Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners 111 



ORGANIZATION. 



The organization of the party for hydrographic field work 

 when fully completed is as follows : 34 



3 Commissioners. 1 Painter. 



1 Hydrographic Engineer. 1 Oarsman. 



3 Asst. Hydrographic Engineers. 1 Boatswain (Houseboat). 



1 Clerk (On House boat). 1 Nightwatchman (House boat). 



1 Recorder. 1 Coxswain (Investigator). 



1 Leadsman. 1 Engineer (Investigator). 



1 Local Assistant. 1 Tide Observer. 



1 Expert Tongman. 2 Cooks. 



1 Carpenter. 2 Waiters. 



Day laborers for buoy construction and oarsmen have been 

 hired as the exigencies of the work required. 



METHODS. 



\ 



The methods used by the Commission in making the hydro- 

 graphic survey of the oyster grounds of Maryland, with slight 

 modifications, are the same as those used by the United States 

 Bureau of Fisheries in conducting surveys of oyster grounds 

 in other States. 



The approximate position of an oyster ground having been 

 pointed out by the local assistant, the Chief Engineer, with the 

 survey party on the launch ^CANVASBACK," runs a zigzag or 

 parallel series of sounding lines over it (see figure 6) the 

 object of which is to ascertain the exact limits of the ground, 

 the depth of water over it and the condition of the bottom. 



A copy of a poly conic projection, known as a boat sheet, 

 showing the shore line of the region being surveyed, and the 

 plotted positions of the signals erected on shore, is spread upon 

 a chart board in front of the hydrographic engineers. By 



s^Changes having been made in the personnel of the party as the sur- 

 vey progressed from one section of the State to another, the names of 

 employees are omitted. ' 



