126 Report of the Board of SheirFish Commissioners 



feet in length, are made from cypress 40 saplings and trees. The 

 ^aplings, when the bark has been removed, are allowed to sea- 

 son. Then the part of each spar which, when in use, will be 

 "submerged is given a coat of copper paint to protect it against 

 ship-worms, the upper part being painted white. To the top of" 

 each spar a flag, made of cotton ducking, with the words 

 (STATE BUOY), is nailed. 41 



The sinker or anchor by which the spar is kept in position is 

 a concrete block (c, d, e, f,), in which a %-inch iron staple is 

 embedded. These blocks of concrete are of three sizes weigh- 

 ing respectively 300, 500 and 800 pounds and are constructed by 

 the Commission at buoy stations established for this purpose. 



The mechanism for connecting the spar to the sinker (g, h, 

 j, k.), consists of a U-shaped piece of wrought iron, attached 

 to the lower end of the spar by means of lag screws and bolts 1 , 

 and a chain. The sides of the U-shaped piece are flattened to a 

 thickness of ^-inch and a width of 2-inches, but the middle 

 part is left round to prevent its being worn by the friction of 

 the chain. Two sizes of chain are used, *^-inch and %-inch, 

 with simple split links to join the ends of the chain when it is 

 passed through the U-shaped iron on the spar and the staple 

 in the sinker. 



The average price of these buoys completed is $2.57 each, 

 the average cost of the spars, $1.05, that of the sinkers, 92 cents 

 and that of the connecting part, 60 cents. 



Stake buoys are used to mark the corners of oyster bars over 

 which the depth of water does not exceed 10 feet. They are 

 made of bull-pine saplings, from which the bark has been 

 removed. As in the case of the floating spars, the part beneath 

 the water is painted with copper paint, the upper part painted 

 white. The lower end is sharpened to facilitate driving or 

 pumping into the bottom. 



4<>Bull pine saplings could not have been used for floating spars on 

 account of the tendency to waterlog and sink, but such saplings have 

 been used for stake buoys in shallow water. 



4iThese flags have not been used on the buoys placed in waters out- 

 side Anne Arundel County, the words (State Buoy) having been 

 branded into the wood near the top of the spar instead. 



