The Washington times., 1901-06-30

matical knowledge necessary to fit them
for the course. Once in camp. however,
they live with the regularity of soldiers
on campaign or. to use more fitting fig
ure. of a genuine survey preparing the
way for a great railroad or Government
enterprise. The arrangement of their
work is an excellent example of the sys-
tenn under which such enterprises are
regularly conducted. The ninety-four stu
dents are divided into parties of four or
five, each with one member in charge as
transitman or levelman, and with the
others acting as linesmen, rodmen, and
chainmen as the case may be. This is
the unit of the system and as in an actual
working survey, each assistant engineer
has under his direction corps consisting
of three or four of these smaller parties
and communicates the instructions of the
chief engineer. Mr.. Turner, TO their sew
eral heads or captains, In the smaller
parties there is a constant rotation OF OIL
GERS, so that each man gets personal eX-
perience in all the branches of the work
keeping his own field note book, working
up his own notes, and doing his own plot
ting in figuring the results.
The working day begins at 1880, break
fast being at $50, and continues until in
the afternoon Half an hour is allowed
for luncheon and the individual student
who has fallen behind his comrades in
the days work makes up the loss during
the recreation hours. Recreation itself is
not difficult problem, for the region
about Squam Lake has all the outdoor at
fractions that make camping expeditions
so popular method of spending the sum
mer months and with so large a body OF
college undergraduates camped together
there is no lack of material for any form
of outdoor sports.
The beginning Of the summers work is
of course, elementary. When the camp is
opened the students start together at the
very beginning of their profession, mas
tering first the details of pacing and
chaining-the simplest problems. in short,
in establishing the initial data for engin-
eering work-and so on by degrees to the
use of the different field instruments,
such as the compass. transit, level, sex
tant, and theodolite. In the second month
foundation work in geodesy-or. roughly
speaking, TIE measuren- ent of the earth's
surface whether from one corner of field
to another or from one mountain peak to
a second-will be undertaken, including
base-line measurements with the steel
tape, angle observations, astronomical OBJ
servations in determining latitude and
longitude, with the computation and map
ping of triangulations. The higher prob
lem of measuring the earth's surface
however, is not undertaken, the geodetic
work being confined to the needs of the
practics' engineer.
The last month of the course promises
to be in many ways the most picturesque
of any 1t will devoted to the study of
Ct 4 ;ro 10
the laying out of a prospective railroad
system connecting various points in the
great outdoor workshop and presenting
series Of real and difficult problems. Here
the students will make practical ''prelimi-
nary surveys for railroads between such
points as the instructors designate, work
ing up their field notes and making COM
plete estimates OF the amount of filling
and cutting necessary to establish the
straight and level bed Of the proposed
railroad, how many bridges and culverts
would be necessary to overcome the natu-
raj obstacles in its course. and the other
technical data upon which contractor
could in turn base his own estimate for
the actual building of the road.
Although the camp itself will be main
tained as such, the university has under
taken the construction of several two
story buildings with work rooms. dining
rooms. kitchen, and sleeping rooms The
largest OF these buildings will be seventy
feet in length and viii contain a living
room with a great fireplace for comfort on
rainy evenings. This season, as the build
ings are not all completed, the students
viii have the novel experience of unadul-
terated tent life, living, except that they
viii sleep without fear of possible Indian
attacks. much the same rough and ready,
yet disciplined outdoor life as was led
by the great survey that some forty
years ago, first carried railroading and
all that followed it, across the ranges of
the Rockies