TEE RECLAMATION SERVICE. 109 



Young men, graduates from technical schools of good repute, are 

 admitted for examination to the lowest positions and designated as 

 hydrographic aids. As they demonstrate their ability and gain ex- 

 perience they are advanced to the position of assistant engineer, and 

 finally to that of engineer. The service is organized on such a basis 

 that the responsibilities are directly placed, and in matters of judgment 

 the advice of consulting engineers and experts can be had. 



The operations of the reclamation service began with a reconnois- 

 sance of the entire arid and semi-arid regions. The maps prepared by 

 the topographic branch of the Geological Survey are utilized and the 

 geologic facts which bear upon the occurrence of water above or under- 

 ground are considered. In fact, every branch of scientific research 



Driveway at Phoenix, Arizona. Irrigated Pai.ms. 



which relates to the storage and use of waters is a subject of concern. 

 The principal work is, however, not merely to bring the facts to- 

 gether, but to put these to practical application in the construction of 

 large hydraulic works, such as dams for storing the water in reservoirs, 

 or diverting it from the rivers through canals or aqueducts for con- 

 veying it to arid lands. These works are carefully planned and the 

 designs and specifications are passed upon by boards of engineers thor- 

 oughly familiar with the subject. When a district engineer, that is 

 to say an engineer in charge of the operations in a drainage basin, has 

 brought his work to a point where it can be passed upon, a project 

 board is convened, the members of which have had broad experience in 



