Pocket compasses are to be bought for from 50 cents to $1, and may
be used in many ways. In traveling over mountains or a wide extended
plain, they are indispensably necessary, and no one should go on a tour
without such a companion; it will be a very useful and amusing exercise
for any young person to take the bearings of his own or some particular
locality, and make out what may be called a bearing card. This he may
easily do in the following manner: Supposing he wishes, for instance,
to take the bearings of his own house, he has nothing to do but set his
pocket compass upon a map of the district,--a county map will do very
well, unless his house stands on the verge of a county, then two county
maps will be necessary. He must make the north of the map exactly
coincide with the north, as indicated by his compass, and having fixed
his map in this situation, he should take a ruler and piece of paper,
and dot down the exact bearings of each important town, or place, or
village, around him. Let him suppose himself, for instance, in the town
of Albany, N. Y., and laying down his map as indicated by the compass,
north to north and south to south, he will find the following places
due north, Balston Spa; Hudson, south; Schoharie, west. The other
points of the compass may be filled up in the same manner. Should,
therefore, our young friend be upon any other elevated situation near
his own dwelling, or upon any other elevated spot from which the
bearings have been taken, he will be able to inform his young friends
that such and such a place lies in such a direction, that this place
lies due north, the other north-west, a third south-east, the fourth
south-west, etc., etc.