A TREATISE ON THE LAW OF IRRIGATION COVERING ALL STATES AND TERRITORIES BY JOSEPH R. LONG Professor of Law in Washington and Lee University SECOND EDITION DENVER THE W. H. COURTRIGHT PUBLISHING CO. PREFACE In this volume I have endeavored to present, concisely and yet fully, the American law of irrigation. The book has been made for use and not merely to sell. It would have been an easy matter to expand the work into two volumes, but my purpose has been to present the law in compact form and in logical order, with a view to the convenience of the busy practitioner. I have assumed that the users of this book have access to the reports and the statutes of their own states, and I have therefore not attempted toe out ecific decisions or to quote at length the opinions of judges except where such a course seemed conducive to a clearer understanding of the principles of the law. The book has been written upon the theory that it would be more valuable to the practitioner or student as a book of principles than as a digest of decisions and statutes. A conscientious attempt has been made to cite all the cases on the subject, and it is believed that few, if any, cases of real importance have been omitted. The first edition of this work appeared in 1900 and was kindly received by the profession. Since that time there have been so many new decisions and so much legislation on the subject of irrigation, that I have found it necessary practically to rewrite the book, so that it now appears as in effect a new work. But while the incorporation of the new decisions and statutes has necessitated a substantial extension and recasting of the former text, it will be found that few new principles have been added and that the law of irrigation has remained substantially the same as it was at the time of the first edition. A portion of the work on this edition has been done in the fine libraries of the Supreme Court of Colorado at Denver and of the Edward Thompson Company at Northport, N. Y. For courtesies received in that connection I desire to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. F. A. Richardson, librarian of the Colorado Supreme Court Library, and to the Edward Thompson Company. May 1, 1916. J. R. L. |