Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners 109 



difficulties of \ a scattered party, the uncertain location and supply of 

 coal and water for launches and sufficient lumber for signals, it is 

 easily seen that the amount of work accomplished would have been 

 reduced greatly, if there had been no such house boat as the Oyster to 

 supply all requirements of the surveying operations. 



With reasonable care and repairs, the Oyster will be a valuable asset 

 to the Commission at the completion of the oyster survey of the State, 

 besides having paid her first cost several times over in both quality 

 and quantity of work accomplished. 



The steam launch "INSPECTOR," although not used by the 

 Commission or its engineers directly, is- nevertheless a part of 

 the equipment for the work of the survey. She belongs to and is 

 used by the Coast and Geodetic Survey party in erecting sig- 

 nals, placing monuments to mark the triangulation stations 

 and for making the triangulation necessary to determine the 

 geographical positions of the permanent objects and signals-. 



A number of small boats, furnished by the United States 

 Coast and Geodetic Survey and Bureau of Fisheries, are avail- 

 able for any purpose for which they may be needed. 



Instruments. 



The instruments (sextants, protractors and drawing instru- 

 ments) and record books needed by tb.6 hydrographic engineers 

 for conducting the survey of the oyster grounds have been 

 kindly loaned to the Commission by the United States Coast 

 and Geodetic Survey. The uses to which the instruments are 

 put are described further on. 



Such instruments as have been found necessary for con- 

 structing leasing charts, for computing areas and for con- 

 ducting the physical and biological investigations* have been 

 purchased by the Commission. 



*The apparatus used in ascertaining the density of the water over the 

 oyster grounds is the property of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. 

 The investigations concerning the oyster food supply of the Chesapeake 

 have been made with a microscope belonging to the Johns Hopkins 

 University. 



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