Before leaving we went into the mast-house, near the entrance to the yard.  Here we saw the enormous pieces of timber intended to be built into masts--for masts of large ships are not single trees, but composed of many pieces, which are bound together with stout iron hoops.  Here also were the masts of ships in ordinary.  They would be liable to decay if kept on board exposed to the weather.  Each mast and yard is marked with the name of the ship to which it belongs.  The masts of the old Victory are kept here, the same she carried at Trafalgar.  Not far off is the boat-house, where boats from a large launch down to the smallest gig are kept ready for use.