, and the beginner, starting out with
this idea, seemingly tries to find it difficult.

However, as a matter of fact, map reading is not difficult, if one
goes about learning it in the right way,--that is, by first becoming
familiar with scales, contours, conventional signs, and other things
that go to make up map making.

Practice is most important in acquiring ability in map reading.
Practice looking at maps and then _visualizing_ the actual country
represented on the map.

=1861. Scales.= In order that you may be able to tell the distance
between any two points on a map, the map must be drawn to scale,--that
is, it must be so drawn that a certain distance on the map, say, one
inch, represents a certain distance on the ground, say, one mile. On
such a map, then, two inches would represent two miles on the ground;
three inches, three miles, and so on. Therefore, we may say--

_The scale of a map is the ratio between actual distances on the
ground and those between the same points as represented on the map._

=1862. Methods of representing scales.= There are three ways in which
the scale of a map may be represented:

1st. By words and figures, as 3 inches = 1 mile; 1 inch = 200 feet.

2d. By Representative Fraction (abbreviated R. F.), which is a
fraction whose numerator represents units of distance on the map and
whose denominator, units of distance on the ground.

For example, R. F. = 1 inch (on map)/1 mile (on ground) which is
equivalent to R. F. = 1/63360, since 1 mile = 63,360 inches. So the
expression, "R. F. 1/63360" on a map merely means that 1 inch on the
map represents 63,360 inches (or 1 mile) on the ground. This fraction
is usually written with a numerator 1, as above, no definite unit of
inches or miles being specified in either the numerator or
denominator. In this case the expression means that one unit of
distance on the map equals as many of the same units on the ground as
are in the denominator. Thus, 1/63360 means that 1 inch on the map =
63,360 inches on the ground, 1 foot on the map = 63,360 feet on the
ground; 1 yard on the map = 63,360 yards on the ground, etc.

3d. By Graphical Scale, that is, a drawn scale. A graphical scale is a
line drawn on the map, divided into equal parts, each part being
marked not with its actual length, but with the distance which it
represents on the ground. Thus:

[Illustration: Fig. 1]

For example, the distance from 0 to 50 represents fifty yards on the