ENGINEERING FOR LAND DRAINAGE. 



CHAPTER I. 



INTRODUCTION. 



THE DRAINAGE ENGINEER— THE AGRICULTURIST 



AND SOIL DRAINAGE. 



The Drainage E^igineer, 



The importance of the work of the drainage engineer 

 may in a measure be appreciated when we consider the 

 magnitude of land drainage projects which have been 

 executed during the century which has just closed. 

 The immense tracts of land in the Old World which have 

 been reclaimed from the infoad of river and sea and are 

 now the greatest food-producing lands in the world are 

 monuments to the skill of engineers who planned and 

 executed these works. None of these drainage projects 

 has been carried out without the aid of engineers of 

 high ability, as well as of great energy and originality. 

 He who has in this way contributed to the world's 

 wealth and the happiness of man is as worthy of high 

 esteem as he who discovers some rich island, or by his 



