*/ 
Rustic Adornments. 
Let us now pass on to the construction of a circular basin, of which Fig. i 
is part of a section. No sheet of water, whether treated artificially or 
otherwise, should be shallower than three feet or deeper than five feet, other¬ 
wise evaporation of too great a rapidity takes place through the action of the 
sun, and consequently vegetation is inconveniently stimulated on the one 
hand, while on the other a greater depth would have the appearance of being 
dangerous, and also unnecessary labour and expense would be thrown away. 
Assuming we take five feet as the required depth of the circular basin in 
the centre. Having marked out the ground, the soil should be taken out to 
the depth of six feet, so as to allow a foot for the concrete and cement. This 
done, the ground should be well rammed and made firm to avoid after¬ 
sinking (a most important matter); then the position of the pipes for con¬ 
veying the water and receiving the overflow should be determined upon, and 
the pipes put in. The next step is to have a wall of brick work built 
(Fig. i, B), on which is placed a 
stone coping or kerb (Fig. i, C), 
which should possess architec¬ 
tural appropriateness to the 
neighbouring structures. Gener¬ 
ally it is desirable to keep the 
edging not more than one foot 
above the ground level, but the 
coping may itself be as much as 
three feet in height, and may 
have architectural embellish¬ 
ments, such as vases, sculptural 
figures, etc., according to the taste of the designer. The inside of the 
basin should then be lined with a covering of concrete (Fig. i, D), a foot in 
thickness at the bottom, and gradually lessening in thickness to the margin, 
so as to form a sufficient angle in the slope for the margin that when ice is 
formed there may be sufficient room for its expansion. This concrete is best 
composed of a mixture of either one part hydraulic lime with four parts 
broken stone and sand; or one part portland cement with six parts broken 
stone and sand. Over the top of this concrete is then floated a layer of 
cement about one inch in thickness (Fig. i, E), thus completing the construc¬ 
tion of the circular basin of which Fig. i is part of a section. 
The treatment of water in the natural style, in the form of roundish or 
G-~ 
liiiw 
B- 
Fig. i. 
