86 Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners. 
BUOYS. 
STATE BUOYS. 
Construction. 
Wy Provision is made in Section 86 of the Haman Oyster 
; Culture Law for marking the corners of all natural oyster 
bars with buoys to enable oystermen to see, before the period 
has elapsed during which appeals may be made to the Cireuit 
Court, that none of the natural bars have been missed by 
the survey party. 
Since the number of buoys required to mark the corners of. 
the natural oyster bars in the State will be very large, — 
probably not less than 2,000, the problem of constructing a 
A buoy which will be satisfactorily permanent and at the same 
ae time not too expensive for practical use, has been difficult. . 
i The two types of buoys adopted by the Commission were 
designed by the chief engineer. The plan of the construction 
of the larger is shown in figure 9. 
| The larger buoy (a), is composed of a spar and sinker and 
a mechanism of iron for connecting the two. The spars, 
20-50 feet in length, are made from cypress* saplings and | 
trees. The saplings, when the bark has been removed, are ~ 
oe allowed to season. Then each spar is given a coat of red lead 
sat to fill pores and cracks, and shortly before establishing, the 
wT, section to be submerged is given a coat of copper paint to 
> protect it against worms, the upper part painted white. The _ 
a words STATE BUOY are branded into the wood near the 
ip top. 
> 7 
Mp The sinker or anchor by which the spar is kept in position 
bd is a concrete block (c, d, e, f), in which a 84-inch iron staple 
at is embedded. These blocks of concrete are of three sizes, | 
( weighing respectively 300, 500 and 800 pounds, and are con- | 
_ structed by the Commission at buoy stations established for 
this purpose. F 
1 Bull-pine saplings could not have been used for floating spars on account of ; z 
their tendency to waterlog and sink, but such saplings have been used for stake 
buoys in shallow water. . 
