The fifth pump of this kind is partly like the third and partly like the
fourth, because it is turned by strong men like the last, and like the third
it has two axles and three drums, though each axle is horizontal. The
journals of each axle are so fitted in the pillows of the beams that they cannot
fly out; the lower axle has a crank at one end and a toothed drum at the
other end; the upper axle has at one end a drum made of rundles, and at
the other end, a drum to which are fixed iron clamps, in which the links of a
chain catch in the same way as before, and from the same depth, draw water
through pipes by means of balls. This revolving machine is turned by two
pairs of men alternately, for one pair stands working while the other sits
taking a rest; while they are engaged upon the task of turning, one pulls
the crank and the other pushes, and the drums help to make the pump turn
more easily.
fourth, because it is turned by strong men like the last, and like the third
it has two axles and three drums, though each axle is horizontal. The
journals of each axle are so fitted in the pillows of the beams that they cannot
fly out; the lower axle has a crank at one end and a toothed drum at the
other end; the upper axle has at one end a drum made of rundles, and at
the other end, a drum to which are fixed iron clamps, in which the links of a
chain catch in the same way as before, and from the same depth, draw water
through pipes by means of balls. This revolving machine is turned by two
pairs of men alternately, for one pair stands working while the other sits
taking a rest; while they are engaged upon the task of turning, one pulls
the crank and the other pushes, and the drums help to make the pump turn
more easily.
The sixth pump of this kind likewise has two axles.
At one end of the
lower axle is a wheel which is turned by two men treading, this is twenty
three feet high and four feet wide, so that one man may stand alongside
the other. At the other end of this axle is a toothed wheel. The upper19
axle has two drums and one wheel; the first drum is made of rundles, and to
the other there are fixed the iron clamps. The wheel is like the one on the
second machine which is chiefly used for drawing earth and broken rock
out of shafts. The treaders, to prevent themselves from falling, grasp in
their hands poles which are fixed to the inner sides of the wheel. When
they turn this wheel, the toothed drum being made to revolve, sets in motion
the other drum which is made of rundles, by which means again the links
of the chain catch to the cleats of the third drum and draw water through
pipes by means of balls,—from a depth of sixty-six feet.
lower axle is a wheel which is turned by two men treading, this is twenty
three feet high and four feet wide, so that one man may stand alongside
the other. At the other end of this axle is a toothed wheel. The upper19
axle has two drums and one wheel; the first drum is made of rundles, and to
the other there are fixed the iron clamps. The wheel is like the one on the
second machine which is chiefly used for drawing earth and broken rock
out of shafts. The treaders, to prevent themselves from falling, grasp in
their hands poles which are fixed to the inner sides of the wheel. When
they turn this wheel, the toothed drum being made to revolve, sets in motion
the other drum which is made of rundles, by which means again the links
of the chain catch to the cleats of the third drum and draw water through
pipes by means of balls,—from a depth of sixty-six feet.
But the largest machine of all those which draw water is the one which
follows. First of all a reservoir is made in a timbered chamber; this reser
voir is eighteen feet long and twelve feet wide and high. Into this reservoir
a stream is diverted through a water-race or through the tunnel; it has two
entrances and the same number of gates. Levers are fixed to the upper part
of these gates, by which they can be raised and let down again, so that by one
way the gates are opened and in the other way closed. Beneath the openings
are two plank troughs which carry the water flowing from the reservoir, and
pour it on to the buckets of the water-wheel, the impact of which turns the
wheel. The shorter trough carries the water, which strikes the buckets
that turn the wheel toward the reservoir, and the longer trough carries
the water which strikes those buckets that turn the wheel in the opposite
direction. The casing or covering of the wheel is made of joined boards to
which strips are affixed on the inner side. The wheel itself is thirty-six feet
in diameter, and is mortised to an axle, and it has, as I have already said,
two rows of buckets, of which one is set the opposite way to the other, so
that the wheel may be turned toward the reservoir or in the opposite
follows. First of all a reservoir is made in a timbered chamber; this reser
voir is eighteen feet long and twelve feet wide and high. Into this reservoir
a stream is diverted through a water-race or through the tunnel; it has two
entrances and the same number of gates. Levers are fixed to the upper part
of these gates, by which they can be raised and let down again, so that by one
way the gates are opened and in the other way closed. Beneath the openings
are two plank troughs which carry the water flowing from the reservoir, and
pour it on to the buckets of the water-wheel, the impact of which turns the
wheel. The shorter trough carries the water, which strikes the buckets
that turn the wheel toward the reservoir, and the longer trough carries
the water which strikes those buckets that turn the wheel in the opposite
direction. The casing or covering of the wheel is made of joined boards to
which strips are affixed on the inner side. The wheel itself is thirty-six feet
in diameter, and is mortised to an axle, and it has, as I have already said,
two rows of buckets, of which one is set the opposite way to the other, so
that the wheel may be turned toward the reservoir or in the opposite