PREFACE. 



This brief treatise on drainage engineering is in- 

 tended for the use of those who are charged with the 

 responsibility of making plans for and executing drain- 

 age improvements. It puts the experience and practice 

 of years into a form which will be available to others 

 who wish to quickly acquire the principles and practice 

 of land drainage. 



Much more might be said on some of the subjects, 

 but the busy man of to-day prefers to have the informa- 

 tion he seeks in concise form rather than to select what 

 he desires from a more voluminous work. 



The hydraulics of drainage cannot be computed with 

 as much accuracy as may be done in some other 

 branches of engineering, owing to the uncertain data 

 available and the variable conditions which must be 

 met. For this reason formulas of less refinement than 

 are thought essential to some other hydraulic work may 

 be used in making drainage computations. Good judg- 

 ment should always be exercised in applying data to 

 formulas in the class of work treated of in this book. 

 The practical adaptation of accurate and systematic 

 methods in .dealing with land drainage questions is re- 

 garded by the author as highly essential to the successful 

 prosecution of such work. 



Complicated and merely theoretical engineering is to 



be avoided. Simple and practical methods which are 



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