The daily Alaskan., 1912-08-07
COLORs OF BUOYs
Spell the Same Words of Warn
 ing In Al Our Waters.
DAY GUIDES FOR MARINERS.
The Simple Code That covsrns These Valuable Aids to Naviea eation--few the WshstIins Buoy and Bell 5aoy Fog Signals Are Operated.

buoys and red bDoyS, Ouoys wltn h0fi- zontaI black and red stripes. buoys with black and white vertical stripes. not 10 slseak Of bell buoys and the much lari,er buoys that lie well out al sea and are called mammoth buoys
 Each of these aids to navigation has. of course. Us own particular meaning. The plact' tlmt each occupies Is care fully chosen for it. and lis arrangement Is governed by cslrelu system.
 Buoys tarp called day marks" m contradistinciion io tue night marks the lights and lparnnS
 For the purposes nf the Lighthouse board the co,StS Of IEr United States. including the hikes and navigabie rivers. are divided into various dis tricts. each district tciug under the charge of an officer who sees that al buoys in bis district are properly cared for.
 For obvious reasons similar buoys In all districts mean the same thing. In other words. buoy Of particular dis tinguishiuis color or tbe coast of Maine carries the same significance that a buoy of that same color has off the coast of Florida. So the mariner who enters the New England port is guided and directed tn precisely the same was as the mariner who enters southern port. aud the same is true of all other parts of the rcuutry
 The governmeut publishes coast charts showing the colOrs and posi- tions of the buoys The lighthouse board publishes. iu addition, yearly list. distributed gratis for the benefit Of navigation. in which each one of the thousands of buoyS Is located and described
 The passenger standing nt the raii of the liner Ctming iu- from sea will prob ably first notice mammoth buoy" These buo,rs gre used only tn special cases-as. for example. to mark the SD breaches Co channels over bars or shoals that lie some distance from the coast
 Red and black buoys designate the channel They lie on either side The rcd buoys. which have even numbers. must be left on the starboard or right hand in passing In from sea. The black buoys, always with odd numbers. must be left on the port hand
 When there are two or more chan nels these are distinguished by differ. ence either tn the size or in the shape of the buoys
 An isolated rock. wreck or any ob- struction ttIat has channel on either side of it is shown by buoy with red and black horizontal stripes.
 Buoys showing white and black per pendicuIar stripes and lying In mid channel indicate that they must be passed clos. to avoid danger
 As an indication that there is turn ing point In the channel we see buoys surmounted by triangies, cages, etc.
 There are buoys which are also fog signals. such as the bell buoy and the vhistliug b'hoy The latter Is used on the coast to show dangerous outlying shoals or other Instructions. 1t Is sur mounted by locomotive whistle made to sound hy the rushing through 1, of air admitted and compressed by the rising and Itallius motion of the buoy itself It flas been found that these buoys are particularly adapted to tur. bulent waters, inasmuch as the more violent the aea is the louder the sound given out b.F the buoy. The whistling buoy. most unpleasant neighbor, may be heard a at distance of about ten miles. Under very favorable conditions tt has been heard fifteen miles.
 The bell buoy consists of the bottom section Of buoy soating in the water on which Is mounted framework bearing tell which. Instead of the ordinary totgue and elapper, shows q small cannon ball supported on s plat form just itcneath the bells mouth This bnll rolls to and fro with every motion of the sea
 Bell buoys are employed ID harbors and rivers where the water is smooth. CT than in the roadsteads and where it is not necessary that their sound shall be heard a great distance.
 The ordiusjry buoy, not of the whls. ting or the bell variety. is made either of wood or Of iron. Those of iron are hollow with air light compartments and are Of three shapes. called re spectively nun. can and ice buoys. The nun b,ioy Is almost conical in shape. the. tan buoy approaches the cylindrical form. and the Ice buoy Is very long and narrow. somewhat re sembling the spar buoy In form.
 The wooden or spar buoys are sticks ranging in length from twelve to sixty feet and painted according to the uses to which they are to be put The lower end is htted for mooring chain
 Buoys have many vicissitudes and are exposed to many dangers. Passing steamers run down the Iron buoys and rlp them open or cut oT biz pieces Of spar buoys with their sharp propeller blades. As the iron buoys are made in compartments they are seldom sunk by such collisions. but their line of flotatlon iIs often 90 lowered that they have to be replaced. d.- -Harper's Weekly.