Farmland Sprinkler

The fresh fields of green breath a sigh of relief as cool fresh water pours over their leaves, sheltering their roots in a sea of salvation from the heat and dryness of the sun. The farmers pass the time counting rows of seedlings that are starting to pop up through the brown earth, and several spying birds see if they can catch a meal or two above the scarecrow's head. The irrigation works of ancient Sri Lanka, the earliest dating from about 300 BCE, in the reign of King Pandukabhaya and under continuous development for the next thousand years, were one of the most complex irrigation systems of the ancient world. In addition to underground canals, the Sinhalese were the first to build completely artificial reservoirs to store water. Due to their engineering superiority in this sector, they were often called 'masters of irrigation'. Most of these irrigation systems still exist undamaged up to now, in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, because of the advanced and precise engineering. The system was extensively restored and further extended during the reign of King Parakrama Bahu (1153–1186 CE). The oldest known hydraulic engineers of China were Sunshu Ao (6th century BCE) of the Spring and Autumn Period and Ximen Bao (5th century BCE) of the Warring States period, both of whom worked on large irrigation projects. In the Szechwan region belonging to the State of Qin of ancient China, the Dujiangyan Irrigation System was built in 256 BCE to irrigate an enormous area of farmland that today still supplies water. This sound uses the following file from Freesound: http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=122727