THE HISTORY OF IRRIGATION. 7 



What may I say of that industrious swain 

 Who, like a soldier following spear with sword, 

 The grain pursues just cast into its place, 

 Ami rushes on it the adjoining heap 

 Of soil that is illy rich, then leads the stream 

 And following streams upon the planted grain ; 

 And when the burnt-out field with dying growths 

 Is hot, behold, he brings the saving wave headlong, 

 Down through its slanting path ; its falling calls 

 From rounding rocks a murmur hoarse, and cools 

 With scattering rills the parched and thirsty fields." 



The Grecians were an inventive people and to them 

 are ascribed great improvements in the way of mechan- 

 ical contrivances for raising water. Principal among 

 these is the tympanum wheel, afterward adopted by the 

 K : vptians, as shown in Figure 3. 



In the reign of Emperor Nero, Rome was supplied 

 by no fewer than nine large conduits, having an aggre- 

 gate length of 255 miles, which delivered over 173,000,- 

 000 gallons of water daily. Afterwards the supply was 

 increased to 312,500,000 gallons daily. Most of the 

 Roman works were constructed for the supply of cities 

 with drinking water, and such were built in all countries 

 under Roman control. That of Claudia was 47 miles 

 long and 100 feet high, so as to furnish the hills. Mar- 

 tia's was 41 miles, of which 37 were on 7000 arches 70 

 feet high. These vast erections would never have been 

 built had the Romans known that water always rises to 

 its own level. 



Julius Caesar in his efforts to conquer the world 

 carried the irrigation idea into Great Britain, and his 

 subservient soldiery constructed many miles of artificial 

 water courses, or rather superintended the work, which 

 was done manually by the people whom they had en- 

 slaved by conquest. When Constantine was sent to the 

 Bosphorus to found the great city which bears his name 

 he detailed certain numbers of his army for canal work, 

 and they built many permanent irrigating works. 



The Spaniards are the best irrigators in the world ; 

 they have been applying water artificially for over oOOO 



