POOLS AND STREAMS 153 



beset the path of the imaginative creator of sheets of 

 water, all fresh and made in accordance with the latest 

 ideas upon the subject of constructing artificial pools and 

 streams. 



The first step in the development of the bodies of 

 water we have, into those we would have if all the cir- 

 cumstances favored us, is the preparation of the shores 

 of the water by deepening them, removing all mud and 

 debris, and preparing, at certain points, masses of good 

 soil for the reception of any plants we may set out. In 

 reinforcing these shores, it is well, without making petty, 

 small curves, to vary their outlines to a considerable 

 degree, by deepening what would correspond with bays 

 on a larger scale, and building out the points, which are 

 sometimes improved by the presence of a rock, and in 

 artificially lifting up the bank with soil, while the hol- 

 lows of the indentations of the edges may, at some 

 wider opening, present a pebbly or sandy beach. 



The introduction of artificial islands in a^ pond or lake 

 is apt to be a dangerous experiment that, even if it suc- 

 ceeds in assuming shape harmoniously, and in no petty and 

 undignified manner, will be somewhat difficult to retain 

 uninjured under the stress of storms and the action of^ 

 water ; and here, again, wefind it necessary to exeifeise 

 restraint in the use of rocffl, unless they abound in the 

 immediate neighborhood, or unless some bank needs 

 artificial support, the iMpessity for which seldom, indeed, 

 arises. The proper ^^atment of brooks is similiar to 

 that which is suitable for pools, the deepening and 

 widening at certain points bearing a fixed relation to the 

 supply of water and the general normal size of the 

 stream. 



If the reader will imagine a hillside, or sloping lawn, 



