successively from the principal meridian, as 'First Guide Meridian East', 'Second Guide Meridian East'.

Special base lines and meridians have been established to govern lesser areas remote from the main initial points where it was impossible or impracticable to carry the standard parallels over the mountains. The Uintah Base and Meridian, governing the northeast part of Utah, is an example. Local standard parallels or guide meridians have sometimes been established where necessitated.

Fig. 1. DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING DIVISION OF LAND INTO TOWNSHIPS

The tracts, 24 miles square, are subsequently divided into 'Townships', 6 miles square, by east and west lines intersecting north and south lines. The townships in turn are divided into

36 tracts, known as 'Sections', each one mile square, and containing 640 acres; these are numbered as shown in the diagram (Fig. 2). Only the exterior boundaries of the sections are run by the Government, but corner stones or monuments are placed each half-mile on these lines, that the sections may be readily divided into 'Quarter Sections'. Each quarter section is held to contain four square 40-acre tracts

Quarter-Quarters'—the

smallest legal subdivision; though the Government in the case of patenting placer claims conforming to the land surveys does recognize and allow entry on 10-acre tracts, that are the regular subdivisions of these 40-acre subdivisions.

Any row, or series of continuous townships, extending east and west, is spoken of as 'Townships', though the proper term is 'Tier', but the latter is not used. Any row or series running north and south is known as a 'Range.' A township in the first row of townships north or south of the base line and initial point or meridian is designated as Township 1 North, or Township 1 South, while a township in the second row becomes Township 2 North, or Township 2 South, etc. Similarly the rows of townships east and west of the principal meridian and the initial point are known as Range 1 East, Range 1 West, Range 2 East, Range 2 West, etc. By co-ordinating these systems of numbering, easy reference can be made to any township. In the diagram, the township designated by A is known as Township 2 North, Range 3 West, Salt Lake Meridian, and is abbreviated T. 2 N., R. 3 W., S. L. M. Likewise the township indicated by B is T. 5 N., R. 5 W., S. L. M., while C is T. 1 S., R. 1 E., S. L. M.

The method of surveying a township into sections, the exterior boundaries of the township having been run, and all monuments on these lines having been placed, is ordinarily to start from the south boundary of the township and close the survey on the east, north, and west boundaries. Starting from the southeast corner of Section 35 on the southern boundary of the township, the surveyor will run a line north, noting the topography of the country he passes over and recording the distance in chains of 66 ft., or 80 to the mile. At 40 chains, or one-half mile, he will set a rough undressed stone or a

dressed post, called a Quarter-Section Corner'. This stone will probably be 8 by 12 in. by 2 ft. long and will be set with twothirds to three-quarters of its length in the ground. If a post, it will be 3 ft. long by 3 or 4 in. square. On a side parallel to the direction the line is being run will be chiseled '4' if a stone, or inscribed '14S', and the numbers of the sections it stands for, if a post. Should any trees over 3 in. in diameter be found within 200 ft. of the corner, one in each section will be marked on the side directly facing the corner by being blazed and having cut into the blaze the initials B. T. and the abbreviated section in which the tree stands. These trees are known as 'bearing trees', and are recorded in the surveyor's notes. From this corner the surveyor will continue north another 40 chains, making a full mile, where he will place a stone or post for the section corner common to sections 25, 26, 35, and 36. This monument should be set with its edges facing the cardinal points; on the east corner should be chiseled or cut one notch to denote that it is one mile from the east boundary of the township, while on the south should be one notch to indicate that it is one mile from the south boundary. If a post, it will bear in addition the sections for which it stands, and the township and range. A mound of rock will be raised beside the monument, and any suitable trees blazed as bearing-trees with the initials B. T. and the abbreviated section, township, and range in which they stand. From this corner the surveyor will run east on a random or trial line, setting a stake for a temporary quarter-section corner at 40 chains. Running another 40 chains, and arriving on the east boundary of the township, the surveyor measures and calculates his error in bearing and distance in striking the section corner to sections 25, 30, 31, and 36, that was placed when the township boundaries were run. Returning from this corner on a true line to the corner for sections 25, 26, 35, and 36, he sets permanently, in the proper place, midway between the two section corners, the quartersection corner that was temporarily marked. From the corner for sections 25, 26, 35, and 36, the surveyor will run north one mile and east one mile, as before, and continue in this way, marking all section corners on the east and south edges with

