Practical Geometry

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The Science of Geometry, as its name suggests, is of great antiquity. The name, Geometry, is derived from two Greek roots, Ge the Earth, and Metron a measure, and it is clear that In the earliest period Of which we have any record Of the use of Geometry, it was used for Earth measurement, or Land-surveying, as we should now term it According to Greek historians Geometry originated in Egypt as early as 600 b.c., and was used for the measurement of land, or for readjusting the boundaries of the various provinces which had been inundated by the overflow of the Nile. Thales, who lived in Egypt from 639 b.c. To 548 b.c., taught his fellow-countrymen how to calculate the height of an Obelisk by measuring the length of its shadow. Pythagoras, Archimedes, and Euclid, carried on the study of certain branches of the Science, and much Of our more practical work in Geometry to-day is based upon the principles which they established in a somewhat abstract manner.