Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-04-25
Map Drawing.
To the Editor Of THE EVENING STAR:

To the Editor OF THE EVENING STAR:
In one of the several reports and communi-
cations on school subjects that have been Of
late given to the public through THE EVENING
STAR was a general list of the kinds of study
undertaken in our District public schools The
list comprised map drawing, most probably &C
cording to the system of the Messrs. Apgar, as
exhibited towards the end Of Swnton's Course
of Geography.
must confess for one that have never been
able to admire or even approve of this rather
Wanted system. True, there are depicted on
several pages what are called "maps," but they
are totally devoid of any means OF determin-
ing those very important matters of latitude
and longitude, without which maps seem very
bare indeed. Besides this great deficiency
the construction of the maps appears to be
merely arbitrary guess-work and the "direc-
TONS mere dictd without demonstration or
any rule principle or basis by which the pupil
Gus sets Of directions" it is simply an impossi-
bility to ordinary human powers. youthful or
adult, and even If memorized the directions
would be of next to no value. more forbid
ding mass Of directions" in any science or art
could not be imagined, yet the pupil is ex-
pected to be taught by them ito draw rapidly,
that the authors themselves had a copy before
them when they prepared the said directions"
and could not have prepared them without il.
Yet they demand from the pupil what they
were incompetent to execute.
The pupil is told that a certain line northwest
of Maine, representing about the boundary last
agreed upon between the United States and
Great Britain, is rs miles long, but he is not
told why it is of that length. So, throughout
all is arbitrary, loose and without rule or guild
ance. So far as such map-drawing may contrib
ute to show the pupils general acquaintance
with the form Of this or that continent, island,
country or state, q rough draft on the black
board will suffice, providing that I'm the partic-
ular study of geography that pupil shall get
the most marks who knows the most and draws
the best; but to call all this map-drawing is to
leave real mapdrawing almost wholly unes-
sayed.
The true art lies in first laying down the par
alles and meridians upon some well-chOsen
projection, stereographic, central, globular con-
icaI or what-not, and then by reference to a
gazetteer or other work (say Bowditch's Nayiga-
tori containing q sufficiently numerous series of
places or points actually ascertained by naviga-
tors or astronomers in respect to latitude and
finally close by a continuous line. II after this
is done the pupil shall himself undertake to
give an outline or general notion of that part of
the globe he has been at work upon, that will
be very well, but 1t should be understood as a
mere reproduction of what lies in his memory,
with no further pretense or purpose.
Had the system of the Messrs. Apgar the
merit that seems to be claimed for 1t the many
able mathematicians who have treated on the
subject of map drawing could not have failed
to hit upon it very long ago. 1t would seem
that If those well-meaning gentlemen had
shown the pupil how to construct such maps as
appear in the body of Swintons work, their
labors would have been much in advance of
what they are now. Yours, CARTE.