96 THE OCEAN 



and to prevent such disasters the Government 

 has provided great v^alls of rocks called break- 

 waters, in the shelter of which ships may lie 

 in safety during bad weather. At nearly every 

 dangerous spot on the coast there are life-sav- 

 ing stations where hardy, fearless men are 

 constantly on watch for disabled or helpless 

 vessels and where every possible device for 

 life-saving is kept ready for instant use. Here 

 are powerful, staunch, non-capsizable and 

 non-sinkable life-boats, life-lines, breeches- 

 buoys, guns for throwing lines across stranded 

 ships, life-belts and life-preservers, and count- 

 less other appliances and apparatus for saving 

 the sailors and passengers on any vessels that 

 may be wrecked in the vicinity. Nearly every 

 one of these stations, lighthouses, lightships 

 and similar places is provided with wireless 

 apparatus, signal-flags and weather and storm 

 signals, and by means of these they can com- 

 municate with passing ships, warn them of 

 approaching storms and in many other ways 

 aid in safeguarding both vessels and lives. 



Aboard the ships there are still other safe- 

 guards and life-boats and rafts, life-preservers, 



