‹‹‹ Vitr. 8.1.5 | Table of Contents | Vitr. 8.1.7 ›››
6These experiments having been made, and the requisite indications being manifest, a well is to be sunk on the spot; and if the head of the spring be found, many other wells are to be dug round about it, and, by means of under-cuttings, connected with it so as to concentrate them. The spring-heads, however, are chiefly to be sought in mountains and northern districts, because, in those situations, they are generally sweeter, more wholesome, and more copious, on account of their being sheltered from the rays of the sun, of the trees and shrubs in those places being in greater abundance, and of the sun’s rays coming obliquely on them, so that the moisture is not carried off.
6After applying these tests and finding the signs described above, a well must next be sunk in the place, and if a spring of water is found, more wells must be dug thereabouts, and all conducted by means of subterranean channels into one place.
The mountains and districts with a northern exposure are the best spots in which to search, for the reason that springs are sweeter, more wholesome, and more abundant when found there. Such places face away from the sun’s course, and the trees are thick in them, and the mountains, being themselves full of woods, cast shadows of their own, preventing the rays of the sun from striking uninterruptedly upon the ground and drying up the moisture.