Chap. 28.] DITTEEENCES IN WATERS. " 489 



CHAP. 27. SIGNS INDICATIVE OF THE PRESENCE OF WATEE. 



The following are indications of the presence of water : — 

 rushes, reeds, the plant mentioned with reference to this point 

 already,"® or frogs sitting squatted on a spot for a long time 

 together. As to the wild^^ willow, alder, vitex, reed, and ivy, 

 all of which grow spontaneously on low grounds in which 

 there is a settling of rain water from higher localities, con- 

 sidered as indications of the presence of water, they are all"*^ of 

 them of a deceptive nature. A sign much more to be depended 

 upon, is a certain misty exhalation, visible from a distance 

 before sunrise. The better to observe this, some persons ascend 

 an eminence, and lie flat at full length upon the ground, with 

 the chin touching the earth. There is also another peculiar 

 method of judging upon this point, known only to men of 

 experience in these matters : in the very middle of the heats 

 of summer they select the hottest hours of the day, and observe 

 how the sun's rays are reflected in each spot; and if, notwith- 

 standing the general dryness of the earth, a locality is observed 

 to present a moist appearance, they make no doubt of finding 

 water tliere. 



But so intense is the stress upon the eyes in doing this, that 

 it is very apt to make them ache ; to avoid which inconveni- 

 ence, they have recourse to other modes of testing. They dig 

 a hole, for instance, some five feet in depth, and cover it with 

 vessels of unbaked pottery, or with a copper basin well-oiled ; 

 they then place a burning lamp on the spot, with an arch-work 

 over it of leaves, and covered with earth on the top. If, after a 

 time, they find the pots wet or broken, the copper covered with 

 moisture, or the lamp extinguished, but not from want of oil, or 

 if a lock of wool that has been left there is found to be moist, 

 it is a sign of the presence of water, beyond all doubt. With 

 some persons it is the practice to light a fire on the spot before 

 they dig the hole, a method which renders the experiment with 

 the vessels still more conclusive. 



CHAP. 28. DIFFEKENCES IN WATEBS, ACCOEDING TO THE NATURE 



OF THE SOIL. 



The soil itself, too, gives indications of the presence of 



2^ In B, xxvi. c. 16. ^^ " Salix erratica." 

 2^ Surely not the reed, as he has mentioned it above as one of the in- 

 dications to be depended upon. In one MS. it appears to be omitted, and 

 with justice, probably. 



