86 



ENGINEERING ON THE FARM 



Fig. ioo. 



Method of numbering sections 

 from 1796 to date 



Ohio. The sections were numbered in the order indicated 

 in Figure 99. 



In 1796 the law was changed to provide that lines should 



be run every 2 miles in a 

 a township, and the 

 method of numbering 

 sections was changed to 

 that used at the present 

 time (Fig. 100). In 1800 

 the law was revised to 

 provide for the survey of 

 each section line, and in 

 1805 provision was made 

 for the establishment of 

 quarter corners on section 

 lines. 



In the earlier days pub- 

 lic land-survey plats, 

 showing the townships and sections, were prepared in the 

 land office. The plats were then taken to the field and the 

 lines laid out and marked on the ground. It was soon dis- 

 covered that the platted lines would not fit on the ground, 

 and it became apparent that adjustments would be necessary 

 to make a rectangular system of surveys fit the surface of 

 the earth, which is approximately that of a sphere. The 

 platting of the subdivisions before field work had to be 

 abandoned, the field work done first, and the plat then 

 made according to the conditions found on the ground. 

 As various discrepancies arose from time to time in the 

 field, their correction and adjustment were governed by 

 instructions issued from the General Land Office and by acts 

 of Congress. In order to systematize the corrections neces- 

 sary to equalize curvature, correction lines were established. 

 Survey lines from the south would stop at the correction 

 line, and lines on the north start the proper distance apart. 

 It was finally determined to place correction lines at regular 



