Fresh groundwater lay patchy enough that campers had to test each new well.

Evidence

Camp-keeping in the Delta was not all beer and skittles. The problem was water. The lagoons were saline; the river, where we could find it, was too muddy to drink. At each new camp we dug a new well. Most wells, however, yielded only brine from the Gulf. We learned, the hard way, where to dig for sweet water. When in doubt about a new well, we lowered the dog by his hind legs. If he drank freely, it was the signal for us to beach the canoe, kindle the fire, and pitch the tent. — Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 520

Categorization

• CANDY: Lowering the dog by his hind legs as a groundwater tester is an odd, tweetable field practice.