be used to drive a
water-wheel sufficient to do the pumping. In a majority of cases there
will be found at no great distance a stream capable of supplying the
water needed throughout the dryest season of the year, but not entirely
free from organic impurities. In such cases it is often feasible, by
excavating a filtering sump or pump-well at a little distance from the
side of the stream, and at a sufficient depth below the level of its bed
to secure a supply tolerably purified by filtration through the
intervening earth. The distance at which this sump should be placed from
the bed of the stream will depend on the character of the soil. The more
porous this is, the greater should the distance be. This question as to
the source from which the water is to be taken is one which, more than
any other, calls for experienced judgment.

Frequently the conformation of the surrounding country is such that,
even where there is no constant stream, it is possible by the
construction of dams to pond an amount of water, to be furnished by
surface washing, sufficient to supply the demands of the longest
drought. In this case, as in all others where reservoirs are used, it is
important to have a good depth of water, and not to allow, even toward
the edges, any considerable shallow area. So far as possible, the depth
should be everywhere great enough to prevent vegetation, and in all the
shallower parts the surface soil should be entirely removed. As a rule,
there should be a depth of at least fifteen feet of water, except near
the very edges of the pond, and as much more than this as circumstances
will allow.

The distribution of water for private use is a simple question of
construction; but, as a matter of taste, too vehement a protest cannot
be entered against the common misconception as to what is desirable in
the way of public fountains. An instance in point is furnished by the
public drinking-fountain in Newport. Some years ago there stood at the
foot of the Parade a grand old stone bowl, hewn out of a solid block of
granite, and filled by a pipe leading from a copious spring. This was a
good, sensible, substantial drinking-trough, perfectly adapted to its
use, unpretending and handsome. Later, a public-spirited gentleman,
desiring to leave a monument of his regard for the city, gave a
considerable sum to be used in providing a suitable drinking-fountain at
this point. Those who had the control of the fund lacked either the good