Brough, Bennett H.
    1899 _A treatise on mine-surveying_. Charles Griffin & Company. London.

p192 "The water-level is a very simple instrument which, when necessary, 
may take the place of a more elaborate leveling-instrument. It requires 
no adjustment; it may be made by any intelligent workman at very slight 
expense; and in short distances no serious error can be made when using 
it. It consists of a horizontal tube made of tin-plate or brass, 
terminated at each end by a vertical glass tube in which the surface of 
a liquid gives a horizontal line. By means of this line, the vane of a 
leveling-staff is adjusted to the right height. The tube is made to 
revolve on a light portable stand."

~~~~~~~

A simpler, cheaper & easier to make water-level than that described by 
Brough was just a U-bend of glass tubing.

perhaps also of interest:

http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/362685/enlarge


On 2/2/2013 12:19 PM, Sarah Sportman wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I'm trying to identify a few artifacts we recovered from back yard contexts in a 19th century mining town in the Adirondacks.  We found six fragments of thin, clear glass tubes. They are a little smaller in diameter than a modern drinking straw and round in cross-section.  All are broken and each fragment is less than 3 inches long.  The fragments came from the yards of three different domestic sites, including a tenement house, a double house, and the superintendent's house. The sites were occupied from the mid 1870s to the mid 1890s.  Any help in identifying them would be greatly appreciated!
>
> thanks,
> Sarah
>