Spray courier. (Spray, Or.) 1???-19??, 1915-11-11
OUR COAST. LIGHTS
These Beacon3 Are Invaluable as
Aids 10 Navigation.
Tie SERVICE NEVER SLEEPS.
Night and Day at Al Soasons Of tho
Year the Flash ot the Lamp or the
Song Of tho Fog Siren Welcomes or
Warns the Watehtul Marinor.


4 Warns the Watehtul Mariner.
! The work of safeguarding navigation
, on the coasts OF the United States IL a
fNr greater alld more complex problem
than most people appreciate, for there
5 Is Il multitude OF complex conditions 10
> tc met. each one varying With the re.
cullarities of its location The terri.
tory 10 be covered Is also unusually
;. great. as Il inclnles not onIy ihe eutlre
ocean fronts or the country. both on
the Atlantic ana Pacific oceans. but OF
Ansi'i, the Hawaiian Islands. portions
of The West Indies and the great lakes
aS well, ;ind the service never ends
either 10y night or day. summer or win
ter,
The lighthouse service comprises Il
force OF a,0Go ncn. on whom dcvolves
the duty or maintaining over lI.Ool
aids 10 navigation OF various kinds, IN,
Guiding lighthouses. llghtships, light
beacons and huoys of various ,,escrlp.
ti0ns, together with many Fog signals.
ana an important incidental duty Is
that of protecting the shores In the
! neighborhood of Statlcps from ,la,uag,,
I by erosion that might Andnnger thu.
structures.
The desirable distribution of lights |
and other aids along coast depends !
/ on its maritime Development aud It's |
/ physical characteristics and Is n,lu. !
encea by the prevailing meteorological /
conditions. Thus the north Atlantic
coast has large foreign and coastins
trade. aud the shores are intricate and
In part rugged. and along this coast
the main lights are. with few excep-
tionS. placed AT such Intervals that
their arcs of visibility overlap. ON
portions of the coast of simple con
tour and with smaller traffic. there
are uniighted stretches between the
lights which stand ON the projecting
capes. The design aud const Eiction
of lighthouses vary with their Ioca-
ton and the surrounding conditions
no two being exactly alike.
Next to the lighthouse. the llghtship .
is one of the most picturesque objects
seen along our COASTS. This vessel is
ninety-two feet on the water line.
twenty-five feet beam and has a
draft of eleven feet four inches. II is
built OF steel and incombust.Dle ina.
terlals throughout aud has five water !
tight bulkheads. 1t is self propelled.
being provided with an internal com
bustion oil burning engine of 200
horsepower. and has an OIL ssipor or
gas light fifty feet above the water.
located ON tubular mast. through
which access to the light can be safely :
had IN any weather. The fog signal
Is siren using compressed air. uull
a submarine bell IL also fitted. Fifty. $
two light vessels are maintained. and 2
that there may be no interruption OF :
The service there are fourteen relief ],
'eips. so that II anything happens to
4 ship or station another can lie quick 4
y sent to take Its place. All Of these Il
Tesscls are very strongly built 10 en- n
.ble them to Withstand the severe ;,
service they are required TO perform :.
ind have flush decks for increased u
iafety. b.
Only one light. ttat at Nayesink. $:
Y. j.. is equipped with electric light for 4.
which current is generated at the sta
ion. but there are thirty minor stations
where electric lights. either incandes.
,ent or are. are used which obtain cur r
'ent from outside sources. In most of :.
he coast lights oil vapor lamps are
lsed having mantles Of either thirty
I've or fifty-fve Eli!limeters diameter y
md arranged either singly or IN groups -
living light intensitfeS OF from COO TO
iAs T.
My very powerful and reliable. but
re mrici more economical than the old
III wick lamps. az they require but
rom 90 to O.S8 gallon per candle pow
r per year as against as TO 7.G gallons
or the old oil lights. The increased Z.
efficiency Is about eight
ines.
Reac0ns. both fixed and floating. are 4
and depend on either gas or y.
lectricity for their lights. and these
re especially valuable IN inaccessible
laces where attendance is difficult
hese. however. are only puf In sta
oDs Of subordinate importance The
ajority Of such oeacons Use gas and
re provided with tanks Of sufficient
opacity for storing n supply Of acety.
ne gas for about five months.
Fog signals are Of particular value In
any places. and these are distributed
ong tue coast. according to conditions
'evailing. Thus oD the coast OF Maine
ere is an average Of 1,057 hours of 4
e during the year, while on the south r.
tlantic and gulf coasts the avetage is
ly 1S0 hours. There are 32S fog Sig
ls from Cape Lookout northward out
total of SCI maintained by the 3l
rvice. There are 127 fog signals on
G American shores of the great lakes
Il efglity-three OH the northern Pa. v;
ic and Alaska shores. while in Porto
co and Hawaii. where fog IS rare. no
mails of this kind are required
The principal fog signals used are air
ems. steam whistles. reed horns. bells
ntrolIed by clockwork and submarine
lis opemted by compressed air. all of r
lich are valued by sailors. = Engineer O'
; News.