632 



GEOMETRICAL FLOWER-GARDENS. 



inferior orders of the geometric style, and 

 also for the gardenesque. One of the 

 most elegant of the fanciful forms is that 

 designed by old Solomon Caus, of Heidel- 

 berg, in which a female figure is half 

 seated on a rock, holding, as it were, an 

 umbrella of rather scanty dimensions 

 somewhat above her head, from the 

 periphery of which the water is thrown 

 out in such a manner as to form a com- 

 plete canopy over her. The designs for 

 fountains of this sort are numerous, as a 

 reference to the printed catalogues of the 

 artificial stone manufactures will show. 

 Fountains, sculpture, and mural decora- 

 tions are now much sought after, and the 

 art of fabricating them in artificial stone, 

 and other materials, places them within 

 the reach of persons of moderate wealth. 

 Another circumstance favourable to the 

 construction of ornamental fountains is 

 the facility with which iron can be cast 

 and zinc fabricated, nay, even glass it- 

 self, as was exemplified by Messrs Ostlers 

 in the late Exhibition. Iron fountains 

 are now cast in the most classic forms ; 

 and, no doubt, from its nature, this is, of 

 all other materials we possess, the most 

 durable, and best suited to our climate, 

 as well as produced at a very moderate 

 cost. Thus, with the artificial stone of 

 Austin and Seeley, Ransom and Parsons, 

 and others, and the fire-clay of the Garn- 

 kirk and Grangemouth Companies — all of 

 which have been proved to be sufficiently 

 durable for our climate — with cast-iron 

 shafts and jets, and with iron or leaden 

 pipes, there is now no difficulty in con- 

 structing the most beautiful garden foun- 

 tains, and of the most diversified forms. 



In regard to the mechanical construc- 

 tion of fountains, little information has 

 hitherto been given in horticultural 

 works. As practical rules, the following 

 may be found useful : — As water always 

 will, when uninterrupted, find its own 

 level, it follows that, to produce a jet of 

 any given height, the reservoir or foun- 

 tainhead of supply must be as high, at 

 least, as the height of the jet. Where a 

 jet-d'eau or dropping fountain only is 

 desired, the level of the water in the source 

 of supply need not be higher than the 

 point at which the water issues from the 

 tazza ; but if the water is to be forced to 

 a considerable height, the head must be 

 higher than the height to which the jet is 



expected to rise, by at least several inches 

 — but this depends greatly on the diameter 

 of the jet, and the friction the water meets 

 with in its passage from bends or inequa- 

 lities in the course of the pipe. If the 

 orifice of the jet do not exceed the eighth 

 of an inch in diameter, the head, provided 

 the water be always kept at the same 

 height, need not be more than 6 inches 

 above the height the jet is to rise to. The 

 supply-pipe should always come from the 

 bottom of the head of supply. In laying 

 the pipe from the reservoir, or head, care 

 should be taken to carry it in as direct a 

 line as possible ; and, if practicable, there 

 should be a uniform fall throughout its 

 whole length, that the force of the water 

 may not be lessened by unnecessary fric- 

 tion, which every deviation from a straight 

 line and gradual incline will increase. 

 When pipes are laid without regard to 

 uniform inclination, air is apt to lodge in 

 the most elevated parts, while sediment 

 will be deposited in the most depressed. 

 The former may be withdrawn by tapping; 

 but the latter is a more difficult affair, 

 and not unfrequently stops the flow of 

 water altogether. The calcareous matter 

 contained in some waters is very injurious 

 to leaden pipes, and often eats them 

 through in a few years' time. Iron pipes 

 under three inches in diameter are 

 scarcely worth the expense of laying 

 down, as corrosion will choke them up in 

 a few years, unless they are coated both 

 outside and in upon the principle recently 

 registered by Messrs Johns & Co., which 

 has the effect of completely preventing 

 oxidation, and lessening the friction by 

 rendering the internal surface as smooth 

 as glass. 



In cases where there is no natural sup- 

 ply of water at a higher level than that to 

 which the jets or fountains are required 

 to play, recourse must be had to mecha- 

 nical art to force up a supply from other 

 sources. Of these there is an abundant 

 variety. The best and most simple, be- 

 cause it is next to impossible for it to go 

 out of order, is the hydraulic ram, fig. 9. 

 Water may be thrown to a very consider- 

 able height by its own gravity, and also 

 by mechanical power. By the latter force 

 a column 6 inches in diameter is thrown 

 in the gardens at Nymphenberg, near 

 Munich, to the height of 90 feet ; and by 

 the former, at Chatsworth, by the Emperor 



