RURAL ENGINEERING. 889 



Beport of the Desert Land Board {Bien. Rpt. Desert TAind Bd. [Oreg.], S 

 (191S-U), pp. 43, figs, li).— This report covers the reclamation of arid lands 

 granted to the State of Oregon under the Carey Act, and includes a brief 

 account of the activities of the board, together with a statement of th«; progress 

 and condition of each project segregated by the State. 



Report of commissioner for water conservation and irrigation, L. A. B. Wa.db 

 (Rpt. Comr. Water Conserv. and Irrig. [N. S. Wales], 1913-H, pp. 188, pis. IS).— 

 The work and expenditures on water conservation and irrigation during the 

 year ended June 30, 1914, are reported. 



Notes on the design of drainage ditches, with diagrams, W. H. Pob 

 {Engin. and Contract., 43 (1915), No. 20, pp. 439-^1, figs. 2).— The author 

 outlines the method used by him in the design of open ditches and gives several 

 related suggestions gained from personal experience. 



Construction and maintenance of roads and bridges from July 1, 1913, 

 to December 31, 1914 (V. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 284 {1915), pp. 6^).— This bulletla 

 reports in detail the field work of the divisions of construction, maintenance, 

 and national park and forest roads of the Office of Public Roads for the past 

 fiscal year, and is a continuation of the report for the previous year (E. S. R., 

 30, p. 386). 



The first section reports on the construction of sections of cement concrete, 

 bituminous macadam, bituminous resurfaced, macadam, chert macadam, gravel, 

 sand, clay, topsoil, and earth roads, and on the superintendence of construction 

 of brick, gravel, earth, bituminous concrete, macadam with bituminous surface, 

 macadam, and gravel roads. This section also Includes brief reports on ex- 

 perimental work with limestone macadam resurfacing, post-road work, and 

 bridge work. 



The second section reports on road survey and construction work in national 

 parks and forests done in cooperation with the Forest Service of this Depart- 

 ment and with the Department of the Interior. 



The third section reports projects for the study of the details of road main- 

 tenance as carried out by state authorities in representative States and of 

 county maintenance in selected counties, the inauguration of mainenance of 

 post I'oads constructed under the act of Congress of Augiist 24, 1912, and the 

 supervision of maintenance on a road from Washington, D. C, to Atlanta, Ga., 

 in Alexandria County, Va., and on the United States experimental roads in 

 Montgomery County, Md. 



First annual report of the State Highway Commission of the State of 

 Maine {Ann. Rpt. Hightcay Com. Mame, 1913, pp. 138, pis. 13, figs. 5). — This 

 contains a report of the work of the commission during 1913 in addition to the 

 ninth annual report of the commissioner of highways from January 1 to July 12, 

 1913. 



Economical highway design, W. G. Haeger {Engin. News, 73 {1915), No. 24, 

 pp. 1156-1158). — Data on the first cost and maintenance of 600 miles of New 

 York State roads are given. Conclusions based on these data with reference to 

 economy in highway design are as follows : 



"Justifiable economy in grading is limited to the treatment of intermediate 

 grades and to variations in cross section to fit local conditions. Economy in 

 foundation is properly secured by a variation in design utilizing the local sources 

 of supply with short hauls. Economy in widths of hard paving is attained by 

 the selection of varying widths that will serve each road or part of a road 

 satisfactorily, and by special shoulder treatment. Economy in top courses re- 

 sults from a selection of the minimum thickness and the type of surface that 

 will serve satisfactorily the class of traffic to which it is subjected. Economy 



