108 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES. 



be published. There are also large scale town maps and street plans on 

 1 : 200 scale which are not printed. All maps are revised as occasion serves. 



The Survey of Egypt carries out all first and second order levelling. 

 It has, moreover, an excellent equipment for standardisation, scientific 

 observations, etc. The Survey prints and publishes its own maps. 



It will be seen that the Survey of Egypt complies closely with the 

 standard which I have advocated for a National Survey. 



On the other side of the Atlantic we find two great National Surveys 

 which are of immediate interest to us : those of the United States and of 

 the Dominion of Canada. 



In the United States we have a country of great extent, but at the 

 same time of great wealth ; a country, moreover, which has a reputation 

 for efficiency and for being in the forefront of economic progress. It is, 

 therefore, of the greatest interest to our inquiry to see what form their 

 survey takes, how it is organised, and what is its state of progress. 



We find in the first place that there is no one survey department 

 which is responsible for all survey operations. The Coast and Geodetic 

 Survey (a bureau of the Department of Commerce) produces coastal 

 charts, with such small amount of topographic work along the coast as is 

 necessary for these, and does first and second order triangulation, traverse, 

 and levelling, and allied scientific work. The Geological Survey (a bureau 

 of the Department of the Interior) carries out its own third order control, 

 both horizontal and vertical, and produces and publishes topographical 

 maps on four scales, besides smaller scale wall maps, etc., and in addition 

 to geological and allied work. The Geological Survey is in fact the 

 topographical survey of the United States. Such an arrangement seems 

 peculiar to us, in Great Britain at any rate, since we have been accus- 

 tomed to regard topography and geology as distinct sciences ; but in 

 the United States geological and topographical work have from the 

 earliest times been carried on together. 



The topographical maps published are on scales of approximately 

 J, h, 1 and 2 inches to the mile. The Geological Survey prints and 

 publishes its own maps. There is no definite system of revision in 

 operation at present, it being considered that completion of the original 

 survey is the first duty to be carried out ; but some revision has been 

 done in specific cases. 



The General Land Office (Department of the Interior), is charged with 

 the cadastral surveys of public lands — i.e. United States territory, except 

 the original thirteen States, which presumably do their own surveys. 

 Cadastral surveys were started about 1785 ; and consist mainly in survey- 

 ing and dividing land into rectangular blocks of six miles square, sub- 

 di\'ided into sections of one mile square. The work is complete for most 

 of the country and revision is being done in many parts. The plans (or 

 ' plats ' as they are called) are printed and on sale. It is important, 

 however, to note that the main business of this survey is to mark 

 divisions on the grovnd : and that the plats are of value only to indicate 

 graphically the land sub-divisions and their dimensions, and to give a 

 rough idea of their j^hysical features. They show no elevations, and are 

 of no value as topographic maps. These plats cannot be considered as 

 cadastral plans in the sense that we understand them. 



