PREFACE 



IN his work at Manhattan College the writer found himself 

 confronted by the fact that there were but two books on Tun- 

 neling in the English language, neither of which he could reo- 

 ominend as text books for his pupils. Drinker's tunneling is 

 a splendid reference book, and may be consulted with advan- 

 tage by any engineer, but it is too voluminous and expeiiM\e 

 to be suitable for the beginner. Simula's Practical Tunnel- 

 ing is a magnificent exposition of the English method <>f 

 tunneling, but it is too old for anyone who looks for the most 

 modern methods of tunneling, as the art has progressed greatly 

 since Mr. Simms's death. The additions introduced l>v Mr. 

 D. K. Clarke, although they convey an excellent idea of the 

 manner of excavating long tunnels like tin- Mont ( 'mis and 

 St. Gothard, fail in what may be called real practical value, 

 viz., to explain to engineers and contractors the various meth- 

 ods of driving tunnels of ordinary dimensions through different 

 soils. 



Having thus felt the want of a book of convenient size and 

 moderate price, the author began to enlarge the notes of hi* 

 lectures for publication. The general purpose of the )>ook 

 which has resulted is to explain all the operations that are In- 

 quired in tunneling, and then illustrate by suitable example* 

 the actual application of these methods in practice. Formulas 

 and dirticult calculations have Iwpn avoided, the book being 

 Him ply descriptive, and the text well illustrated, so that it can 

 be easily understood by students and others unfamiliar with 

 tunneling work. This work of preparation has been very dilli- 

 cult to the writer owing to the fact that, being a foreigner, the 



iii 



