258 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XII. No. 304 



sential that a record be made giving all needful details for restor- 

 ing lost marks. The making of the record, however, though an 

 important matter for practical reasons, is a secondary matter to the 

 surface marks which define the boundary. It is the loss of the 

 ground marks, and not the loss of the record, that makes boundary 

 re-surveying necessary. Few if any boundaries are ever so per- 

 fectly or completely marked out that subsequent surveys are not 

 necessary. Much of the work of the boundary surveyor, therefore, 

 consists in the retracing of lines, or, what is the same thing, the re- 

 covery of old marks. The law, decree, or what not, which pre- 

 scribes the boundary is the guide for the first survey. Subsequent 

 surveys have the same law and the old notes by which to recover 

 the line as first marked. And as successive surveys, more or less 

 well or ill done, in the course of years accumulate records of more 

 or less obscurity, the work of the surveyor comes to be more and 

 more a study of law and the untangling and interpretation of rec- 

 ords. 



The language defining a boundary is often such as to be incapa- 

 ble of interpretation, or it prescribes impossible conditions. The 

 north-eastern boundary of Massachusetts has been, and the south- 

 eastern boundary of Alaska may be, in dispute for the same reason. 

 Each requires a line parallel to the winding of a coast or stream. 



The partition of the public lands for sale is a particular case of 

 boundary-surveying. These surveys, executed in the wilderness in 

 advance of settlement, were for the purpose of staking out the 

 ground for farmers. 



From the nature of the case, much of this survej'ing was rough 

 and poor. But though roughly and badly done, though the quar- 

 ter-sections often differ materially from the one hundred and sixty 

 acres, though the rough records show illiteracy or are obscure, 

 nevertheless, whenever the staking-out of the lines on the ground 

 was well done, the survey was well done, for it achieved its chief 

 purpose. But in many places the staking-out was badly done or 

 not done at all ; a burnt match passing for a charred stake, and a 

 pebble for a stone monument. In such places the local surveyor 

 will find employment in recovering old land-lines. 



The importance of having boundaries well and clearly defined 

 need not be dwelt upon. The perpetual litigation over property 

 boundaries, the litigation in which decisions involve question of 

 boundary, the irritation and occasional wars between nations over 

 boundary questions, sufficiently emphasize the importance of such 

 surveys. The practical need is not merely that a boundarj'-line 

 should be once surveyed and marked, but that it should be continu- 

 ally marked. The lines should be therefore re-e-xamined from time 

 to time, and lost marks renewed. It appears obvious that such work 

 should be continuously in charge of an officer or little corps of bound- 

 ary surveyors, who, in an office for the purpose, accumulate the 

 records of all boundaries under their jurisdiction, and who are 

 charged with the maintenance of boundaries. The general govern- 

 ment might appropriately undertake the task of marking and main- 

 taining the boundaries of the States, while the individual States 

 might assume control of all boundary-lines within the State. The 

 successful and economical mode of performing such work would 

 seem to consist in abandoning the job or contract system, and sub- 

 stituting a permanent organization, — an organization in which 

 special aptitude, special knowledge, experience, and fidelity would 

 be required. Entrance to such an organization should be solely on 

 account of such qualities, and permanence of tenure in such work 

 is essential to its success. Under such a system, both the States 

 and the United States can economically undertake the work of es- 

 tablishing and maintaining their ancient land-marks. 



Improvement Surveys. 



The last great division in our classification is that of surveys 

 made as a preliminary or basis for the construction of works or im- 

 provement surveys. These surveys may be generally characterized 

 as special. They are made for some one specified purpose ; and 

 that purpose, being construction of some sort, almost if not quite 

 universally demands large-scale maps. All improvement surveys 

 may be regarded as ' special ' in distinction from ' information ' sur- 

 veys, which are made for general purposes. The general survey is 

 therefore the natural and economic forerunner of, but not a substi- 

 tute for, the construction survey. 



