When the wooden wheel of about seventeen feet diameter has been fixed
upon its horizontal shaft, it is arranged with a chain of large earthen
jars; those of Egypt contain about three gallons each, but the Cyprian
pots are very inferior, scarcely exceeding the same number of quarts.
These jars are secured upon a double line of stiff ropes formed in
Cyprus of the long twisted wands of myrtle, which are exceedingly tough,
and are substitutes for willows in basket-work. When completed, the
chain resembles a rope ladder, with the numerous jars sufficiently close
together to represent spokes separated by about sixteen inches. This is
suspended over the edge of the wheel, and hangs vertically; the lower
portion of this necklace-like arrangement being about three feet below
the water, or as near the bottom as is possible with safety to the jars.
When the wheel turns the necklace of pots must of necessity obey the
movement, and as they dip successively and fill in the deep water, they
in turn rise to the surface with the revolutions of the wheel; upon
passing the centre they invert, and empty their contents into a large
trough connected with a reservoir capable of containing many hundred
hogsheads. A circular chain or ladder of twenty feet diameter will
contain about twenty jars of three gallons each--equalling a delivery
of about two and a half gallons per jar, as there is generally a loss of
water during the movement; therefore one complete revolution of the
wheel would deliver fifty gallons into the reservoir.
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