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Drainage of agricultural land
366
BOOK REVIEWS
An obvious shortcoming of these chapter,.,, and indeed the whole book, is the delay in its publication. The most recent reference is 5 y e a ~ old (most are much older); this is a failing in a field as active as the one under review. As a result many of the more modem approaches are not included such as the measurement of unsteady flow. Even the valuable material given in the I.A.E.A. "Guidebook on Nuclear Techniques in.Hydrology',, whose publication preceeded the present book by 4 years, is not reviewed. Chapter 13 on Radioactive Dating using 3H, 14C and other naturally occurring nuclides is apparently added for the sake of completeness. It, however, does not do justice to its subject and the interested reader will have to go to more specialized texts on these matters. The book is well prin'~ed and reasonably well referenced. A general index would have been useful as well as additional appendixes containing information of a more technical nature. Altogether, this book is a welcome milestone in the development of isotope hydrology and should contribute to wider application of tracing techniques. However, an ear!y revision and updating should be encouraged. J.R. GAT (Rehovot)
Drainage of Agricultural Land. U.S.D.A.,Water Information Center. Port Washington, N.Y., 1973, 423 pp., $ 7.95. The book is basically a practical man's textbook on drainage and as such it fills an important gap which has existed in the literature. It is based almost exclusively on drainage experience in the United States with the results that it needs to be used critically in other parts of the world. Terminology is a problem with the use of words, e.g., "flashboards", peculiar to the United States, but this is largely overcome by the comprehensive list of definitions in the introduction. The first two chapters deal, respectively, with the physical principles underlying all drainage and the investigations which are necessar~ to evaluate the type of drainage most suited to a particular area. The first chapter describes in a clear manner the main types of drainage problems, and it then leads on to an exposition of Darcy's Law, of the importance of hydraulic gradients and streamlines and the way in which these fundamental factors are brought together in analytical equations. The chapter on investigations places great emphasis on the evaluatior, of the economic need for drainage and the correct identification of the drainage problem, but an omission, perhaps, is the lack of the economic data to facilitate such evaluations.
BOOK B£VIEWS
367
The methods of draining are split into two types, surface drainage and subsurface drainage. These are clearly explained and are distinguished as being necessary for different types of soils, probably based amongst other things upon the subsoil hydraulic conductivity but the reader is not informed of the order of magnitude of conductivity separating the two groups. The distinction is, however, important and relevant to British conditions to take an example, where one feels that many of the soils are surface problem soils which are treated as though they had been subsurface problems. Those people concerned with draining heavy soils will be interested in the short sections dealing with mole drainage. These occur in several places, refleeting the multiple authorship of the book, but collectively the suitability of the soil, the timing and the duration of mole life are dealt with. Subsoiling is also an important feature of drainage of heavy soils in the wider international concept but it is omitted from this book. The sections dealing, respectively, with the use of filters and the drainage of organic soils are detailed and concise. The organic soils section clearly explains the differences between organic soils and states the solutions which have been found to be successful in the United States. The chapters dealing with the wider civil engineering aspects of drainage such as pumps are extremely detailed and practical and overall the book deserves a place on the bookshelves of all practicing agricultural drainage engineers. D.W. RYCROFT (Cambridge)
Land Use and Water Resources. H.C. Pereira. Cambridge University Press, London, 1973, 246 pp., £ 1.95. The book opens with a clearly stated objective, namely to provide a summary in plain language of the information: presently available on the interaction of land use and water resources. As a primer in hydrology for administrators concerned with resource management it will fill a very useful role. Dr. Pereira has, on the whole, consistently written for this audience, and provided a series of briefing papers on a range of topics. The contents page is not a simple index of chapters since each chapter is internally divided into sections which in turn contain subheadings. The sections and subheadings are clearly identified in the contents listing and so the use of the book as an administrator's handbook is facilitated. There is also
BOOK REVIEWS
An obvious shortcoming of these chapter,.,, and indeed the whole book, is the delay in its publication. The most recent reference is 5 y e a ~ old (most are much older); this is a failing in a field as active as the one under review. As a result many of the more modem approaches are not included such as the measurement of unsteady flow. Even the valuable material given in the I.A.E.A. "Guidebook on Nuclear Techniques in.Hydrology',, whose publication preceeded the present book by 4 years, is not reviewed. Chapter 13 on Radioactive Dating using 3H, 14C and other naturally occurring nuclides is apparently added for the sake of completeness. It, however, does not do justice to its subject and the interested reader will have to go to more specialized texts on these matters. The book is well prin'~ed and reasonably well referenced. A general index would have been useful as well as additional appendixes containing information of a more technical nature. Altogether, this book is a welcome milestone in the development of isotope hydrology and should contribute to wider application of tracing techniques. However, an ear!y revision and updating should be encouraged. J.R. GAT (Rehovot)
Drainage of Agricultural Land. U.S.D.A.,Water Information Center. Port Washington, N.Y., 1973, 423 pp., $ 7.95. The book is basically a practical man's textbook on drainage and as such it fills an important gap which has existed in the literature. It is based almost exclusively on drainage experience in the United States with the results that it needs to be used critically in other parts of the world. Terminology is a problem with the use of words, e.g., "flashboards", peculiar to the United States, but this is largely overcome by the comprehensive list of definitions in the introduction. The first two chapters deal, respectively, with the physical principles underlying all drainage and the investigations which are necessar~ to evaluate the type of drainage most suited to a particular area. The first chapter describes in a clear manner the main types of drainage problems, and it then leads on to an exposition of Darcy's Law, of the importance of hydraulic gradients and streamlines and the way in which these fundamental factors are brought together in analytical equations. The chapter on investigations places great emphasis on the evaluatior, of the economic need for drainage and the correct identification of the drainage problem, but an omission, perhaps, is the lack of the economic data to facilitate such evaluations.
BOOK B£VIEWS
367
The methods of draining are split into two types, surface drainage and subsurface drainage. These are clearly explained and are distinguished as being necessary for different types of soils, probably based amongst other things upon the subsoil hydraulic conductivity but the reader is not informed of the order of magnitude of conductivity separating the two groups. The distinction is, however, important and relevant to British conditions to take an example, where one feels that many of the soils are surface problem soils which are treated as though they had been subsurface problems. Those people concerned with draining heavy soils will be interested in the short sections dealing with mole drainage. These occur in several places, refleeting the multiple authorship of the book, but collectively the suitability of the soil, the timing and the duration of mole life are dealt with. Subsoiling is also an important feature of drainage of heavy soils in the wider international concept but it is omitted from this book. The sections dealing, respectively, with the use of filters and the drainage of organic soils are detailed and concise. The organic soils section clearly explains the differences between organic soils and states the solutions which have been found to be successful in the United States. The chapters dealing with the wider civil engineering aspects of drainage such as pumps are extremely detailed and practical and overall the book deserves a place on the bookshelves of all practicing agricultural drainage engineers. D.W. RYCROFT (Cambridge)
Land Use and Water Resources. H.C. Pereira. Cambridge University Press, London, 1973, 246 pp., £ 1.95. The book opens with a clearly stated objective, namely to provide a summary in plain language of the information: presently available on the interaction of land use and water resources. As a primer in hydrology for administrators concerned with resource management it will fill a very useful role. Dr. Pereira has, on the whole, consistently written for this audience, and provided a series of briefing papers on a range of topics. The contents page is not a simple index of chapters since each chapter is internally divided into sections which in turn contain subheadings. The sections and subheadings are clearly identified in the contents listing and so the use of the book as an administrator's handbook is facilitated. There is also