﻿192 
  

  

  in 
  position 
  long 
  enough 
  to 
  permit 
  the 
  meagre 
  yet 
  valuable 
  

   information 
  it 
  can 
  produce 
  to 
  be 
  made 
  public. 
  

  

  INVESTIGATION 
  OF 
  TEMPERATURES. 
  

  

  It 
  was 
  intended 
  that 
  a 
  self-registering 
  thermometer 
  should 
  

   be 
  placed 
  on 
  each 
  hurdle, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  temperature 
  to 
  which 
  

   the 
  young 
  were 
  exposed 
  should 
  be 
  noted 
  at 
  each 
  examination. 
  

   Fortunately, 
  considering 
  the 
  fate 
  of 
  the 
  hurdles, 
  the 
  ther- 
  

   mometers 
  were 
  not 
  received 
  in 
  time 
  to 
  be 
  used, 
  as 
  was 
  in- 
  

   tended, 
  and 
  after 
  the 
  disappearance 
  of 
  the 
  spat 
  collectors 
  it 
  

   was 
  not 
  considered 
  advisable 
  to 
  expose 
  the 
  thermometers 
  to 
  

   the 
  same 
  risks. 
  

  

  About 
  the 
  last 
  of 
  July, 
  however, 
  I 
  had 
  the 
  temperature 
  of 
  

   the 
  surface 
  water 
  recorded 
  every 
  two 
  hours, 
  and 
  considering 
  

   that 
  there 
  is 
  probably 
  but 
  very 
  little 
  variation 
  of 
  those 
  limits 
  

   in 
  the 
  Sounds, 
  I 
  have 
  plotted 
  the 
  accompanying 
  curve 
  of 
  maxi- 
  

   mum 
  and 
  minimum 
  temperatures 
  from 
  July 
  29th 
  to 
  October 
  

   1st. 
  

  

  It 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  these 
  curves 
  are 
  very 
  irregular, 
  and 
  that 
  

   the 
  greatest 
  irregularities 
  occur 
  during 
  the 
  month 
  of 
  August, 
  

   and 
  that 
  the 
  greatest 
  difference 
  is 
  between 
  the 
  6tli 
  and 
  10th 
  

   of 
  August, 
  one 
  of 
  15° 
  in 
  four 
  days. 
  On 
  the 
  15th 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  

   change 
  of 
  8°, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  28th 
  of 
  12''. 
  

  

  About 
  the 
  4th 
  of 
  August 
  I 
  determined 
  to 
  utilize 
  the 
  chan- 
  

   nel 
  buoys 
  as 
  marks 
  for 
  the 
  positions 
  of 
  thermometers, 
  hoping, 
  

   that 
  they 
  might 
  thus 
  escape 
  the 
  observation 
  of 
  those 
  who 
  were 
  

   inclined 
  to 
  remove 
  them. 
  Accordingly 
  I 
  placed 
  four 
  self-reg- 
  

   istering 
  thermometers 
  on 
  the 
  beds 
  — 
  one 
  at 
  the 
  foot 
  of 
  the 
  buoy 
  

   on 
  the 
  Shark's 
  Fin, 
  one 
  on 
  the 
  buoy 
  on 
  Piney 
  Island 
  Bar, 
  one 
  

   on 
  the 
  buoy 
  off 
  Watts' 
  Light 
  House, 
  and 
  one 
  on 
  the 
  buoy 
  off 
  

   Sykes 
  Island, 
  about 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  Pocomoke 
  Sound. 
  

  

  We 
  were 
  enabled 
  to 
  make 
  several 
  examinations 
  of 
  these 
  

   thermometers, 
  but 
  about 
  the 
  1st 
  of 
  September, 
  finding 
  that 
  

   one 
  had 
  been 
  stolen, 
  I 
  concluded 
  to 
  remove 
  the 
  others 
  before 
  

   they 
  shared 
  the 
  same 
  fate. 
  

  

  The 
  curves 
  of 
  maximum 
  and 
  minimum 
  temperature 
  given 
  

   by 
  these 
  thermometers, 
  and 
  also 
  the 
  range 
  of 
  variation, 
  are 
  

  

  