252 



PONDS AND LAKES. 



winding, irregular shores, bounded by a high bank on 

 the east side and a great willow drooping over the north 

 end. Kocks were disposed in the immediate banks, so as 

 to suggest a natural formation rather than an artificial 

 pond. The bottom, scarcely three feet deep, was cemented 

 tight as a cup, and the water flowed gently in at one end 



and out at the 

 other, and so 

 through a 

 basin into the 

 sewer. Eigh- 

 teen inches of 

 soil was made 

 rich with ma- 

 nure and de- 

 posited over 

 the bottom. 

 This soil was 

 renewed more 

 or less every 

 year. Masses 

 of flowering 

 shrubs a n d 

 small trees, 



such as the hydrangea, Spircea opultfolia, and purple beech 

 and birch formed a background of foliage on the steep 

 hillside sloping up to Fifth Avenue. The lotuses (N. 

 speciosum) in this pond were disposed in a solid mass 

 at the north end along the steepest banks. There the 

 observer can look down and see them mirrored on the surface 





THE CENTRE OF THE FOUNTAIN, 

 UNION SQUARE. 





