Various

“ We thus see three of the principal nations of Europe inaugurate a reform, the beneficial effects of which will not, however, become apparent until a sufficient time has elapsed, that is, until the British, French and Germans have had time to apply the rules in their publications, and particularly in the construction of new and in the correction of old charts. No reform of this nature can be carried through by the stroke of a pen, but a generation's life-time will be required to accomplish it. ”

“ It has been amply proved on the best evidence that a map, with levels, on a scale of something like twenty-five inches to one mile is the smallest which can properly fulfill all these requirements.
In the organization and equipment of the Ordnance Survey, as it exists to-day, no pains are spared to secure the utmost precision and economy in its methods of field work and publication. ”

“ Those particular features which are of a public character, such as states, counties, towns, streets, parks, etc., which are named for individuals are almost universally named without the possessive form. And this commends itself as a reasonable practice. Without, therefore, cutting off possessives from all names where usage has now fixed them with considerable firmness, there yet remains a considerable body of geographic names in which the possessive form remains, but which are not strongly intrenched in public usage. In such cases it seems to me we may advantageously drop the possessive form. ”

“ When man first conceived the idea of owning real property the art of geometry or surveying became a necessity. Interest in other worlds than our own, and the measurement of time, led to the development of the science of astronomy, and of graduated instruments for measuring angles. Many of the most refined modern instruments are but slight modifications of original Arabian models, and the practice of linear surveying, or the subdivision of land into triangles, and geometrical figures, whose area could be computed, has been carried on without modification for centuries. ”

“ As an illustration of the relation of the scale of a map to the amount of detail, which can well be represented on it without confusion, assume for a moment that an observer is stationed in a balloon, which can be raised or lowered or placed at any desired height above the ground, and in addition that he is provided with a horizontal screen on which he is able to trace the details of the landscape below. The eye of the observer well represents the lens of a camera, and the screen the focussing plate. ”

“ In countries of larger areas than England it is more customary to assume a central meridian for each sheet, in other words, the observer would be stationed in the zenith of the center of each sheet and would sketch but a limited area. The successive planes of projection, represented by the maps, would resemble the facets of a diamond, and it would be impossible to combine with any degree of precision a large number together in one plane surface. ”

“ The method of large surveys obtained the name of Cadastre (Terrier map) . It was suggested for France in 1763, but was only commenced in that country in 1793. The exact derivation and meaning of the French term "cadastre" are not free from dispute. Some authorities refer it to the verb "cadrer" to square or correspond with, all objects on a large scale, plan, or cadastre being shown in their true position and proportions, whereas in a mere topographical map similar accuracy is impossible, and certain features must need be exaggerated for the sake of distinctness. ”

“ When the facts are taken into consideration, that the Ordnance Survey is a cadastral one, in other words, that one of its many objects is the measurement and definition of all existing boundaries, political, municipal, parochial or private, and a survey and valuation of property for assessments, that its maps are accepted in courts of law as authoritative on such questions, then the problem of the scales of publication is the most important one to be considered. ”

“ When a survey of a small area is made, such as an estate or parish, which bears but a small proportion in area to the surface of the earth, curvature is neglected, distortion due to this cause being imperceptible, but in the survey of a large country it is of primary importance. ”

“ After more than a century of development and the completion of the cadastral map, let it not be supposed that its mission is at an end, for it is proposed to make a complete revision of all the cadastral work at least once every twenty years.
This is rendered necessary by the constant changes in property boundaries, and the growth of population—which may be gathered from the fact that the city of London increases in population at the rate of about 50,000 a year, and that eighty or more miles of new streets are added in the same time. ”

“ We might conceive that the observer was stationed at an infinitely great distance, and provided with a series of magnifying lenses of suitable powers to produce maps of any desired scale, yet, beyond a limited area, he would still be confronted with the problem of eliminating the distortion produced by the curvature of the earth. ”

“ In the first class, those cases where we are certain of the name itself—that is, we agree in the pronunciation, but disagree in the orthography; in the second class, where there is no question as to the orthography, but where there is a question as to what name should be used—that is, several names are given to the same point, to the same body of water, or to the same island; in the third class, where there is no question as to the name or the orthography, but a question as to the place to which the name applies—that is, there is no dispute as to the name, but it is applied to different places ”

“ In Ireland, subordinate to the parishes, there is an internal division of smaller denomination called townlands, which are very frequently, but not uniformly, conterminous with property.
The townland was the lowest unit of taxation for country purposes, of an average size of 200 or 300 acres, and originally the map was to be simply a topographic map, containing the boundaries of the townlands, the roads, the streams and the houses, with a view to the valuation of Ireland for the county assessment. The six inch was considered to be the smallest scale that could be available for that purpose. ”

“ The preliminary study of the geography of an eastern country necessitates the comparative examination of data gathered from widely different sources: the early partial surveys of the coasts by mariners, and the rough maps made by the natives themselves. Inasmuch as large sections of the Korean coasts are as yet hardly examined, and since it is only within the last few years that foreigners have been allowed to penetrate into the interior, it follows that no accurate map of the land exists. ”

