The Progress., 1892-11-12

floating twelve feet out of water. Inside
tbs bulb Is n tube thirty, three inches In
diameter. extending from the top through
the bottom to depth OF thirty-two feet
into water FREQ from wave motion. On tho
top of this tube, high above tho water. Is
placed a i0-inch locomotive whistle. AZ
its lower end the tube Is open, sosthst it is
constantly filed with water. In the top
Of the tube are two holes through which
air is admitted, and one hole through the
whistle. These boles are conneoedn with
three pipes which lead down 10 near the
water level, and there pass into an outer
chamber of the cylinder. Now you can
readily see that the great bulb rises eId
fails with the waves, carrying the tube up
and down with II. thus establishing pis-
ton and cylinder movement. The air II
compressed as a result of this movement,
and when lerccd through tho whistle
makes q noise that can he heard, under
favorable cireumsIancea at points ffteen
niles distant"
-Havs we nanSepf these buoysf"
Yea think there are now nearly sew.
sn4y Of them on tho coast of the United
States. They cost more than Thousand
dollars each and weigh six tone. IL is =
curious fact shat in proportion 40 they arc
useful TO the mariner they are obnoxious
20 people living within earshot Of them,
and wbsusver we put In a now whistlins
bsroy On an inhabited coast We have TO
monstranoes pouring In from the people.
When a bell buoy will do ~ we'll we
put that kind in, for n whistling buoy In a
dreadful nufsance, especially whore thsrs
In q storm, and the turbulent waves conr
press the air with foros enoagh 70 peoduos
a sound at 10 raise the dead"
'~wbss is q bell buoyp'
Tho bell buoy is also very simpls, /" said
Mr.. johnson. 1T Is made Of iron. floats
ON the water and carYies axed q 8oopound
ball Tn plate under the bc1 and Gloss
70 IA cannon bali n placed. and this ball
polls around ~ the waves disturb the buoy
eanskne II 70 rush against the boil
like the wbissling buoy. tbe be1l buoy
sounds the l0udrst when the sea II rough
est, but the latter N adapted TO shaliew
wstar, vheee tho whistling buoy could not
ride, and is preferred in harbors and rivers,
where the sound range required n not "a
great, while the whistling buoy II placed
In the open sea or IN rosdsteads. We have
about sevcnty-Evs bell buoys. which cost
tS00 apiece.
LET me tell you something more about
the buoy business" continued Mr. John
son. II think the facts will astonish you.
Probably very few people understand tbs
importance Of the buoy service maintained
by Uncle Sam. The buoy. you know, is to
the mariner by day what the light Is at
night aud what the foRhorn In IN thick
weather. II tells him by It's sine, form,
color and number how to avoid rocks and
shoals, and shows the way In and out OF
harbor. When It 10 bell or wbistline
buoy it works at night M well a. by day,
in thick as well Ms IN clear weather, AMI
takes the place Of lighthouses and light
ships.
You will be surprised when I tell you
that the buoy service OF the United States
eosts nearly s4oo, 900 year; that It has lis
own code of laws state and national, q
fleet Of steamers for it's maintenance, be
sides CORPS Of contractors to attend 70 the
buoyage OF covos and tnlets, and that II has
ne own directory. printed yearly In thir
teen Volumes and distributed free for the
guidance OF msriners
''in this service there are OF all kipdi
nearly 5000 buoys. Merely to Indicate the
system to which the buoy service has bees
reduced viii mention that rod buoys, with
even numbers. are placei on the right hand
side, and black buoys, with odd numbers
oa the left hand side Of channels, ap
preached from seaward. Buoys placed on
shoals or wrecks having safe channel or
either side are painted with red and black
horizontal stripes, while perpendicular
stripes ieticate that the buoys must b<
passed close 70 In order TO avoid danger.
In many other ways the marking Of buoys
is made guidepost 10 the mariner.
80 far we have made but one effort I'd
hight buoys with electricity. and that h 10
New York bay. Ha
where six buoys "a
marking Gedney's IA
channel are light IEN