214 



LANDSCAPE DESIGN 



Cascades 



Water-ramps 



water so appears in a niche, it fails from above upon a pile of rockwork 

 intended to be disposed in a naturalistic way. If the rockwork is prac- 

 tically hidden by the splashing water, so that the effect is that of an 

 architectural niche filled by a gleaming cascade, the result may well 

 be good ; if, however, the rockwork appears to any extent, the result 

 is likely to be ugly, for the rockwork with only some trickling water is 

 not a sufficiently definite object to be worthy of its enframement. It 

 is usually better to have water issue from some definite and decorative 

 object, from the mouth of a grotesque mask or from a dolphin, for 

 instance. Of more elaborate wall fountains with architectural and 

 sculptural adjuncts there is no end. In any thoroughly satisfactory 

 arrangement of this kind, however, the splashing and sparkling of 

 water is the center of interest, and the water itself is sufficient in volume 

 to be adequate to its position. There are many elaborate and preten- 

 tious fountains which for lack of a sufficient water-supply are merely 

 dampened in places by a trickling and slimy stream, sufficient to spoil 

 the effect of the structure, but not sufficient to give any of the beauty 

 of running water. A small supply of water, however, properly managed 

 may give a very considerable effect. It can be arranged to fall from one 

 basin into another in a clean but thin sheet without wasting any of 

 its volume by running down over the surface of the stone, if the lip of 

 the basin be properly undercut.* Similarly if the water flows in a 

 cascade, or over sculptured irregularities in the course of a water-chute, 

 the channel may be so designed as to throw the water into the air in 

 a series of sharp leaps rather than to allow it to trickle around the 

 obstructions with no spattering of drops to catch the sun. 



The water-ramp gives a noticeable effect from a moderate water- 

 supply, where the stream flows in a channel hollowed out in the ramp 

 beside a flight of steps. There may be a series of carved shells or 

 other sculptural modelings of the channel throwing the water back 

 and forth and making the most of its appearance and its sound. And 

 each pier of the ramp may be crowned with a little basin and graced 

 with a delicate toppling spurt of water, perhaps fed from the channel 

 in the ramp, but more probably from a separate source which gives 

 somewhat more pressure. Such ramps may be found at the Villa d' Este 



* Cf. Chapter VIII, p. 142. 



