SAFEGUARDS OF THE SEA 8i 



the most familiar, for their lofty towers or 

 bobbing hulls in the day and their twinkling 

 beams of light at night are easily seen and 

 recognised. All around the world light- 

 houses are established, but they are most nu- 

 merous along those coasts where there is the 

 greatest amount of shipping and where the 

 shores are most dangerous. 



Many of the lighthouses are built upon the 

 land, often at some distance from the sea, 

 while others are built upon the very edge of 

 the water and still others are reared directly 

 from the breaking waves on isolated reefs or 

 rocks, sometimes a long distance from the 

 land. If all lighthouses were alike in form 

 and colour, or all cast the same kind of light, 

 mariners would be confused and the light- 

 houses would prove a menace rather than a 

 help. For this reason the various houses and 

 towers are painted different colours and their 

 lights are distinct so that one cannot be readily 

 mistaken for another. Some lights are steady 

 and white, others are red, others flash alter- 

 nately red and white, while still others flash 

 white at varying intervals, but in each and 



