low and the percentage of pollution consequently 
high. Streamflow records—indicating the approach, 
presence, intensity, and passage of these periods— 
provide important information. 
HicHway BripGes AND CuLVERTS.—The _intel- 
ligent design of bridges and culverts for the vast 
network of highways across the nation depends on 
the availability and adequacy of streamflow records. 
Without such records, these structures might be built 
too Jarge, resulting in excessive cost, or too small, 
endangering the road in times of severe floods. Al- 
though this list could be expanded, these examples 
are sufficient to explain the importance of such records 
in relation to modern engineering problems. 
Current meters have provided the most expeditious 
and economical means for making acceptably ac- 
curate streamflow measurements. A current meter, 
combined with a graduated wading rod for making 
soundings in shallow streams or with a sounding 
weight for making soundings of deep streams from 
bridges, boats, or cableways, enables the hydrog- 
rapher to determine quickly the cross-sectional area 
and velocity of a river at the place where its discharge 
is to be measured. This discharge is the product of 
the cross-sectional area (in square feet, as determined 
from the soundings) and the average velocity (in feet 
per second, as obtained with the current meter).” 
On the accuracy of streamflow records, Carter and 
Anderson conclude: * 
If single discharge measurements were made [with cur- 
rent meters] at a number of gaging sites by the usual 0.2 
and 0.8 method (using 30 stations and 45-second observa- 
tions) the errors of two-thirds of the measurements would 
be less than 2.2%. 
There is little doubt that if measurements are made 
by a competent hydrographer, with good equipment, 
at a suitable site, and under favorable conditions, the 
maximum error occurring in any measurement of the 
entire lot would be well within five percent. 
2For fuller information, consult the Water-Supply Paper 
series published by the U.S. Geological Survey. Number 888 
deals with stream gaging; no. 868 with the performance of 
current meters in shallow water; and no. 95 with the accuracy 
of streamflow records. 
3CarTER and AnpERsON, “Accuracy of Current Meter 
Measurements,” Journal of the Hydraulics Division, Pro- 
ceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers (July 1963). 
William Gunn Price 
William Gunn Price, the son of Dr. William Price 
and Tryphene Gunn Price, was born in Knoxville, 
Pennsylvania, on July 6, 1853, but moved when still a 
child to Chaseville, New York, two miles southwest of 
the picturesque village of Schenevus. Probably be- 
cause William’s father died before the boy’s seventh 
birthday, William’s early education was rather 
sketchy. There are reports that he attended high 
school in nearby Cooperstown, famous for James 
Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales and for base- 
ball. There are also reports that he attended Hart- 
wick Seminary in New York State. Such reports 
tend to exaggerate Price’s early education. Doubt- 
lessly he attended both the high school and the 
seminary, but most likely not for the usual length of 
time. An article in the Yakima (Wash.) Herald for 
December 18, 1921, quotes him as saying: 
As a boy I was not much interested in school, and made 
very little progress. When not doing farm work, I was 
allowed to have tools, and learned to make things, many 
of them original. I also learned to repair clocks and 
watches, and to do blacksmith, tinsmith, and carpenter 
work. 
When, however, Price was later faced with a special 
need for “book learning,” he diligently studied the 
appropriate books and mastered the subjects. 
His early disinterest in schools apparently was not 
inherited. Both his parents were well educated and 
had taught at the Knoxville Academy, which his 
father had established before he was married. Wil- 
liam Price, Sr., taught mathematics and science, and 
Mrs. Price taught music, French, and art. During 
those teaching days William Sr. studied medicine, and 
finally was graduated from the University of Pennsyl- 
vania’s medical college. Later, when a practicing 
physician at Chaseville, he often gave free lectures on 
scientific subjects. 
As to young William’s grandfather on his mother’s 
side, these comments about him appear in the Price 
scrapbooks: 
Grandfather Gunn was an expert mechanic. He built and 
operated a sawmill on his farm, run by waterpower ofa 
brook .... He sometimes made the shoes for his 
family . . . was the town gunsmith . . 
built churches. He was good, and had the gift of reason. 
. designed and 
Looking back, it seems evident that William Gunn 
Price inherited much of the culture of his mother, the 
scientific insight of his father, and the craftsmanship 
PAPER 70: WILLIAM GUNN PRICE AND THE PRICE CURRENT METERS 41 
