KNOTS.
Elementary Knots.--The three elementary knots which every one should know
are here represented--viz., the Timber-hitch, the Bowline, and the
Clove-hitch. (See also "Knots," p. 49; "Malay hitch," p. 147.)
Timber-hitch.--The virtues of the timber-hitch (fig. 1, p. 326) are,
that, so long as the strain upon it is kept up, it will hold fast; when
the strain is taken off, it can be cast loose immediately. A timber-hitch
had better have the loose end twisted more than once, if the rope be
stiff.
Bowline.--The bowline (fig. 2) makes a knot difficult to undo; with it
the ends of two strings are tied together, or a loop made at the end of a
single piece of string, as in the drawing. For slip nooses, use the
bowline to make the draw-loop. When tying a bowline, or any other knot
for temporary purposes, insert a stick into the knot before pulling
tight. The stick will enable you, at will, to untie the knot--to break
its back, as the sailors say--with little difficulty. A bowline is
firmer, if doubled; that is, if the free end of the cord be made to wrap
round a second time.
[3 fig of knots tied as described].
Clove-hitch.--The clove-hitch (fig. 3) binds with excessive force, and by
it, and it alone, can a weight be hung to a perfectly smooth pole, as to
a tent-pole. A kind of double clove-hitch is generally used, but the
simple one suffices, and is more easily recollected.
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