example, suppose you are standing on the ground at 8, q k' (Fort
Leaven worth Map), and can see the U. S. penitentiary off to the
south. Hold the map in front of you and face toward the U. S.
penitentiary, moving the map until the line joining 8 and the U. S.
penitentiary (on the map) lies in the same direction as the line
joining those two points on the ground. The map is now oriented.

[Illustration: Fig. 16]

Having learned to orient a map and to locate his position on the map,
one should then practice moving over the ground and at the same time
keeping his map oriented and noting each ground feature on the map as
it is passed. This practice is of the greatest value in learning to
read a map accurately and to estimate distances, directions and slopes
correctly.

True Meridian

=1873.= The position of the true meridian may be found as follows
(Fig. 17): Point the hour hand of a watch toward the sun; the line
joining the pivot and the point midway between the hour hand and XII
on the dial, will point toward the south; that is to say, if the
observer stands so as to face the sun and the XII on the dial, he will
be looking south. To point the hour hand exactly at the sun, stick a
pin as at (a) Fig. 17 and bring the hour hand into the shadow. At
night, a line drawn toward the north star from the observer's position
is approximately a true meridian.

[Illustration: Fig. 17]

The line joining the "pointers" of the Great Bear or Dipper, prolonged
about five times its length passes nearly through the North Star,
which can be recognized by its brilliancy.

[Illustration: Fig. 18]

=1874. Conventional Signs.= In order that the person using a map may
be able to tell what are roads, houses, woods, etc., each of these
features are represented by particular signs, called conventional
signs. In other words, conventional signs are certain marks or symbols
shown on a map to designate physical features of the terrain. (See
diagram, Par. 1875 Plate I and II.) On the Elementary Map the
conventional signs are all labeled with the name of what they
represent. By examining this map the student can quickly learn to
distinguish the conventional signs of most of the ordinary features
shown on maps. These conventional signs are usually graphical
representations of the ground features they represent, and, therefore,
can usually be recognized without explanation.

For example, the roads on the Elementary Map can be easily
distingui