A large number of knots has been invented by the skill of man, and on their strength and correct tying depend the lives of thousands and thousands of workmen — seamen, building trade operatives, etc., day by day. The importance of being able to make the knot best suited for the occasion both rapidly and correctly may come in a new light to some when it is pointed out that both lives and property have over and over again been sacrificed to ill-made knots and this little volume is put for ward in the belief that few things better repay the workman's time and trouble in learning than the manipulation of ropes and cordage.