62 A MANUAL FOR NORTHERN WOODSMEN 



In elaboration of the law are the following rules laid 

 down by the Federal Land Office: 



24. Existing law requires that in general the public lands of 

 the United States "shall be divided by north and south lines run 

 according to the true meridian, and by others crossing them at 

 right angles so as to form townships six miles square," and that 

 the corners of the townships thus surveyed "must be marked with 

 progressive numbers from the beginning." 



Also, that the townships shall be subdivided into thirty-six sec- 

 tions, each of which shall contain 640 acres, as nearly as may be, 

 by a system of two sets of parallel lines, one governed by true 

 meridians and the other by parallels of latitude, the latter inter- 

 secting the former at right angles, at intervals of a mile. 



25. In the execution of the public surveys under existing law, 

 it is apparent that the requirements that the lines of survey shall 

 conform to true meridians, and that the townships shall be six miles 

 square, taken together, involve a mathematical impossibility due 

 to the convergency of the meridians. 



Therefore, to conform the meridional township lines to the 

 true meridians produces townships of a trapezoidal form which 

 do not contain the precise area of 23,040 acres required by law, 

 and which discrepancy increases with the increase in the con- 

 vergency of the meridians as the surveys attain the higher latitudes. 



26. In view of these facts, and under the provisions of Sec- 

 tion 2 of the Act of May 18, 1796, that sections of a mile square 

 shall contain 640 acres, as nearly as may be, and also under those 

 of Section 3 of the Act of May 10, 1800, that "in all cases where the 

 exterior lines of the townships, thus to be subdivided into sections 

 and half-sections, shall exceed, or shall not extend six miles, the 

 excess or deficiency shall be specially noted, and added to or de- 

 ducted from the western or northern ranges of sections or half- 

 sections in such township, according as the error may be in run- 

 ning lines from east to west, or from south to north ; the sections 

 and half-sections bounded on the northern and western lines of 

 such townships shall be sold as containing only the quantity ex- 

 pressed in the returns and plats, respectively, and all others as 

 containing the complete legal quantity," the public lands of the 

 United States shall be surveyed under the methods of the system 

 of rectangular surveying, which harmonizes the incompatibilities 

 of the requirements of law and practice, as follows: 



First. The establishment of a principal meridian conforming 

 to the true meridian, and, at right angles to it, a base line conform- 

 ing to a parallel of latitude. 



Second. The establishment of standard parallels conforming 

 to parallels of latitude, initiated from the principal meridian at 

 intervals of 24 miles and extended east and west of the same. 



Third. The establishment of guide meridians conforming to 

 true meridians, initiated upon the base line and successive standard 



