THE DECORATIVE TREATMENT OF WATER. 



empty during the worst months of the year when the fountain will not be required, 

 thus avoiding the possibility of damage by frost, and where the water is obtained from a 

 stream or pond, the intake should be from a small settling tank with a copper-wire grid 

 between the inlet and the mouth of the supply pipe. This may be made quite cheaply 

 by the local carpenter in the form of a strong pitchpine box tarred inside and out, and 

 buried in the ground level with the lid, which should be hung on strong brass hinges to 

 withstand rust. For the same reason, all the taps should be of gun-metal, and if the 

 pressure is at all great, of the screw-down type. 



The overflow should of course be of a larger diameter than the supply pipe and 

 should be provided with a strainer to prevent leaves and other debris, which blow into 

 the basin, from choking it. It should be so placed as to keep the water level as high 

 as possible so that a long stretch of bare wall or concrete does not show, as in such 

 case the basin will look too much like a tank or well. Means of emptying the pond 

 for cleaning out should be provided by a pipe communicating with the overflow. In the 

 case of small fountains it may be plugged by an ordinary plumber's bath waste with 

 its brass plug, but in the larger basins, Pulham's patent plug, which consists of a stone- 

 ware ball dropped into the open end of the pipe, may be used. Needless to say, all 

 connections should be accessibly arranged in case repair becomes necessary. 



Wall Wall fountains form a distinct class in themselves, and it is fortunate that, in their 



fountains. case, we have not to deplore the dearth of beautiful designs referred to above in speaking 



of sculptured fountains surrounded by a pond. Hardly a single year passes without 



one or more exquisitely proportioned models for this class of fountain being exhibited 



at Burlington House, and indeed it would seem to be an object for the exercise of 



artistic genius which particularly appeals to 

 sculptors of note. The worst that can be 

 said of these designs is that they seem a 

 little lacking in originality of motif, as they 

 generally consist of a nude or classically 

 draped female figure poised above a shell-like 

 tazza. It is the more surprising, therefore, 

 that one so seldom comes across one of these 

 beautiful adjuncts in the average garden, 

 especially when one reflects that they are 

 equally delightful in the largest schemes and 

 the smallest garden plots and cost so little 

 for the tiny stream which is sufficient to 

 give them their raison d'etre. 



In the large pleasaunce, of course, they 

 would, unless on a large scale, form only a 

 subsidiary feature, giving point and interest 

 to an otherwise blank wall facing the end 

 of an important walk, or adding the cool 

 influence of falling water to a shady retreat. 

 In small gardens, however, they may form the 

 central ornament up to which everything 

 else leads more or less, which does not 

 mean that the little domain should have only 

 one interest or be devoid of that charm which 

 only contrast and a certain complexity can give. 



For large wall fountains, such as are only occasionally required, there is abundant 

 precedent in the ancient " lavatories " attached to monastic institutions in Italy, while, 



FIG. 246. WALL FOUNTAIN AT FLORENCE, BY 

 DONATELI.O OR VERROCCHIO. 



184 



