Abstract
FOR the last half a century continued efforts have been made to utilise photography in the preparation of accurate plans of country, and thereby economise some of the time expended in the detailed measurement of every feature and object. A photographic negative provides an accurate record of the area included in it, contains much detail which measurement alone cannot give, and is always available for future reference. On the other hand, the employment of photography requires certain technical knowledge, and a good judgment in the selection of stations and views; it is best suited to regions of considerable relief, but even then patches of ground are liable to be omitted altogether from, the views, and such omissions are not recognised until the work is plotted; lastly, it necessitates considerable skill in the drawing office to get the best and most complete results from the field-work. Photogrammetry has, therefore, developed most rapidly in countries where mountainous districts offer favourable conditions for its employment, and where the season available for field-work is limited. France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Canada have all made use of this method in topographical surveys, despite its drawbacks. Mr. A. O. Wheeler l describes in general terms the methods which are employed in Canada under the direction of Dr. Deville, the Surveyor-General of Dominion Lands, and employed by Mr. Wheeler on Dr. Longstaff's recent expedition in British Columbia. But the labour involved in utilising the information collected by the camera has always hindered its wider employment in surveying, so that we welcome a new method of automatically reproducing it on a plane surface, which is described by Prof. E. Briickner.2
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Photography in Surveying . Nature 87, 199 (1911). https://doi.org/10.1038/087199a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/087199a0