1*70 CLASSIFICATION OP THE PUBLIC LANDS. 



scription of the locations of the public land along the stream valley, 

 constitute the working equipment. The engineer travels by wagon, 

 on horseback with pack outfit, by boat, or on foot, as the conditions 

 may require, and his personal equipment is made appropriate to 

 the conditions. 



The engineer, after examining all the lands in the stream valley 

 and studying the relation of the critical features to the public lands, 

 constructs what may be called a mental picture of the situation in 

 its most productive condition of water-power development. He also 

 works out the variations which might be made in his plan of de- 

 velopment, knowing well that no other engineer covering the same 

 ground independently would conceive the identical plan of develop- 

 ment that he would. It is even necessary for the engineer to con- 

 sider plans and possibilities that may appear to him impracticable 

 or fantastic, for the serious proposal of such plans is a frequent 

 occurrence in the routine experience of the department, and a rela- 

 tively superficial glance over the country gives evidence that many 

 such plans have been put into effect. Especially is it necessary for 

 the engineer to' gather local information concerning proposed de- 

 velopments of all kinds and to obtain as many working details of 

 such developments as may be possible. To this end it is frequently 

 essential to follow up rumors of prospective development. Although 

 most of these rumors may prove inconsequential, they now and then 

 lead to information whose importance fully compensates for the 

 time spent on rumors that have no basis in fact. 



If the engineer's investigations show that the slope of a river 

 along a certain section affords a workijig head which, in connection 

 with the known or supposed flow of the stream, indicates the possi- 

 bility of a power site, he determines in a rough way the method or 

 methods by which that site may be utilized. It is unnecessary for 

 him to make final location surveys, because the fact that the power 

 site exists is usually sufficient for the purposes at hand. The 

 particular method of development will eventually be determined 

 largely by the state of the science at the time the development is to , 

 be made. It is recognized that the details of location and -equipment 

 depend on the progress attained at the time of construction. We 

 know, for example, of many old developments which if constructed 

 to-day would be of an entirely different type. 



The standards of capacity which warrant the withdrawal of public 

 lands for power sites vary with the location, and in many cases the 

 decision rests largely on the abundance of power sites in the imme- 

 diate region. A stretch of river having a fall of 10 feet to the mile 

 may, in regions where power sites are not abundant, be worthy of 

 withdrawal, whereas a similar stretch in a region abundantly sup- 

 plied with sites of greater capacity may not be of sufficient im- 



