be injured by falls or rubbing on the ground.

Another great advantage attending the joints used here is the manner
in which their screws are finished. On examining the figure minutely,
it will be observed that the male-screw ends in a cylinder of the
diameter of the _bottom_ of its thread, consequently of the diameter
of the top of the thread of the female-screw. The effect of this is,
that, when the screws are brought together, the cylindric portion
serves as a guide to the threads, and the most inexperienced person
cannot fail to make them catch fair at the first trial. The advantage
of this in the circumstances attending fires is obvious.

These joints, although requiring three or four turns to close them up,
yet as it is only the ring D which requires to be turned, it can
easily be done with the hand alone without the use of wrenches.
Although, when the whole length of hose has been jointed, it may be as
well to send a man with a pair of wrenches to set the joints firm;
this, however, is by no means absolutely necessary; if the joints are
kept in proper order a man can secure them sufficiently with the hand.

There is also a facility in taking turns out of the hose, which no
other but a swivel joint affords. By slackening a single turn any
twist may be taken out, without undoing the joint or stopping the
engine, while, from the number of turns required to close the joints,
there is no chance of the screw being by any accident undone. In order
to prevent the threads from being easily damaged, they should be of a
pretty large size, not more than five or six to the inch. For the same
reason also the thread should be a little rounded.

As it sometimes happens that the screws are damaged by falling on the
street, or by heavy bodies striking them, whenever the hose have been
used the joints should be tried by a steel gauge-screw, to be kept for
that purpose. This ought to be particularly attended to, as, on
arriving at a fire, it is rather an awkward time to discover that a
joint has been damaged, while the delay thus occasioned may be
attended with very serious consequences.

_Four Bundles of Sheepskin and Lay-cord._--These are simply four or
five stripes of sheepskin, each about three or four inches broad. When
a leak occurs in a length of hose which cannot be easily replaced at
the time, one or more pieces of sheepskin are wrapt tightly over the
leak and tied firmly with a piece of cord. This is but an indifferent