The lead sleeve is then brought over the splice and wiped to the cable.  The joint is then filled with the insulating compound poured through holes in the top of the sleeve; these holes are then closed and the joint is complete, and there is no reason why, in light and power cables, that joint should not be as perfect as any other part of the cable.  When the cable ends are prepared for jointing they should be hung up in such a position that they are in the same plane, both horizontal and vertically, and firmly secured there, so that when the lead sleeve is wiped on the conductor may be in its exact center, and great care must be taken not to move the cables again until the sleeve is filled and the insulation sufficiently cooled to hold the conductor in position.

It is also very important to see that there are no sharp points on the conductors themselves, on the copper sleeve, on the edges of the lead covering or on the lead sleeve.  All these should be made perfectly smooth, for points facilitate disruptive discharges.  Branch joints had better be made as T-joints rather than as Y-joints, for they are better electrically and mechanically, although they occupy more room in the manholes.  They are of course made in the same way as straight joints, a lead T-sleeve being used, however.  For multiple arc circuits copper T-sleeves and for series circuits copper L-sleeves are used.

Telephone and telegraph cables are made of any required gauge of wire and with from 1 to 150 conductors in a cable.  In jointing these the splices are never soldered, the conductors being joined either with a twist joint or with the so-called Western Union splice.  Each splice is covered with a cotton or silk sleeve or a wrapping of tape, the latter being preferable, although considerably increasing the time necessary for making the joint.  Great care must be taken that no ends of wire are left sticking up, for they will surely work their way through the tape and grounds, and crosses will be the result.  The wires should always be joined layer to layer and each splice very tightly taped in order to get as much insulating compound around each splice as possible in the limited space.  The splices should be “broken” as much as possible, so as to avoid having adjoining splices coming over each other.  After the joint has been saturated with insulating compound the wires should have an outside wrapping of tape to keep them in shape, and then the sleeve is wiped on and filled.  If the insulation resistance of the jointed telegraph or telephone cable is a quarter of what the cable tested in the factory, it may be considered that an exceptionally good piece of work has been done.  I have spoken more particularly of fibrous lead covered cables, as the handling of them includes practically every step of the work on any other kind of underground cable.  In insulating dry core paper cables a paper sleeve is slipped over the splice, and in rubber cables the splice is wrapped with rubber tape; all other details are the same for these as for the fibrous cable.