, longer than the Manilla, but chafes more by 10 per cent, and is more susceptible to change of weather. When wetted with salt water the Manilla lasted better than New Zealand by 10 per cent., but had 5 per cent, excess of shrinkage.