The wheel is then fixed in place near the bank of the
river, its axle resting in pillars of rough masonry.
[Illustration: 293.jpg A MODERN MACHINE FOR IRRIGATION ON THE
EUPHRATES.]
As the current turns the wheel, the bottles on the rim dip below the
surface and are raised up full. At the top of the wheel is fixed a
trough made by hollowing half the trunk of a date-palm, and into this
the bottles pour their water, which is conducted from the trough by
means of a small aqueduct into the irrigation-channel on the bank.
The convenience of the water-wheel will be obvious, for the water is
raised without the labour of man or beast, and a constant supply is
secured day and night so long as the current is strong enough to turn
the wheel. The water can be cut off by blocking the wheel or tying it
up. These wheels are most common on the Euphrates, and are usually set
up where there is a slight drop in the river bed and the water runs
swiftly over shallows. As the banks are very high, the wheels are
necessarily huge contrivances in order to reach the level of the fields,
and their very rough construction causes them to creak and groan as they
turn with the current. In a convenient place in the river several of
these are sometimes set up side by side, and the noise of their combined
creakings can be heard from a great distance.
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