The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-12-17


Atlantic and North Carolina Railway
furnished two men to serve as chain
carriers; the State Survey furnishing
the two rod men, one traverse man and a
cook, and provisions for the entire party.
Along the line of the Southern Railway
the State Survey also furnished two
chain-carriers.
The surveying of this line was begun
at Morehead City, after having carefully
determined the elevation at that place
above the mean tide of the ocean; and
during November and the five months
following, the line of exact Levels and
traverse line were extended along the
Atlantic and North Carolina Railway
from Morehead City to Goldsboro, and
along the line of the Southern Railway
from Goldsboro to the Tennessee line at
Paint Rock.
The running of this line of exact levels
will be of great service, not only in the
making of the economic map of the
State, but also in determining the exact
elevation of all points in North Caro-,
lima by using this line as a basis. The
elevation of various other points in the
State can be determined from the rail
roads crossing this line. The leveling
(which was done by Mr.. w. Carvel Hall,
of the United States Geological Sur
vey) was carried on with so much ac-
curacy that in the total distance of 457
miles from Morehead City to Paint Rock
the probable error was not greater than
275 thousandths of foot.
In the line of the regular topographic
work, the survey of what is known as
the Pisgah sheet, which includes por-
tons of Buncombe, Henderson, Tram
sylyania, Haywood and Jackson coun-
ties, was completed during the present
year, and the map covering that region
will be prepared for engraving during
the present winter. The United States
Geological Survey also completed during
this year, that part of the Cranberry
atlas sheet which Ees in Mitchell and
Caldwell counties.
In a portion of the Pisgah area on
accaunt of the important forestry inves-
LEGATIONS being carried on there by the
Biltmore estate, it was deemed advisable
to have the map of that region on a
somewhat larger scale and made more
accurately. Consequently the map of
that region, of approximately 10 square
miles 034, 900 acres), is made on a
scale of 1-450O0, or approximately one
a third inches to the mile, and with
contour interval of fifty feet.
AS illustrating the care with which
this sort of work must be done in order
that it have permanent value, it may
be stated that in making the survey
more than 300 three hundred) separate
stations were located by careful trigono-
metrical methods; the exact elevation
of 232 points was determined by means
of the engineers level and connecting
lines with the railroad at Ashev;lle.
Twelve permanent bench marks were
erected, upon the brass top of which the
elevation of each of those points was
and there were run 1876 miles
of traverse lines, chiefly ON foot, with
a stadia.
The total cost of this special map was
IS. $4,000, or $1S26 per square mile; the
relatively high cost Of the work being
due to the extreme ruggedness of the
the fact that a larger part of !,
the surface was covered with forest
growth, and the great amount of de- !
tail necessary in order to insure the &C !
curacy of the work.
OF the total cost of the field work in !
the preparation of this map, the United
81. 335, and the Bitmore estate contri- +
buted $500. The only part that the
State Survey took in the work was to
organize it, push it through and take
the credit for it.
MAGNETIC SURVEY.
The attention of the survey has been
called many times by the courts, by
OF Inv tu
to the great difficulties which exist in
this State in re-determining and relocat-
ing the boundary lines of tracts of land
which were surveyed and recorded at
times in past years; and it
must be apparent, especially to every at
torney who has had experience in this
line of work, as well as to every sur
veyor, that it is of great Importance that
there should be located at the court
house in every county, some definite and
permanent monument giving the direc- |
ton of the true North and South, in
order that any surveyor may go there
at any time and determine for himself
the amount of variation in his compass
at that particular time. 1t is further
more of great Importance that there
should be prepared maps and tables,
the variation or the compass
needle in the several counties of the
State at different times in the past, in
order that knowing the present variation
of the compass and the variation at the
time of certain deeds describing sur
veys of certain date, the surveys can
easily relocate the old lines.
We have now in preparation a small
bulletin in which such instructions are
given, as will enable the average coun-
ty surveyor to relocate old boundary
lines in a satisfactory manner, and it is
the intention of the State Geologist DUR
ing 1898, to propose to the county COM
miss, oners in the several counties of the
State that if they win bear the expenseI
of erecting permanent monuments, the
Geological Survey will locate by means
of these monuments the true meridian
in each of the several counties. The
probable cost to each county in that
case will be less than $50, but the bene-
fit which each county would derive from
this work would be of considerable inn
portance.