40 



AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING 



the N.W.M of Sec. Twp. Range . 



may be the E. W. S. or N. of 



An 80-acre tract 

 -etc. The 40- 

 acre and smaller tracts may be described in a similar manner. 

 Monuments. In making the original surveys, the gov- 

 ernment surveyors left what are called monuments to mark 

 the location of principal corners. These monuments were 

 usually made of stone with suitable marks to identify them, 

 but in some instances only wooden stakes or heaps of earth 

 were used. 



Surveys by Metes and Bounds. Before the adoption of 



the rectangular system of 

 land surveying, the lands in 

 the United States were sur- 

 veyed by describing fully the 

 boundaries, and it was not 

 practical to change to the 

 new system where land had 

 been so surveyed. This sys- 

 tem is still used to a certain 

 extent to describe small 

 tracts of land even when the 

 rectangular system might be 

 used. 



Resurveys. It is not the purpose of this text to include 

 directions for surveying units larger than the farm, and it 

 does not attempt to give directions for a resurvey of the loca- 

 tion of the corners of a certain tract, yet some of the impor- 

 tant features of such a survey may be mentioned. 



One of the most important considerations is that when the 

 boundaries of the public lands established by the authorized 

 government surveyor are approved by the surveyor general, 

 and accepted by the government, they are unchangeable. 

 This is true whether the corners were located where they 



Fig. 28. Divisions of the section. 



