Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/253

* LIFE-PRESERVEES. 231 LIFE-SAVING GUNS AND ROCKETS. suitable substance, with belts and shoulder-straps properly attached, and so constructed as to place the cork underneath the shoulders and around the body of the person wearing it. It should con- tain at least six pounds of good cork, and have a buoyancy of 24 pounds. Cork cushions, with belts and shoulder-straps, are considered good substitutes for the jacket above described when the}' have the proper buoyancy. Life-preser-ers of an approved pattern are required by law on passenjier vessels in the United States, and it is the duty of the inspecting officers to see that they are adequate and ser^'iceable. Oars- Pi^.M '^iSf9 irSITED 6TATE8 LIFE-8AVIXG CORK JACKET. men in the life-saving service use an improved belt made of blocks of cork fastened to a cloth lining as shown in the cut. The man adjusts it by thrusting his head through the hole in the lining, the front and back parts falling into position and being secured by a lashing aroimd the waist. This method obviates the ne- cessity for shoulder-straps, and there being but one knot to tie or unfasten, the belt can be readily pvit on and removed. Tule and deer hair are used to some extent in the construction of life-preservers. Those in the form of inflated vests and overcoats are seen in service occasion- ally. AVaterproof. air-tight life-preserving suits, consisting of headdress, jacket, and trousers, made of rubber or similar material, are seldom employed at the present time except by divers. LIFE-RAFTS. Stnietures used in saving life at sea. Xowadays nearly all seagoing steam- ers cari"y a certain number of rafts, of some ap- proved description, as an equivalent for a por- tion of the small-boat capacity they are required to maintain. These floats, as a rule, can be con- veniently stowed, are easily transported from one part of the vessel to another, may be laimched overboard anywhere, and sometimes prove better instriinients than boats for saving the ship- wrecked. The devices of this kind are well-nigh innumerable. All depend for their extra buoy- ancy upon some ingenious method of utilizing air- receptaeles. cork. etc. Rafts and floats intended to he carried on the decks of ocean steamers should have an actual buoyancy of 187V^ pounds for each person that they will accommodate, and those for steamers on lakes, bays, sounds, and rivers, a buoyancy of 156 pounds for each person. Such rafts are equipped with life-lines and oars. An effective contrivance, which is much used on passenger and other vessels, is the metallic cylinder life-raft, consisting of two cylinders. OBDINA&V CiXIMiLB LiKE-ttAFT. cone-shaped at the ends, firmly connected with cross-rods, and Iiaving slats running longitudi- nally between the hollow forms. This raft owes its great buojancy to the air-filled cylinders. The C'arley life-float is another and later form of raft. It consists of a copper tube, shaped like an ellipse, which is divided into air-tight compartments. The tube is sheathed with cork, the whole being covered with canvas and made water-tight. A bottom, composed of wooden slats, is suspended from the interior sides of the float by a rope netting about three feet deep. The netting is so arranged that, whichever side of the float may fall upon the water, the slatted bottom will go undermost. Oars and a signal flag are lashed to the tube. A large number of persons CABLET LIFE-FLOAT. can be supported by this device, which is con- structed in various sizes. LIFE RENT. In Scotch law, the usufruct, i.e. the ii;.'lit to the beneficial use and enjoyment of a heritable estate for life, the person en- titled thereto being called a life-renter. The estate is nearly equivalent to the life estate of the English and American law, its distinctive features being derived from the Roman or civil- law system, on which the law of Scotland is based." See Civii, Law ; Life Estate ; Usifrict. LIFE-SAVING GUNS AND ROCKETS. Ordnance used to tire line-carrying projectiles from the shore to a wrecked vessel or vice versa. The I.yle gun. which is more generally used in the L'nitcd States than any other, is described under Life-Savixg Service. American ot-e.-in- going steamers are required to be supplied with some approved means of firing lines to the shore. The Hunt gun and Ciinninghani rocket are em- ployed by many for such a purpose. The former, which was devised by Edmund 8. Hunt, of JLissa- chusetts, is mounted on a flat wooden carriage, to which it is fastened at the cascabel by a hinge. Elevation is obtained by use of a quoin between