If a canal or railroad is to be constructed to connect the Gulf of 

 Mexico with the Pacific Ocean, a general topographic map of the 

 region exhibiting the drainage and surface form would at once nar- 

 row the question of location down to a very few alternative proposi- 

 tions, or might even completely determine the location. But such 

 general map, even if on a very large scale, and very detailed and 

 very accurate, does not obviate the need of construction surveys. 

 The construction of railroads from the south-eastern Atlantic sea- 

 board into and across the Appalachian Mountain system into the 

 Mississippi basin, is greatly facilitated by the aid of general topo- 

 graphic maps. — maps which, even on moderate or small scales, ob- 

 viate almost or quite completely the need of trial or random lines or 

 preliminary surveys. To attempt to make a general topographic 

 map with such minuteness of detail, with such precision and on 

 such a scale as to permit its economic use for construction pur- 

 poses, is to undertake a work that will in general fail of its purpose: 

 construction surveys will still be needed. The information survey 

 affords the material for intelligent and economical planning of im- 

 provements ; the construction survey furnishes the working draw- 

 ings and details. The information survey for general purposes 

 takes cognizance of the larger and more permanent features ; the 

 construction must take account of much smaller and more ephem- 

 eral features. And because construction surveys require informa- 

 tion respecting ephemeral features, it is not economical to have such 

 surveys completed long in advance of construction. 



As the scale of a general topographic map is increased, the 

 amount of detail shown is increased. And it is possible so to en- 

 large the scale, and so to multiply the amount of detail shown, as 

 to lay plans for improvements with great definiteness, and even in 

 some cases to begin simple construction works without further in- 

 formation than that afforded by such maps. But, by reason of 

 rapid change of small features, construction must in general follow 

 very quickly after the execution of the survey ; and the usefulness of 

 the maps for most purposes declines rapidly with the lapse of time. 

 Large-scale and detail maps of the suburbs of growing cities and 

 towns become quickly antiquated : they serve temporary needs, and 

 are replaced by new ones similarly serving temporary purposes. 

 This being the case, good economy requires that they be made 

 quickly and cheaply. 



As topographic maps on very large scales may be made in cer- 

 tain cases to a limited extent for construction purposes, the purposes- 

 of topographic surveys, and of surveys for constructive purposes, 

 are sometimes confused. Some engineers demand that a topo- 

 graphic map shall not only serve the general purpose of giving 

 topographic (that is, eidographic) information, but shall also give 

 all details needful for completely planning theconstruction of works. 

 Such demand implies a confusion of the purposes of information 

 surveys as above set forth, — a confusion through which nearly all 

 map-making nations have pas_sed. Topographic map-making on 

 any extended scale is comparatively new in this country, and the 

 general ideas prevailing respecting them are those which were held 

 in Europe forty or more years ago. At that time it was held that a 

 single map could be made to serve all purposes ; and this, of 

 course, required large scales. Then the work progressed slowly, 

 and became very expensive. Moreover, such maps very soon fell 

 in arrears, and were presently hopelessly in arrears. Out of this 

 experience was slowly e\;olved the principle that maps, and the 

 surveys needful to make them, should fall in three great categories : 

 viz., (a) general or chorographic maps, i.e., on a small scale (from 

 ■ 'oo^off ij downward), covering the grand features of an area of con- 

 siderable extent ; (3) special or topographic maps, i.e., maps on 

 moderate scales (from ^inrVin; 'o STms)' covering a correspondingly 

 smaller area, and exhibiting all the natural and prominent artificial 

 features of which the scale admits ; and (c) very large scale plans 

 or diagrams (from . ^d^^j ) upward), such as parish plans, town plans, 

 cadastral maps, or land-office plats, etc. Between these categories, 

 sharply defined lines do not exist. But the experience of the 

 European nations has in the course of time brought clearly to view 

 the practical importance of differentiating these three classes. And 

 so it has happened that nations formerly making a general topo- 

 graphic map on very large scales are now making them, or have 

 completed them, on greatly reduced scales. 



We have subdivided construction surveys into six groups, which 



