or because of the impracticability of making the necessary measurements. Such a bill of extras, therefore, brought in at the time of settlement is always the source of a certain amount of difficulty and irritation, and when the piece of work extends over a considerable length of time, such a contingency as above described should be prevented by requiring all such bills of extras to be presented from month to month. Furthermore, it is desirable also that the contractor should reveal to the engineer his intentions in regard to claims for extras, before such extra work is executed. In this case if he will not accept of the price fixed by the engineer for doing such work the engineer should have the privilege of letting this extra work to another party. In this way extravagant prices for such work could be prevented, and disputes avoided, and the following is given as a good example of such a clause, on a piece of work which extended over a considerable period of time:

No claim for extra work shall be considered or allowed, unless such extra work shall have been previously ordered by said engineer, in writing. The claims for such extra work, when so ordered, shall be presented to such board on or before the 15th day of the month following that in which said extra work was done, otherwise such claims during that month will be forfeited and waived. In case any extra work shall be required in the proper performance of the work contemplated to be done under this contract, it is understood that said board reserves the right to have such extra work done by any other person, firm, or corporation than the said contractor, unless an agreement upon the prices to be paid for such extra work can promptly be reached between said board and contractor. Should said extra work be let to any other person, firm, or corporation than said contractor, said contractor further agrees that he will not, in any way, interfere with, or molest such person, firm, or corporation, and that said contractor will suspend such part of the work herein specified, or will carry on the same in such a manner as he may be ordered by said engineer, so as to afford all reasonable facilities for doing such extra work; but said contractor agrees to make no claim for damages, or for any privileges or rights, other than expressed by this contract, by reason of the suspension and the doing of such extra work, except for an extension of time to perform this contract, as may be certified to said board in writing by said chief engineer, and approved by said board. E. K.

111. Definition of "Engineer" and "Contractor." While it is not at all necessary as a rule to define the terms "Engineer," "Contractor," "Board," etc., it is usually well to insert such a definition, to prevent any legal quibble in case suit is brought by either of the parties to the contract. In this definition also the agency of persons acting for either of the principals or for the engineer is also defined.

Wherever the word "engineer" is used herein, it shall be and is mutually understood to refer to—and to his properly authorized agents, limited by the particular duties entrusted to them.

Wherever the word "contractor" is used herein, it shall be and is mutually understood to refer to the party or parties contracting to perform the work to be done under this contract, or the legal representatives of such party or parties.

E. A. F.

112. Documents Composing the Contract. While in common law all the documents, acts, agreements, public advertisements, etc., which relate to or serve to explain the full meaning and intent of the contract, are made portions of such contract, it is well also to specify particularly what documents combine to make what is understood by the parties as "the contract." This clause is frequently inserted in the enacting agreement, which may or may not precede the specifications proper. It is here inserted as a clause in the specifications, but perhaps more properly belongs in what is sometimes designated more specifically as "the contract." The clause may read as follows:

It is understood by the contracting parties that the following documents are essential portions of the complete contract: The advertisement, the instructions to bidders, the proposal, all drawings, maps, and plans, hereto attached or herein described, the specifications, specific contract, and the contractor's bond.

113. Meaning Understood. It is not unusual for contractors to enter a plea, either during construction or on final settlement, that such and such parts of the specifications were not understood, and that their bids were made under a

misapprehension. To prevent the making of such a claim the following may be inserted:

Said contractor hereby admits that he has read each and every clause in this contract, and fully understands the meaning of the same, and hereby agrees that he will comply with all the terms, covenants and agreements herein set forth.

E. K.

114. The Use of General Clauses in Engineering Specifications. While the general clauses here described. with illustrative examples may appear to the reader unnecesW sarily voluminous, their purpose and effect is to clearly define (2) the business relations of the parties, and to prevent injustice

The

being done to either party. They are also calculated to prevent litigation and delay in the final settlement, and if they are able to effect these ends they are well worth inserting, even where the work to be done is relatively small, and unimportant. engineer should be careful, however, that all such clauses are consistent as between themselves, and it is best also to make them mutually exclusive In other words, the same thing should not be described or defined in more than one clause, as repetitions only weaken the document. Furthermore, no condition or limitation should be inserted without a full intention of strict compliance. If the engineer begins to relax in his requirements in one particular, the contractor will not be slow to take advantage of such precedents, and to claim similar privileges in other directions. If the engineer could know in advance who the contractor was to be, many of the clauses here offered might be dispensed with, in case the contractor was known to be thoroughly honest and competent. The specifications are prepared in advance, however, and it is wise to assume that the contractor will be a more or less irresponsible party, without reputation to sustain, and whose sole object is personal gain. It must also be understood that the clauses here given are offered only as illustrative examples, and not to be blindly copied. The engineer in writing the specifications

should have clearly in mind what the business relations are intended to be, and make his general clauses consistent with that conception. He could probably consult other specifications, or the clauses as given above, as suggestions and to enable him to avoid omitting some essential condition which he wishes to insert. It is believed, by the author, that the clauses here quoted have the support of the leading members of the profession in this country, and that they are well adapted to determine the conditions which the engineers who use them desired to impose. It must not be supposed, however, that all these general clauses would ever be embodied in any one specification.

PART III.

Specific Descriptive or Technical Clauses in Specifications.

115. Essential Features of Good Specifications. We now come to consider that portion of any given set of specifications which relates to and describes the work itself. In writing specifications of this kind, the following requirements should be complied with:

(a) The work should be described first as a whole, and then in detail.

(b) Every portion and detail of the work should be described in clear and simple language which will be understood by the contractors who are supposed to bid on the work. These descriptions should have reference to the ultimate end to be accomplished rather than to the means and methods to be employed. It is usually not wise to specify methods unless in the opinion of the engineer some particular method is far preferable to any other.

(c) The clauses in the specifications should be made so far as possible mutually exclusive. That is to say, no part of the work should be specifically described in more than one place. Repetition of descriptions tends to weaken the docu

ment.

(d) The specifications should be clear in the matter of indicating what is absolutely required without any alternative, and what is named as indicating in general the character of the product, and in which alternative materials, methods, or results will be allowed. If the engineer anticipates that some clauses