20 



PARKS AND PLEASURE-GROUNDS . 



gravelly subsoils, even when the surface is compara- 

 tively dry, a considerable quantity of water may some- 

 times be found at no great depth, and may be obtained 

 by means of wells and force-pumps ; but the supply 

 can hardly ever be so abundant as that yielded by the 

 reservoir, and the labor required to raise it is very 

 great. The hydraulic ram is a very useful instrument 

 where only a moderate quantity of water is needed. A 

 small stream, with a few feet of fall, will keep it in 

 operation, and will enable it to raise the water to a 

 tank, say on the top of the mansion-house, whence it 

 may be distributed as required. We have, however, 

 seen it used, and, independently of the price of the 

 machine, very considerable expense incurred, where, 

 but for inattention or ignorance in some quarter, the 

 much more efficient system described above might 

 have been successfully adopted, with little or no in- 

 crease of cost. 



Note— A windmill may oftentimes be substituted 

 for other machinery to raise water for the supply of a 

 house and grounds when a suitable site can be ob- 

 tained for its erection. It is a cheap and simple struc- 

 ture, and a pleasing object in the landscape. In some 

 parts of the country they are much used for various 

 economical purposes connected with husbandry, and 

 may be thus applied in connection with the raising of 

 water to supply fountains or reservoirs in pleasure- * 

 grounds.— Ed. 



Shelter. — It has already been remarked that situ- 

 ations exposed to fcigh winds and cold draughts are 

 ineligible for the site of a house. -The proprietor, how- 

 ever, has sometimes a difficult choice to make between 

 magnificent distant views, which add so much to the 



