, 1876-05-13
Some Wonderful Ennn1ains


ronndings. forms Picture more fit for the
genii sge of the Arabian Nights marvels
than this realistic century. Among the
myriad marvels of thi. beautiful art coucep.
tion-ane they really are so numerous as to
require weeks for their proper seeing-none
occesioned in me a feeling of such genuine
admiration as the fountains. The fountains
In tie palace gardens at Versailles, and the
grand Jet d'eau a. st. Cloud. are certainly
Tery beautiful, but in vastDess of conception,
ID artistic grouping and arrangement, and in
startling contrivances, the fountains at the
Crystal Palace, Sydenham, are unquestion.
ably the hydrostatic wonders of tie world.
Imagine as a central figure two colossal
fountains, each throwing small river of
water straight mp into the air to the vast
height of two hundred and eighty feet-a
height to which very few church steeples in
America would reAch-irom which deSceuds
tons on tons Of water, changed into flashes Of
misty, snowy spray long before it reaches
the ground. Immense sums were expended
TO secnre this feat, and after the failure of
two attempts the present successful system
was perfected. 1t consists of two enormous
towers, each rising 10 a height Of two hum
dred and seven nine feet from the loftiest
part of the Palace grounds. A well, partly
! artesisn, five hundred and seventy-five feet
In dep'h. supplies the water, and series of
Ponderous engines raise the water up by lifts
to successive platforms until it reaches the
| feed the two gigantic fountains. Grouped
| around there are dozen other fouutains
throwing streams of water one hundred feet
into the air, and a countless number sending
up Jets twenty five, fifty and seventy five
feet, all these being fed from the various
platforms or lifts in the colossal to wers.
Some comprehension of the immense strain
which these towers are required to Withstand
may be derived from The fact that hen the
fountains are planning they bear a weight Of
water alone Of 2000 tons each in addition to
euconntering the immeuss vibratory shock
Of the water in ascending and descending.
In each tower there is a total OF 2i0 tons of
wrought iron, 6l0 tons of cast iron, and 200
tons of glass and lead. The space over which
he system of fountains is distributed is CON-
plratiS ely small, covering not over ten acres /;
yet ten miles of iron pipe, through the
smallest of which a man can crawl, are re-
quired to feed the different fountains. There
are 11,7SS jets in the entire series of foun-
;ai,s. which discharge l20, 600 gallons per
minute, or fifty per cent. more per each "a
London, supplied by nine powerful water
works companies, and five times the entire
daily consumption Of Chicago. 1t costs
5000 every day these fountains are in ae-
ton. The scene when they are in full play
surpas=es any can recall or describe iu real
or ID yrhical history. Group after group of
basins, cascades aud water temples, rise in
terraces ore above the other, with tie grace
ful outlines of the Crystal Palace crowning
the summit, and from out of each of these
basins and temples flash a myriad of Jets,
cleaviLs the air far mp TO ths blue dome with
their rrystai freshness and falling back in
clouds of silver OF golden spray, tinted with
the frey oraIe4eenee of ten million jewels.
Rivers of sparkling waters cross and recrOss
in thousand curVlug j'ts and mingle to-
geiher in forms of countless and marchless
beauty, aud from the lowest basins of all
spring the two vast currents OF resistless
food. pent up il the main fountains. and
shoot up straight towards the heavens pntil
the lookers-ou rurn away dizzy and bewilder.
ed at trying TO follow them in their flight as
,hey apparently pierce the dome Of the uni
verse itself. l. is, in truth. an ocean of
water let loose in wild reveal. The brain
and Drawn of man have formed on this
round earth few things more beautiful OF
worthy the genius of the age than these
Wondeful fountains.