Chap. 11.]
Machines for the Irrigation of Land.
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CHAPTEE XI.
Agriculture gave rise to numerous devices for raising water—Curious definition of Egyptian hus-
bandry_Irrigation always practised in the east—Great fertility of watered land—The construction of
the lakes and canals of Egypt and China , subsequent to the use of hydraulic machines—Phänomenen in ancient Thebes—Similarity of the early kistories of the Egyptians and Chinese —Mythology basedon agriculture and irrigation: Both inculcated as a part of religiou—Asiatic tanks—Watering land withthe yoke and pots—An employment of the Israelites in Egypt—Hindoo Water Bearer—Curious sliapedvessels—Aquarius, ‘ the Water Pourer,’ an emblem of irrigation—Connection of astronomy with agri-culture—Swinging baskets of Egypt , China and Hindostan. Arts and customs of the ancient Egyptians.
The last three chapters include most of the methods adopted by the an-cients to raise water for domestic purposes. There is, however, anotherdass of machines of equal merit and importance, which probably hadtheir origin in agriculture, i. e. in the irrigation of land. Persons wholive in temperate climates, where water generally abounds, can scarcelyrealize the importance of artificial irrigation to the people of Asia andother parts of the eartb. It was this, which chiefly contributed to Sup-port those swarms of human beings, who anciently dwelt on the plains ofthe Euphrates , the Ganges , the Nile , and other large rivers. In Egyplalone, the existence of millions of our species has in all times dependedwholly upon it, and hence the antiquity of machines to raise water amongthat people. The definition of oriental agriculture is all but incompre-hensible to an uninformed American or European—it is said to consistchiefly, “in having suitable machines for raising water,” a definition suffi-ciently descriptive of the profession of our firemen, but few people wouldever suppose it explanatory of that of a farmer. It is however literallytrue. Irrigation is everything—the whole System of husbandry is inclu-ded in it; and no greater proof of its value need be given, than the factof machines employed to raise water for that purpose in Egypt , beingtaxed.
The agricultural pursuits of man, must at a very early period have con-vinced him of the value of water in increasing the fruitfulness of the soil:he could not but observe the fertilizing effects of rain, and the rieh Vege-tation consequent on the periodical inundations of rivers; nor on the otherhand, could he possibly have remained ignorant of the sterility conse-quent on long continued droughts : hence nature taught man the art of ir-rigating land, and confirmed him in the practice of it, by the benefits itinvariably produced. In some countries the soil was thus rendered soexceedingly fruitful as to exceed credibility. Herodotus , when speak-ing of Babylonia, which was chiefly watered by artificial irrigation, (forthe Assyrians he observes, ‘had but little rain,’) says, it was the mostfruitful of all the countries he had visited. Corn, he said never producedless than two hundred-fold, and sometimes three hundred; and after re-citmg some other examples, he remarks, that those persons who hadnot seen the country, would deem his account of it a violation of proba-bility—in other words, a traveler’s tale. Clio, 193. Five hundred yearsafterwards, the elder Pliny speaking of the same country, observes,“there is not a territory in all the east comparable to it in fertility;”while in another part of his work, he refers to the cause of its fruitful-ness—he says, the principal care required, was, “ to keep the ground wellwatered.” Nat. Hist, vi, 26, and xviii, 17.