42 A MANUAL FOR NORTHERN WOODSMEN 
establishing the second corner. Through this draw another 
meridian in pencil and proceed as before. If the survey 
and the plotting are both perfect, the last course should 
hit the initial point. If it does not so hit, there is error in 
one or the other. 
To plot one course from another by means of the figured 
angles between them is not good practice, because by that 
method errors accumulate. 
The Essential. Instruments for Plotting 
A straight edge, a scale, a protractor, a pair of dividers, 
and a parallel ruler or a pair of triangles are the essentials 
for ordinary plotting. 
The lettering on a woodsman’s map ought to be plain. 
The size of the letters should be varied according to the 
importance of the object designated. It is a good rule to 
use erect letters in general, and slant capitals and italics in 
connection with water. 
The usual practice is to represent waters and swamps 
with blue ink, contours with brown, and all other objects 
with black. Common brown and blue inks, however, do 
not blueprint well, so black is ordinarily used for tracings. 
Various systems have been devised for representing the 
character and density of timber growth. A system of that 
kind, if one is required, is best devised for each forest 
region or property. 
Maps may be rendered plainer by the judicious use of 
