Masonry Dams and Irrigation Work

Abstract

(1)THE engineering term “dam” has a diversity of applications; it may be defined to include any work which has for its object the confinement of water, (a) so as to produce a rise in level, (b) so as to exclude it from a certain area, and (c) so as to repress the natural flow to any desired extent. In Mr. Creager's book the subject is approached almost entirely from the point of view of the adaptation of dams to the formation of reservoirs in schemes of water conservation. The briefest reference rs made to weirs, anicuts, and the like, in river rectificatiofl operations, and none to dykes and embankments in coastal defence works. The general location of the dam is assumed to be already determined, and the opening chapter deals with the selection of the most suitable site for the former within the prescribed area. As might be anticipated, the volume is largely a reflection of American practice, with some few illustrations selected from other countries; we miss, however, any reference to English and French designs, some of which are certainly worthy of note.

(1) Engineering for Masonry Dams.

By W. Pitcher Creager. Pp. xi + 237. (New York: J. Wiley and Sons, Inc.; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1917.) Price 11s. 6d. net.

(2) Irrigation Works Constructed by the United States Government.

By A. Powell Davis. Pp. xvi + 413. (New York: J. Wiley and Sons, Inc.; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1917.) Price 21s. net.