Vol. Xir. No. 304. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



ll-i 



STUDENTS' CORNER. 



INFORMATION CONCERNING LAND 

 MEASUREMENT. 

 IIL 

 In the last article on this subject, the way to lay out 

 survey lines was described, an account having been given in 

 the first article of the methods employed in the measure- 

 ment of these lines. It is propo.sed now to deal, necessarily 

 briefly, with a few of the practical difficulties sometimes 

 encountered by the field surveyor, and to conclude with 

 a few simple instructions connected with the plotting of 

 field measureme'nts on paper. It may be well, before pro- 

 ceeding, to remind the student again that the object of 

 giving this information is not primarily a didactic one; it is 

 the aim, not so much to instruct as to suggest, thereby 

 opening the eyes of the student to a branch of agricultural 

 science which may previously have been unfamiliar to him. 



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i-m. ^V 



Fig. .33. 



Sometimes, in measuring a field, the line of sight is 

 impeded by an object such as a building. Let A B be 

 a chain line (s-ee Fig. 33), the measurement of which is 

 prevented by the building C, how would you proceed? The 

 diagram shows how to get over the ditiiculty. It will be 

 observed that the setting out of line t/m, for instance, 

 involves a certain procedure which we have not yet dealt 

 with; what is it! 



Having given the correct answer to this question, the 

 student will then appreciate the assistance afforded by 

 Fig. 34 of which A B is a chain line. The numbers 40, 

 ■50 and 30 represent so many links of a chain, respectively. 

 What do these figures signify! Those students who have 

 studied the first book of Kuclid, will know that since 

 40- +30- =50-', //iB- +Bn'- = ain-; therefore, by Euc, 1, 47, 

 Bn is perpendicular to B//(, or inT>u. is a right angle. 



Another example of the application of geometry to over- 

 come the difficulties of a field survey is the case where it is 

 required to measure a line impeded by an object not 

 obstructing the sight. In Fig. 35, let AB be a chain 

 line, the direct measurement of which is prevented by the 

 unforeseen obstruction of a pond, P. Measure Are till it 

 reaches to, or near to the edge of the pond, and fasten the end 

 of the chain to the ground with arrows at m and n, the 

 distance nm being made half a chain or 50 links. Take 





A 



X_B 



Fig. 34. 



Fi.;. 35. 



hold of the middle cf the chain, and extend it firmly, till its 

 two halves rest in the position nio, on thus making an equi- 

 lateral triangle mno, each side of whicli is 50 links. Then 



in the direction ,uo measure to nearly opposite the middle of 

 the pond, as to y. Reference to the figure will show that at 

 <l a similar procedure is repeated, and nr prolonged to cut 

 ah at s. l\s will then be equal to laq' oi </s, which being 

 added to Ant will give the .listance As. The student 

 should endeavour to explain the rea.son why the three sides 

 of the triangle ni'/is must be equal. 



It will be necessary further to take ofifsets to the margin 

 of the pond during the measurement of the lines m>/, 7.,-. 



PLOTTINc; A l-LAN 



Reverting to Fig. 32 in the article in the last issue of 

 the Arjriniltm-al Xews, it may be sugg'^stive to inform the 

 student that in plotting the measurements recorded in con- 

 nexion with the survey discus.sed there, it is best to lay down 

 first the line A B: the triangle imiD should then be laid 

 down, and its sides Dm, Y),i, prolonged to the station C and 

 E, from whence the lines OB, EA, must respectively reach 

 the points B and 0, and the line CE equal to the measured 

 distance to confirm the accuracy of the work. This done, the 

 ottsets on the several lines may be laid off, through which 

 the fences are to be drawn. 



For details as to the scale to work with, and the 

 instruments required, the student should refer to any of the 

 following textbooks. — 



PraHical Suyeyiiuj: A Text I'.ook for Students preparing 

 for Survey Work in the Colonies. By (3. W^ Usill. London, 

 Crosby Lockwood k Sons, 1904. 



Prartical Surveying: By Henry Adams. Macmillan it Co , 

 Ltd., St. Martins Str. .London, E.C. 1913. 



Land Surveying: by T. Baker and F. E. Dixon. London, 

 Crosby Lockwood & Sons, 1905. 



From the last mentioned work the greater portion of the 

 information presented in the foregoing articles has been 

 abstracted. 



Difficulties of Applying the Raiffeisen Sys- 

 tem in England.— The following reasons have been 

 advanced in the Report of the Agricultural Organization 

 Society of England, 1913, as affording a partial explanation 

 of the comparatively small progress made in England and 

 Wales, in regard to the establishment of unlimited co-opera- 

 tive credit .societies: — 



(1) The fact that the rural districts of England .and 

 Wales are not burdened by the usurer to the .same extent as 

 in many foreign countries and in Ireland. (2) The extent 

 to which England and Wales are served by Joint Stock 

 Banks as compared with continental States. (3) The 

 unpopularity in England of the principle of unlimited 

 liability. (4) The unwillingness of the average farmer and 

 small holder to disclose his financial position to his neighbours 

 when he wishes to borrow. (5) The general custom of mer- 

 chants to give long credit to agricultural customers. (6) A gen- 

 eral preference on the part of cultivators to obtain goods on 

 credit rather than to borrow actually in cash. (7) Lajk of 

 enthusiasm on the part of the class of men required to under- 

 take the responsibility of acting on conmiittees and the 

 scarcity of keen and properly qualified men to act as secre- 

 taries. (8) The difficulty of financing societies if formed. 



The above reasons are extremely interesting and 

 suggestive, and should be contrasted with existing 

 causes of a similar kind in the West Indies. For 

 information on agricultural credit in the Wea*; Indies 

 see pp. 401 and 408 of this issue. 



