The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-07-30

velopment are no less remarkable than tho beginnings of highway building, both fostered by federal Legislation. In Alabama develop ments on the Coosa river are fol- lowed by those on the Tennessee river soon to be resumed and carried to completion under some provision. These will no doubt be followed by many others till the millions9of po- tential horse power in our streams, which have been going to waste through all the years of the past, will be harnessed for productive work
 Following the recommendations of the Alabama educational survey commission. based on the report of the survey by the United States bureau of education, hydraulic en- gineering is taught at the expense of the state only at the university. Specialized instruction in this sub ject begins in the sophomore year with a course in the relations of ground waters and rainfall to the flow of streams and methods of esti- mating minimum and maximum amounts of water available for power, water supply and other pur- poses. In the junior and senior years operating conditions of plants, and are instructed in the principles of the selection of machinery and in the designing and the construction of necessary buildings.
 In these courses the project method
 is used An actual situation on a stream In Alabama is chosen as a problem. The class visits the site, makes surveys and secures all the local information available. Later at the university the students search in the library and elsewhere for all available data bearing upon the prob lem. Methods of analyzing these data and of selecting the proper CO., efficients for use in estimating the necessary quantities are studied and each student prepares a complete en- gineering report upon the project.
 The hydraulic laboratory at the university is equipped for experi- ments on the flow of water through orifices, in pipes, and over dams, and for tests Of hydraulic power and pumping machinery.
 Sanitary Engineering
 The field of sanitary engineering covers those engineering problems which arise in the development and operation of water supply and water purification plants sewerage systems, sewage disposal works, storm water drainage in cities, the drainage of swamp lands to improve the sanitary conditions by eliminating breeding places of the malarial mosquito, the construction of works for the de- struction or reduction of garbage and other municipal and industrial wastes and similar problems. There is a very large field in Alabama and other parts of the south for work of this sort. The recommendation of the Alabama educational survey commits sion already referred to place sani- tary engineering at the state pi- versity.
 The curriculum course in sanitary engineering is based on the general course in civil engineering, but in the junior and senior years the students take special courses in water supply sewerage, sewage disposal, general municipal engineering and related courses. The location of the Gorgas school of sanitation at the university will add to the facilities for instruc- ton in sanitary engineering
 As special preparation for municipal engineering. students take, in add- ton to the general principles of civil engineering, street construction and sanitary engineering, courses in city planning. in the design of water works, sewerage systems and purifi- cation plants.
 Succeeding articles will treat of mechanical engineering, chemical engineering. mining engineering metallurgical engineering, electrical engineering and industrial manage ment.