PREFACE 



IN an age of many books every author must make his 

 apology for a new volume. The output of engineer- 

 ing treatises and text-books is so great that for a time at 

 least, in certain branches, further additions should be made 

 only for very good and exceptional reasons. The author 

 of this little book believes that by reason of the dearth of 

 information on the specialized subject treated, a sufficient 

 reason exists for the publication of his manuscript, which 

 for several years in abbreviated form he has used hi his 

 classes at Lafayette College. 



The magnitude of the park movement hi America is 

 only beginning to be appreciated by the average well- 

 informed person. Our larger cities already have their 

 parks, most of them but recently acquired, and it will not 

 be long before all of our American cities will have them also 

 not merely a few small city squares, but extensive mod- 

 ern parks, reservations and playgrounds, connected by 

 parkways and boulevards. 



This book is prepared principally for the benefit of the 

 young and inexperienced engineer of construction. The 

 author hopes that it may be found useful to members of 

 newly formed park associations and commissions; and that 

 its earlier articles may be of help to public-spirited men 

 who may be considering the ways and means of securing 

 for their own communities the great benefits which flow 

 from an ample and well-coordinated park system. It also 



