E.— GEOGRAPHY. 109 



This office also issues various small scale maps of the whole United 

 States, and of various individual states. 



The work of all the above departments is co-ordinated by the Federal 

 Board of Surveys and Maps, which is composed of representatives from 

 fourteen Federal organisations. The Board acts as an advisory bodj^ and 

 has done most useful work in preventing duplication and overlapping and 

 in securing uniformity in scales, symbols, etc. 



With Canada we begin our consideration of the surveys of the British 

 Empire. The organisation in Canada has this in common with that of 

 the neighbouring United States, that there are several Survey Depart- 

 ments each responsible for certain branches of work ; with a ' Surveys 

 Bureau ' to co-ordinate the work. The situation in Canada is, indeed, 

 rather complicated and not easy to follow. At the outset we have to 

 recognise the difference between Provincial Lands and Dominion Lands. 

 Each province has its own survey organisation, concerned mainly or 

 entirely with land or cadastral surveys. The Dominion has an inde- 

 pendent organisation, responsible for Dominion Lands. The Dominion 

 Survey is divided into three branches : the Geodetic Survey (under a 

 Director), the Topographical Survey (under the Surveyor-General), and 

 the International Boundary Survey. The work of these branches is 

 co-ordinated by a Surveys Bureau, at the head of which is the Director- 

 General of Surveys. The Geodetic Survey is responsible for triangulation 

 and levelling ; while the Topographical Survey is responsible, besides 

 topographical work, for land, control, land classification, and aerial 

 surveys. But in addition to these we find the Department of National 

 Defence and the Geological Survey, both of which are jjroducing topo- 

 graphical maps. The triangulation and levelling work done by the 

 Geodetic Survey is of a high order ; while the Topographical Survey are 

 producing excellent topographical maps. The scales adopted are one, 

 two, and four miles to the inch, according to circumstances, and. it is 

 intended eventually to cover the whole country with this National 

 Topographic series. 



Besides topographical work, the Topographical Survey carries out 

 cadastral work in its Land Surveys branch. These surveys based, like 

 those of the United States, on six miles square townships, and similar in 

 nature, are being carried on systematically, and an immense amount of 

 work has been done. 



It will be remembered that Canada (owing mainly to the late Dr. 

 Deville, Surveyor-General) has taken the lead in photographic methods 

 of surveying. The country is particularly suitable for this method, and 

 the great progress made is due largely to its adoption. 



It may fairly be said that Canada is showing a fine example in carrying 

 out systematic surveys of her territories, surveys geodetic, topographical 

 and cadastral. At the same time I do not think that the organisation 

 of surveys in Canada or in the United States is one to be copied. It is 

 fairly obvious, I think, that there has been in the past a great deal of 

 independent and unco-ordinated effort in both countries and that the 

 present situation, while no doubt working well practically, is a com- 

 promise ; and the suggestive and advisory functions of a Board can 

 never, in my opinion, take the place of the personal control of a Director. 



