TOWERS AND TANKS FOR WATER-WORKS. 



CHAPTER I. 

 BRIEF MENTION OF ANCIENT AND MODERN WORKS. 



AMONGST the earliest evidences of a prior civilization, 

 ruined aqueducts, varying in design and extent, indicate the 

 appreciated necessity of public water-supply for populous com- 

 munities. During the reign of the Jewish King, Solomon, 

 extensive reservoirs or pools were designed and constructed, 

 which to the present time bear his name and testify to the 

 wisdom accredited him, continuing, after the lapse of ages, 

 to deliver a supply of pure water to the citizens of Jerusalem. 



The important works constructed under the Caesars present 

 a good example of the excellence attained by the hydraulician 

 and the general requirements in the matter of water-supply of 

 that day, whilst in the New World, amid the wreck of a more 

 remote antiquity, are to be found examples of the genius of that 

 mysterious race, the Aztec, and its application toward the 

 development of this most important factor in the progress of 

 nations. 



Recognizing and putting into practical use the principles 

 of the great natural law of the flow of liquids impelled by 

 gravity, convenient mountain streams and brooks were im- 

 pounded and led down the hillsides by open channels or aque- 

 ducts for the convenience of the people. 



