Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/947

 1869.] Methods of Finding Water. 771 METHODS OF FINDING WATER. THE location of water is one of those questions which concern most men, hut none more intimately than he who seeks his comfort in a country place where he proposes to erect a homestead. The search for water has always, in ancient, as well as modern times, been one of very great interest, and has given rise to much debate as to the truth of certain systems of divination founded on the principle that willows and other trees that flourish best in wet places have such an affinity for water that a rod of any of those, if held loosely in the hand, will, when borne over the loca- tion of a spring, clip towards the ground. We will now give the methods recom- mended by Yitruvius, and much fol- lowed by the ancients. "It is," says that observant writer, " easily accomplished if the springs are open and flowing above ground. If that be not the case, their sources under ground are to be traced and examined. In order to discover these, before sun- rise one must lie down prostrate on the spot where he seeks to find it, and with 'his chin placed upon the ground and fixed, look around the place ; for the chin being fixed, the eye cannot range upwards farther than it ought, and is confined to the level of the place. Then, where the vapors are seen curling together and rising into the air, there dig, because these appearances are not discovered in dry places. We should also consider the nature of the place when we search for water. In clay, the vein of water is small, the supply little and not of the best flavor ; and if in low places, it will be muddy and ill tasted. In black earth, only trickling in small drops are found, which, collected from the winter rain, subside in compact hard places, and are of very excellent flavor. In gravel, the veins are small and vari- able, but they are exceedingly well flavored. In the strong, common and red sands, the supply is to be depended on with more certainty, and is of good taste. In red stone, abundance and that of good quality may be obtained, if it do not filter away and escape through the pores. At the feet of moun- tains, and about flinty rocks the supply is copious and abundant; it is there cold and more wholesome. In cham- paign countries, the springs are salt, gross, tepid, and unpleasant, except those, which percolating from the moun- tains beneath the surface, issue forth in the plains, where, especially when shad- owed by trees, they are as delicious as those of the mountains themselves. "Besides the above signs for ascertain- ing in what places water may be found are the following: When a place abounds with the slender bulrush, the wild wil- low, the alder, the withy, reeds, ivy, and other plants of a similar sort, which neither spring up nor flourish without moisture. For these plants usually grow about lakes, which, being lower than the other parts of a country, receive both the rain water and that of the district through the winter, and, from their size, preserve the moisture for a longer period. On these, however, we must not rely. But in those districts and lands, no lakes being near, where the plants in question grow spontaneously, there we may search. In places where these signs do not appear, the following plan must be adopted. Dig a hole three feet square and at least five feet deep, and in it, about sunset, place a brazen or leaden basin, or larger vessel, if one be at hand. It must be rubbed over with oil inside and inverted, and the upper part of the excavation is to be covered with reeds or leaves ; on these the earth is to be thrown. On the following day let it be opened, and if the inside of the vase be covered with damp and drops