234 The Country House 



and attention; they do not take care of themselves, although they are generally 

 left to that fate. Anything falling into them should be removed at once. They 

 require frequent cleaning, as filth accumulates rapidly. The slimy matter found 

 frequently adhering to the inside of wells is a true fungoid growth, which is active 

 poison when taken into the system. 



To the end that the well and general health be near perfection, it is best that 

 all animal or vegetable matter should be cleaned from around it and composted 

 at some distance off. The immediate vicinity of a well should be kept clean. 



The well offers excellent chances for artistic treatment. Many of the old 

 Italian well curbs are very beautiful. There is a chance, too, in the old-fashioned 

 well sweep. Where old models are followed it is well to bear in mind the general 

 principles of cleanliness and utility, and these, according to modern ideas, re- 

 quire more or less modification of the originals. 



The cost of a well varies so much under differing conditions that it is im- 

 possible to give any definite figures. It depends upon the size, depth, character 

 of soil, the price of wall material and cost of labour. The average well, under 

 favourable circumstances, might be built for from $50 to $75. 



Where it is necessary to go to greater depth than the ordinary limit of the 

 dug well, the artesian well is resorted to. This is bored by special machinery and 

 expert labour, and is rather costly. Of the large number of wells of this sort, the 

 majority yield abundantly, although the objection lies in the difficulty of striking 

 the right sort of water. Owing to the fact that the rocks of the paleozoic series 

 extend in a nearly horizontal stratum over most of North America, the geological 

 structure is very favourable to this sort of well. In form it is an ordinary open well 

 dug to the depth of the impervious stratum. This stratum is bored through and the 

 boring continued until a water-bearing stratum is reached. The water then rises 

 through the boring into the well, which acts as a cistern. The cost of this well is 

 usually reckoned at $6 per foot for a depth of from 200 to 300 feet. As the depth 

 increases so does the cost, so that for a depth of 600 feet $7.50 per foot is reckoned. 



The driven well is a small and home-made edition of the artesian system. It 

 consists of several lengths of piping which are connected one to the other as each 

 is driven down. The entering length is provided with perforations near the end for 

 the admission of water, and is tipped with a sharp point or shoe. 



Under ordinary circumstances, the best way to drive them is with a sledge 

 hammer, but if this is used directly on the end of the pipe it is apt to splinter or 

 destroy the joint. This is easily provided against by the use of a short piece of 

 joist, through which and near one end a framing spike has been driven. While 

 one person holds the joist over the end of the pipe, with the spike within the 

 bore, another can use the sledge without much danger of damaging the connec- 

 tion. The object of the spike is to prevent the joist from "jumping" or sliding 

 off. An iron jacket or collar comes for this purpose, which is screwed on to the 

 pipe; being thus firm, it is apt to injure the threading in the shock of the blow. 



In light, open soil this well can be driven and water (if it exists) secured within 

 an hour. In a rocky soil, however, it is absolutely useless. Its depth is about 

 that of the open well and, like it, it is subject to organic impurities through the 

 source. It is easily protected from surface inflow and has some advantages over 



