principal portion or longest part of
the rope; the _Bight_ is the part curved or bent while working or
handling; while the _End_ is that part used in forming the knot or
hitch. Before commencing work the loose ends or strands of a rope
should be "whipped" or "seized" to prevent the rope from unravelling;
and although an expert can readily tie almost any knot, make a splice,
or in fact do pretty nearly anything with a loose-ended rope, yet it
is a wise plan to invariably whip the end of every rope, cable, or
hawser to be handled, while a marline-spike, fid, or pointed stick
will also prove of great help in working rope.

[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Parts of rope.]

To whip or seize a rope-end, take a piece of twine or string and lay
it on the rope an inch or two from the end, pass the twine several
times around the rope, keeping the ends of the twine under the first
few turns to hold it in place; then make a large loop with the free
end of twine; bring it back to the rope and continue winding for three
or four turns around both rope and end of twine; and then finish by
drawing the loop tight by pulling on the free end (Fig. 4).

[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Whipping.]

All knots are begun by "loops" or rings commonly known to mariners as
"Cuckolds' Necks" (Fig. 5). These may be either overhand or underhand,
and when a seizing or fastening of twine is placed around the two
parts where they cross a useful rope ring known as a "clinch" is
formed (Fig. 6). If the loose end of the rope is passed over the
standing part and through the "cuckold's-neck," the simplest of all
knots, known as the "Overhand Knot," is made (Fig. 7). This drawn
tight appears as in Fig. 8, and while so simple this knot is
important, as it is frequently used in fastening the ends of yarns and
strands in splicing, whipping, and seizing. The "Figure-Eight Knot" is
almost as simple as the overhand and is plainly shown in Figs. 9 and
10. Only a step beyond the figure-eight and the overhand knots are the
"Square" and "Reefing" knots (Figs. 11 and 12). The square knot is
probably the most useful and widely used of any common knot and is the
best all-around knot known. It is very strong, never slips or becomes
jammed, and is readily untied. To make a square knot, take the ends of
the rope and pass the left end over and under the right end, then the
right over and under the left. If you once learn the simple formula of
"Left over," "Right over," you will never make