cuts or notches indicating the number of miles the monument is from the east and south boundaries of the township. The last mile on the north (between sections 1 and 2) will be run in a way similar to the east and west lines, so that the line may close on the corner already in place on the north boundary of the township. Where the north boundary of the township is a base line or standard parallel (formerly called a 'Correction Line'), the north line between sections 1 and 2 will be run as a true line without reference to the corner already existing on the township boundary. A 'Closing Corner' will be set where the section line intersects the standard parallel or base line as the closing-corner of sections 1 and 2 only. This corner will bear the letters C. C. on the south, facing the township it represents, and notches or grooves to indicate the number of miles it is from the corners of the township, in this case one on the east and five on the west. This is the plan of marking section corners on township boundaries. It will be noticed that notches on these corners will always total six, and are on the opposite faces of the monuments instead of on edges adjacent and quartering toward each other, as in the case of section corners within townships. For illustration, the corner to sections 19, 24, 25, and 30 on the township boundary line will have two notches on the south face and four on the north. All lines will be carried from the southern to the northern boundary in this way. The closing on the west boundary will be done by means of trial or random lines, just as the north and east boundaries. Closing-corners are placed in the interior of a township only when it has been surveyed in part at different times, and it is impossible to close within proper limits the lines of the later survey upon the corners of the earlier one.

A township corner is a monument marking the corner of a township. Due to the necessity of making corrections along the standard parallels to correct the convergence of the meridians or of joining old surveys to new ones, a township corner may be the corner of from one to four townships. There are certain methods of marking corners to show this or other facts, but the details would only be confusing to any but surveyors. A corner common to four townships bears six notches on each

of the four corners of the post or stone. One common to two townships, or referring to one alone, is marked by six notches on two edges facing toward these townships. Township corners on base lines or standard parallels bear six grooves on three faces. Township corners that are closing township corners bear the letters C. C., and three sets of six notches. Such corners must necessarily be placed along the standard parallels when the 24-mile tracts are surveyed into townships; they also occur in joining different surveys. When it is impossible to place a corner in the proper place due to inaccessibility, a corner is placed on the line as near the proper point as practicable; this is called a 'Witness Corner', and bears in addition to the usual markings the letters W. C. Where rock is not available for a mound, pits may be dug and the earth raised as a mound. Stone monuments and mounds of rock are to be preferred to wooden posts and earth mounds, as being more substantial. Recently new corners have been adopted, being iron pipes surmounted by brass caps, similar to the bench marks of the Geological Survey. Mounds and pits will accompany them as with the old-style corners. Trees should be marked by the surveyor; those intersecting the line by two opposite blazes facing the directions of the line; those within a half chain by two blazes quartering toward the line. Brush should be cut to indicate the line.

By the method of surveying, all the error in measurement is thrown on the north and west boundaries of the townships; for this reason the outside quarter sections on these boundaries are reported and sold according to the measurements returned by the surveyor, the other tracts being presumed to be of full area. This error is platted into the outside tier and range of 40-acre tracts on these boundaries. These particular subdivisions are called 'lots', and in these sections are numbered as shown in the diagram (Fig. 2). Any tract of the 40-acre subdivision class that contains more or less than 40 acres as officially described is called a lot. Also, any part of a 40-acre subdivision that may be cut off and left remaining by a piece of land, the title of which has passed from the Government, is called a lot. There can be no regularity in numbering such