The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1892-03-17
Land Problem Number >.

To THE EDITOR OF THE Journal: Per
hapS You have not many practical surveyors
among your readers, hut You certainly have
great many navigators to whom the prin-
cipies involved in the solution of Land
question No. > are familiar. In their COM
pany will attempt it, 1t is commonly said
that mai hematicS has no place for guessing
and leaves nothing to Judgment But in its
practical application we find we have to do
a good deal of guessing to prepare the way
for the scientific work OF this, this question
is good example. Let us divide cur work
on it into three parts. First. Correction of
probable errors of printers and transcribers
Second, Averaging and balancing the una
voidabie errors arising from inperfection of
instruments and eyesight; Thirdly, The so
luton as question in pure mathematics
Opening our traverse table and going
round the land, by the courses and distances
given, we find, when done, that instead of
b ing at the place of beginning We are a
rod too far north, and over ID rods too far
west. AS standard works on surveying Law
down the rule that one link to chain is the
extreme limit to be admitted in errors of this
class, there is nothing to do but to send the
surveyor over the ground again.
But we will solve a question if not the
question. Looking over the statement we
see that the change of letter in the descrip-
ton of the northern boundary will make it
parallel with the southern, and the change
of letter in the western boundary, will
place it at right angles with the two sides
above mentioned, giving us a more proba-
BILE form and reducing the errors nearly
to the limit claimed; therefore we will
assume this to be the form intended
Changing work to agree with this sup
position We find we have still a discrepancy
of 20 in the latitude and Al in the depart
ure This we will distribute so as to make
them agree. At this point we will first
avail ourselves of a stratagem to save labor
Imagine our land on a pivot, and turn it 80
as to bring the western boundary on the
meridian; then we shall have three lines for
which we shall not have to open the tables
and by so much reduce and simplify the COM
putation OF course, that changes all the
courses g so that n. 80 1-2o F. must be read
DO L. ana SO OF the rest. NOW gong round
the land with these new courses we find that
the northings made ON the irregular eastern
boundary exceed the length of the western
boundary line (42.84 by IS. Compromise
this by calling the western boundary ~ 90
and diminishing the eastern boundary to the
same amount, distributing it as near as may
be in proportion to their various length
Also find the south line (36) to exceed the
westings by 40. Compromising this in the
same way we have the southern line equal
to 1913, the northern line equal - o. and the
remaining IA distributed among the west
ings of the eastern boundary. Lettering our
figure for reference will place A at the
S. W. corner, from which the dividing line
is to run; B at the iron stake, and c, d, E, F.
G. III in order at the other angles. From the
corrected latitude and departures of A B
and B G we calculate the course and dis
lance from to c, with A B, b and c d
we find A D, and 50 on. This done we find :