The plane table, one of the oldest of surveying instruments, is, in its simplest form, merely a board for holding the paper or other material upon which a map is drawn with the aid of a rule or straight edge.<br><br>Although the plane table has been known and used in Europe to a greater or less extent for more than three centuries, at the present day, in spite of its obvious advantages as regards speed, economy convenience and adaptability for surveying purposes, its use is limited mainly to government surveys in the mapping of large areas of country.<br><br>Although a useful and serviceable instrument for railroad and land surveyors, it has never come into general use by them in the United States.<br><br>Why this is so, is hard to explain, unless perhaps because of lack of knowledge of the instrument and its methods, as little has been written on the subject. Of late years it is gradually becoming better known. All recent text-books on surveying give some space to a description of its use and some instruction is given on the subject in many of the colleges and technical schools throughout the United States.