Ik every part of our country where the surface is at all hilly or undulating, the multitude of transparent streamlets offer, to those who are fortunate enough to live in their vicinity, many opportunities of using them for purposes of convenience and ornament, at a very small expense. That these opportunities are generally neglected, or miserably improved, every one can testify. How often is it the case that a small, but perennial brook, is found running through a tract of useless, rushy ground, perhaps filled with springs, and bounded at varying distances by high banks; in some places rocky and precipitous; in others sloping at a greater or less angle; now covered with short turf; again clothed with shrubbery, the kalmia and azalia mingling with the graceful hemlock and feathery birch; or a dense wood of larger trees graces the summit of the slope. These banks - sometimes retreating from the water, and again advancing, so as to form a narrow ravine almost shutting up the passage of the brook itself - offer every advantage for throwing across a dam at a slight expense; and thus, in many situations, producing the effect of a beautiful natural lake, of great depth and extent In other places, where the form of the ground does not admit this, the cheapness and facility with which water may be brought in lead pipes, bored logs, or what is much used in England and is preferable to either, glazed earthen tubes, would bring a sufficient supply of water; not only for domestic purposes, but for those of ornament.

Fountains might be supplied, and any convenient hollow, either natural or artificial, be converted into a miniature lake, well suited as an accompaniment to a flower garden, or an opening in a grove. If the supply be abundant, a small cascade, well and tastefully managed, might produce a beautiful effect The small supply of a hydraulic ram may afford water sufficient for some ornamental uses. But, in all these cases, everything depends on the taste with which the affair is managed. From the lake half a mile long, to the pipe of an inch bore, anything of this kind may be rendered perfectly ridiculous by mismanagement. A plain stone wall or wooden dam, for the lake; and an animal with the wings of a duck, the body of a goose, and the neck of a swan, vomiting a thread of water no larger than a goose quill on the round, muddy pond, three yards across, for the small pipe; are qually absurd. In forming a lake, the first object should be to clear the bed of all egetation, and if possible cover it with sand.

If in any part of the bank there is marshy, or shallow spot, it may be planted with the white-flowered arrow-head, Sagittaria;) the blue water-plantain (Alisma;) the yellow golden-club, (Orontium;) he dark purple side-saddle flower, (Sarracenia ;) and the golden water lily, (Nuphar.) n the deeper water, the floating gems of the pond lily, (Nymphoea ;) or the noble lowers and leaves of the Nelumbium, will add much to the beauty of the scene. Even the Calla Ethiopica is said to flourish, if planted in water just deep enough not o freeze the bottom in winter. It would take too much space to give directions for the whole management and planting of the banks ; that can alone be determined by thee form and nature of the ground. But one rule may be laid down: Every art should be used to conceal the actual extent of the water, thus leaving its size to the imagination; no one view should take in the whole, but several stations should overlook the same part of the water with different fore and back-grounds, and its source should be hidden by thick wood. The dam, whether of stone or wood, should be constructed in the firmest manner, with a deep waste-way to let off all superfluous water, and large enough to drain off all the water if necessary, for destroying weeds, or for repairs.

The lower side of the dam should be made as much as possible to resemble a natural mass of rock. In building with stone, this is easily accomplished by using large masses, and making the lower and larger ones project irregularly; a smaller size above them; and so on, to the top. The dam should not, in most cases, be at a right angle with the stream; but in such a position with regard to both banks, as to appear a natural obstacle. The top of the dam should be managed in the same manner: the stream perhaps not falling over the whole, but carried over on one side; or, if the stream is abundant, divided by a large stone in such a manner as will produce the best effect from below. It will seldom answer to attempt a single pitch, unless the dam is very high, and the stream a large one. It is better to conduct it rushing over the stones with all the foam and fury possible. In all such constructions, remember "Ars est celare artem." Let not a particle of mortar appear; let the exit of the waste-way be concealed by overlapping stones; and wherever it can be done, plant shrubs and creepers in the crevices of the rock, first filling them up with good soil. After all written directions, the eye of taste alone can perfect such a work as this.

If the dam is of wood, which is to be avoided if possible, the only way is to heap masses of stone against its front to conceal the logs, and continue them above the top line of the dam, letting the water flow over, or through them, as you best can. One more thing let me advise: Never attempt to dam a beautiful ravine, with abrupt banks feathered with wood, and the brook rushing and brawling over crag and stone. A narrow, simple walk, conducted now by the side of the brook, now on some overhanging bank, and anon hidden in the copse-wood, is almost the only improvement such a scene will admit of. One of the most effective situations for a dam is at the head of such a ravine, where it is overhung and darkened with large spruces or hemlocks ; with perhaps a rustic bridge of two or three logs, with a simple hand-rail, thrown over just below the fall.

In the management of small quantities of water, the great difficulty is always attempting to do too much. No active fountain should be made in the open air, unless the stream can be at least an inch in diameter at the point of emission, and with force enough to throw it fifteen feet high; anything less than this looks puerile and miserable. Where the supply of water is small, a dripping fountain is in far the best taste. A basin of any material, from the coarsest common stone to white marble, with a block of the same in the center supporting a graceful vase in which the water boils up and falls gently over the rim into the basin, will give more pleasure both to the eye and ear, than any other application of the same quantity of water. A small, clear stream, may be made to break from an apparently natural fissure in a mass of rock-work, and flow down its side into a pebbly basin below; a graceful nymph may pour water from her urn; or many other beautiful uses may be made of even a small quantity of water, always provided it be of crystal purity.

But by all means avoid making the likeness of bird, beast, or fish, throwing water from its mouth; in spite of its frequent use in celebrated fountains, this is too much like one of the most disgusting ills that flesh is subject to, to be anything but revolting to good taste.

A few words concerning the economic use of water, where the sheet is clear, perennial, and principally supplied by springs. A large pond may soon be stocked with trout by procuring a few dozen from the nearest brook. These, if not fished for three or four years, will afterward, even from a small piece of water, furnish an abundant supply for a family. Where the water is not considered pure enough for trout, the yellow perch may be introduced; or I suppose the European carp may soon be procured from the Hudson. But by all means avoid introducing pickerel or eels; both are destructive of other fish, and the first seldom attains a large size in small ponds. In the smaller basins the golden carp or gold-fish may be used; or our native roach or sun-fish (Pomotis) are almost as ornamental. * Hartford, Conn.