“ Geographic names in Malay and its branches we know mainly through Dutch, British and Spanish surveyors, and their status may be judged from the prefatory remarks in Maxwell's grammar of Malay, published in 1882, wherein he says, that the spelling of Malay words in the native character is hardly yet fixed, though the Perso-Arabic alphabet has been in use since the 13th century, and that those follow but a vain shadow who seek to prescribe exact modes of spelling words, regarding which even native authorities are not agreed, and of which the pronunciation may vary according to locality. ”

“ In the former, field work and methods are directly adapted to the scale of publication; in the latter, the largest scale of publication governs the operations of the survey, and the smaller scales are reduced by photography, with a gradual elimination of unnecessary details from the larger to the smaller scales until finally the topographic map of the country, on the scale of one mile to one inch is produced, which possesses an accuracy and character that could be obtained by no other method. ”

“ Another and more serious problem which would be lessened as the balloon receded from the earth would be the distortion in perspective produced by the irregularities of the surface. The higher points being nearer the balloon would appear in the image on larger scale than the lower, and only in the case of a perfectly level country, would it be possible to produce a map without distortion by the method proposed, and then only for a limited area. ”

“ In our own country the territory of Alaska needs special attention in regard to settling the orthography of its geographic names of Russian origin. Russian names have always been more or less of a bugbear in geographic literature, since so great a number of them appear in different forms. The difficulties of transcribing Russian names so as to reproduce the correct pronunciation are well enough understood. In the first place the Russian alphabet contains 36 letters, of which 12 are vowels and diphthongs, 3 are semi-vowels, and the balance, consonants. ”

“ The main chain, forming the back-bone of the peninsula, is not clearly defined, as it is formed principally by the overlappings and intersections of minor chains, so that it is quite irregular as to direction, but a glance at the sources of the rivers, considered with reference to the intervening line of water-sheds, shows that it springs from the mountains of Siberia at the north, follows for some distance the line of the eastern coast and then strikes inland, trending to the southward and westward until it reaches the shores of the Yellow Sea. ”

“ Not the least curious among Korean institutions is the system of communication maintained at the present time. At the yok, or post stations, represented on the map by diminutive circles, are kept numbers of the small active native horses, well fed and in good condition, attended by staffs of native couriers who are ready to receive orders from the station-master and spring into saddle upon a moment's notice. ”

“ Modern progress in biologic science dates from the adoption of the binomial system, and it is not too much to expect that progress in geographic science will similarly be found to be intimately associated with a study of geographic names and the principles which should control in their adoption and use. ”

“ Very recently, however, the difficulties of map making have been considerably lessened through the efforts of students of the Korean language, who have developed exact systems of transliteration, by the application of which the sounds of Korean proper names may be correctly expressed in our own letters. At the present day it would seem possible, therefore, to fix, by common consent, upon a general, systematic orthography for Korean proper names, to be used upon the charts prepared by all those nations employing Roman letters ”

“ For convenience assume that the eye remains over the centre of the screen at a distance of two feet. At a height of four miles above the ground the scale of the image on the screen would be exactly six inches to one mile, or a reproduction of the popular county map, on which every detail of importance such as houses, roads, paths, and fences is shown, and the smallest scale on which any attempt is made to preserve the relative proportions of such details. ”

“ The true sound of the word as locally pronounced will be taken as the basis of the spelling.
4. An approximation, however, to the sound is alone aimed at. A system which would attempt to represent the more delicate inflections of sound and accent would be so complicated as only to defeat itself. Those who desire a more accurate pronunciation of the written name must learn it on the spot by a study of local accent and peculiarities.
5. The broad features of the system are that vowels are pronounced as in Italian and consonants as in English. ”

“ The assumption that the unit of scale represents an increased distance in mountainous regions is a peculiarity of Chinese as well as of Korean maps. Travelers who employ either are obliged in estimating days' journeys to consider the character of the country ahead before applying the unit of measurement. ”

“ Contrary to the custom in other countries, the contours of the English survey have all been surveyed and levelled on the ground, checked by the numerous bench marks, the standard of accuracy demanded in levelling being two-tenths of a foot. ”

“ As different bureaus may be governed by different principles, and may not even be consistent in their own rulings, through new principles that may come in by the frequent change of personnel, it has heretofore been impracticable to secure uniformity, and disputed questions have been carried along for years. ”

“ The experts are very prone to hunting up the root, or, if necessary, to constructing one, and throwing out everything that will not conform with it. The fact that our country was settled by French, Spanish, and English, and that many names are derived from the Indian dialects, also causes peculiar difficulties in treating some sections. The rules of the Royal Geographical Society can be a great help, so far as they are applicable ”

“ The board that has been organized is in the direction of developing uniformity in the practice of all. It is no easy task, but if guided by a generous spirit, willing to yield a little here and there, its object may be successfully accomplished. ”

“ The most easily accessible deposits and out-croppings, which are worked by the natives in primitive ways, afford evidence of an abundant and varied supply of the useful ores and minerals widely distributed throughout the whole extent of the land. Many localities, moreover, are well known to the people for their especial products. Thus the Phyöngyang province, in the northwest, facing China, possesses abundant deposits of coal, iron, and lime. ”