es of the water supply were still further
increased by the nature of the mains and distributing pipes, which, as I
have mentioned, were mere lead plates soldered into a pear-shaped
section, incapable of resisting even the most moderate pressure and
liable to injury by a common knife, so that any evil-disposed person
could tap the main almost wherever he pleased. At a later period,
indeed, the Romans appear to have used short clay pipes; lengths of such
mains have been discovered, consisting of two-feet spigot and socket
pipes carefully laid in and covered with a bed of concrete. These have
outlasted all the lead pipes, and are still frequently found in good
condition.

In the reign of Augustus, when Rome had about 350,000 inhabitants within
its walls, there was a supply of something like 680 gallons per head;
that is, about forty times as much as the valuation for Vienna. But
there were in ancient Rome no less than 1,352 public fountains, 591 jet
fountains, 19 large fortified camps or barracks, 95 thermae or immense
public baths, and 39 arenas or theatres, all of which were supplied with
a superfluity of constantly flowing water. The reservoirs contained only
about 6,000,000 gallons, and the distribution must have been very
irregular, and it has been calculated that some houses received ten
times as much water as others. Just as the Western miner reckons the
quantity of water by the _inch_, the Roman estimated it by the
_quinarius_, or amount that could flow through a pipe of one and a
quarter _finger_ diameter, under a head of twelve inches. This would
yield about ninety-two gallons in twelve hours, and the price was so low
that the householder paid only about half a cent _per year_ for each
gallon supplied daily. Ninety-two gallons a day would therefore cost
less than half a dollar a year. (In New York it would cost nearly $18.)
But though cheap, the water was not a vested right of all citizens. The
poor had it for nothing in the ample baths, wash houses, and fountains,
but householders could only obtain the right of water supply by a
petition to the consul, and in later times to the emperor himself; even
then, however, with difficulty. It was a matter of favor and a reward
of merit, that applied only to the person to whom it was granted, not
transferable by gift or sale, and which lapsed with the death of the
owner or the sale of the house for which it had been granted.

GALVANISM CANNOT RESTORE EXHAUSTED VITA