388 Appendix B 



a good hatchet with hammer head and nail-puller should 

 be in the tool kit. In addition, each man should be pro- 

 vided with a belt knife and a machete with sheath. 

 Collins makes the best machetes. His axes, too, are 

 excellent. The bill-hook, called foice in Brazil, is a most 

 valuable tool for clearing away small trees, vines, and 

 undergrowths. It is marvellous how quickly an experi- 

 enced hand can clear the ground in a forest with one of 

 these instruments. All of these tools should have handles 

 of second-growth American hickory of first quality; and 

 several extra handles should be taken along. The list 

 of tools should be completed with a small outfit of pliers, 

 tweezers, files, etc. — the character, of course, depending 

 upon the mechanical ability of the traveller and the 

 scientific instruments he has with him that might need 

 repairs. 



Survey Instruments. — ^The choice of instruments 

 will depend largely upon the character of the work in- 

 tended. If a compass survey will suffice, there is nothing 

 better than the cavalry sketching board used in the United 

 States Army for reconnoissance. With a careful hand it 

 approaches the high degree of perfection attained by the 

 plane-table method. It is particularly adapted for river 

 survey and, after one gets accustomed to its use, it is 

 very simple. If the prismatic compass is preferred, 

 nothing smaller than two and one half inches in diameter 

 should be used. In the smaller sizes the magnet is not 

 powerful enough to move the dial quickly or accurately. 



Several good pocket compasses must be provided. 

 They should all have good-sized needles with the north 

 end well marked and degrees engraved in metal. If the 



