October 31, 1884.] 



SCIENCE, 



417 



4. Large iron sea-buoy, which had hanging to it 

 about thirty feet of heavy chain. It came from 

 Sandy-Hook bar, in New- York Bay. 



5. One of the largest of the iron nun-buoys. There 

 was hanging to it some twelve feet of stud-link two- 

 and-a-quarter-inch chain, from which dangled a thou- 

 sand-pound ballast-ball. It was picked up about the 

 middle of July last, some twenty-five miles south-west 

 from Montauk Point, in good condition except that 

 its lower compartment was filled with water. It was 

 evident that it had come from some part of our south- 

 ern coast. 



6. Large red buoy, with tower and lantern on top. 

 It was discovered June 11, 1884, and would have been 

 picked up but for the bad weather. Same as No. 7. 



7. Picked up June 21, 1884, about four hundred and 

 eighty miles due east of New York. Same as No. 6. 

 This buoy went adrift from its station on Hatteras 



the eastern side of Teneriffe, with a thousand-pound 

 ballast-ball and a forty-two-foot chain attached. 



12. Second-class iron sea-buoy, was picked up on 

 Oct. 20, 1883, about fifteen miles from the east side 

 of Teneriffe, and had attached to it a fifteen-inch 

 seven-hundred-and-fifty-pound ballast-ball, and about 

 thirty feet of chain-cable. 



13. Iron sea-buoy, picked up June 5, 1882. 



14. Picked up Aug. 22, 1883. It was one of the 

 largest iron buoys, and had attached to it a thousand- 

 pound ballast-ball, forty-eight feet of heavy chain- 

 cable, and a three-thousand-pound mushroom anchor. 

 It was recognized as one of those carried to sea from 

 New York Bay by the ice in December, 1880. 



15. Iron sea-buoy, which went ashore in February, 

 1881, on one of the quays near Turk's Island; sent 

 home. 



16. Whistling-buoy, passed June 24, 1884. 



Fig. 4. — Chart of stray buoys in the North Atlantic. 



Shoal, off Cape Hatteras, between May 24 and June 

 4, 1884. It had made over twenty miles a day in a 

 north-east course. It is of this buoy that Science 

 said (No. 77, p. 92) that it was unfortunately picked 

 up. If it had only been sighted and reported by each 

 passing vessel, we might have had a record of its 

 curious voyage, and known something more of the 

 currents by which it was impelled. 



8. Iron buoy of the largest size. It was picked up 

 on the west coast of Ireland in the spring of 1871. 



9. Iron nun-buoy of the largest size, with a heavy 

 chain and ballast-ball attached. Went ashore in Pen- 

 deen Cove, Penzance Bay, on the south-west extremity 

 of the English coast, about March 1, 1884. It proba- 

 bly left New- York Bay during the preceding winter. 



10. Iron sea-buoy, picked up by the Norwegian 

 bark Yance in March, 1871. 



10£. Large nun-buoy painted red, passed July 20, 

 1884. 



11. Iron sea-buoy, picked up on Aug. 30, 1883, on 



17. This is doubtless the same buoy as that num- 

 bered 18 and 22 on the chart. It was sighted June 

 29, 1884, and described as ' a large buoy, painted red, 

 with patent fog-horn.' 



18. A whistling-buoy. It stood about twelve feet 

 out of water. It was passed June 29, 1884. The 

 same buoy is plotted as No. 17, and also as No. 22, 

 reported by two other ships. 



19. Whistling-buoy, passed July 14, 1884. The 

 same buoy is plotted as No. 2 on the map, and was 

 seen a month before by another ship. 



20. Second-class red whistling-buoy, picked up 

 April 30, 1884, twenty-five miles off Cape Cod, which 

 had broken adrift from Lurcher Shoal, Nova Scotia. 

 This is the only case where a buoy is known to have 

 drifted at once to the southward. 



21. After the other buoys were plotted, it was found 

 that No. 21 and No. 6 were the same buoy, it having 

 been twice reported by the same ship : so it has only 

 been plotted as No. 6. 



