NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
AND REMINDER 
Vol. XI 
Manchester, Mass., Friday, June 13, 1913 
No. 24 
‘*The Charm of the Fountain’’ 
By MARY H. NORTHEND and LILLIAN E. PURDY 
A HE romantic grace that a fountain lends to a gar- 
den recommends it emphatically to the one who 
aims to secure a pleasing and finished effect in the land- 
scape about his home. No other garden accessory gives 
quite the same touch. The sound of the splashing water, 
the sight of a sparkling stream that breaks in a little cloud 
of spray and falls into a pool glistening with gold fish or 
blossoming with pond lilies, are delights to be eagerly 
sought by the garden maker. They contribute picturesque- 
ness and suggest refreshing coolness in the hot days of 
midsummer. But the trouble is that we are inclined to 
associate these apparent luxuries only with the formal 
Italian garden in which the fountain, in the form of a 
bit of choice antique marble, represents the outlay of thous- 
ands of dollars. This, however, is a mistaken idea. For, 
while a fountain may be an extremely expensive ac- 
quisition, a simple one may also be constructed at a nomi- 
nal cost. In fact, the desired effect may be secured at 
any price you may wish to pay, ranging from ten dol- 
lars to many thousands. So, considering this possibility 
of adjustment to your means, together with the fact that 
no garden is really complete without water in some form, 
it behooves us to have a fountain in our gardens, delight- 
ing the ear with the musical fall of its waters and pleasing 
the eye with its suggestive coolness and its wealth of 
aquatic plants. 
The choice of a location for a fountain is 
of primary importance to its success. In the 
formal garden, it usually stands out boldly in the 
sunshine, the central ornament of an unshadowed 
spot. But, in a garden that is less regular in de- 
sign, it is weil to place the fountain se that both 
‘sunshine and shade may play upon it. ‘There 
is, however, one objectionable feature to 
its proximity to trees and that is that the 
autumn leaves are apt to mar the beauty 
of the pool and clog the outlet pipe, 
necessitating frequent cleaning of 
Vig 
Photo Copyright T. FEF. Marr & Son 
the basin. But, with a little watching these 
may be easily obviated. 
As with a piece of furniture in your room, so it is 
with the fountain in your garden,—suitability must be 
studied and harmony must be preserved. For instance, 
gardens of distinctive types, such as Italian, Japanese, 
or rustic, require fountains of a style that is in perfect 
keeping with their general plan. A tall, slender fountain, 
throwing a high stream of water would be most incon- 
gruous in a small garden, full of flowers and low-grow- 
ing shrubs. Such a fountain requires the expanse of a 
broad lawn with tall, graceful trees. In no other setting 
would it be seen to the proper advantage. There is just 
ene rule to be remembered, however, in order to select 
the right type of fountain and thus attain the most sat- 
isfactory effect,—let your keynote be simplicity. The 
beautiful fountains for which France and Italy are fa- 
mous, are noted for their extreme simplicity,—sometimes 
only a single spray of water is seen in the larger ones, 
rising forty or fifty feet in the air and falling in a cloudy 
spray against a background of moss-grown __bal- 
ustrades and terraces, blooming acacias, and great 
cypresses,—and we would do well to imitate this 
characteristic, even though the setting of the fountain 
may be far less elaborate and ornate. 
Now, the material of which your fountain ‘is 
constructed is the item that largely controls its 
expense. The gleaming white marble of storied 
facing may at once be relegated to the luxuries of 
the wealthy, and stone, which is eminently the most 
beautiful and durable substance for fountains and 
basins, follows next in degree of the less costly. 
A stone fountain, even of a severely simple 
\ style cannot be obtained for anything short 
ees Of a hundred dollars. But imitations, such 
yas concrete, may be substituted with quite as 
good effect, and with this material the per- 
son of moderate means may construct a 
difficulties 
¢ 
FOUNTAIN MAY BE A COMBINATION OF THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE GROTESQUE 
