TO 



The Country House 



The lodge at " Yaddo," Saratoga. A situation which suggests quiet and repose 



These two prob- 

 lems of \vater sup- 

 ply and drainage 

 are probably the 

 most important or 

 a 1 1 considerations 

 in the building of 

 a house. With their 

 nearness to perfec- 

 tion comes perfect 

 health, and if they 

 do not exist what 

 excuse is there for 

 a home anyway ? 



The water 

 supply a vital con- 

 sideration is either 

 through public ser- 

 vice or is a private 

 affair. It will not 



take long to determine on the character and efficiency of the former. It should 

 be pure and plentiful, and of sufficient pressure to guarantee its usefulness in 

 time of fire. In this connection the effectiveness of the fire department should 

 be considered, and rates of insurance often stand for much. 



There is one advantage about the public service if it should become pol- 

 luted or otherwise impaired, the public will rise as a body to demand puri- 

 fication. If, however, its natural conditions are not good, it is little short 

 of useless. 



With the private service it is different, inasmuch as it may become a single- 

 handed combat against natural odds or the power of corporations or moneynl 

 individuals. Such conditions as these are expensive and exasperating, and 

 should be well guarded against at the start. 



When the public service does not exist, it is the question of the spring, or 

 either the dug or driven well. The spring is a rarity (and by spring is meant 

 that which is large enough to come to the surface in considerable volume- 

 wells are oftentimes fed from small springs) and, of course, is to be treated as the 

 dug. well of greater or less size. The driven well is more expensive, but perhaps 

 the best, while the dug well is the most common. If it be possible, samples of 

 the water should be analysed before the purchase is made. Care should be 

 taken that the well is not in a position to receive the drainage from any out- 

 side source this is most important. 



Where one can drain into a public sewer he is relieved of considerable worry 

 and calculation on that score, although it is just as well to know where the 

 sewer empties, and to be sure that by any miscalculation it does not connect with 

 the water supply in some way. 



In locating drainage on the estate where the private supply exists, it is 



