Surveying

(sur-va'ing.) [From O. Fr. sur voir, to overlook.] The art of measuring land, laying down its dimensions upon paper, and finding its content or area. It is of two kinds, land S. and marine S.: the former having generally in view the measure or contents of certain tracts of land, and the latter the position of beacons, towers, shoals, coasts, . Those extensive operations which have for their object the determination of the latitude and longitude of places, and the length of territorial arcs in different latitudes, also fall under the general term S., though they are frequently called trigonometrical S. The operations of the surveyor are carried on by means of various instruments, such as the theodolite, the chain, ., and he requires an acquaintance with practical geometry, trigonometry, the methods of calculation, . [s. 869]