ORNAMENTAL WELLS 



lies in the well provided for decorative purposes. 

 For tlie suburban home or the country seat thor- 

 oughly equipped with water towers or windmills, 

 and an adequate water supply within the house and 

 grounds and outbuildings, the shallow well that is 

 dug to supply a pool for the imported well head 

 will be simply an ornamental accessory. The charm 

 of novelty and the pleasant memories of foreign 

 travel clustering about the Italian well, with its richly 

 carved marble curb, will centre considerable inter- 

 est at this point. Here the admiring friends and 

 visitors will come to study the object of beauty repre- 

 senting a type that for generations has lorded it over 

 formal gardens across the sea. On being assured 

 that a genuine well supplies the water within the 

 quaint curb, this water may be used more frequently 

 during outdoor duties and pastimes than the water 

 from the house supply. Here lies the danger. For 

 the ornamental well curbs, the well is seldom dug to 

 a safe depth; and shallow well water is never en- 

 tirely free from impurities. A well of from fifteen 

 to twenty-five feet in depth, for instance, is almost 

 certain to be contaminated with surface water which 

 flows directly into it, instead of being filtered into 

 it. Especially is this true after a drought has 

 cracked and dried the soil about the well, giving the 

 surface water of the next rain a chance to flow 



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