Fig. 287.—Ancient form of well-curb.
In many country villages, where the natural conditions exist, a mountain brook is conducted by a rock-bound canal through the centre of the village street; and thus the water for culinary and other purposes is brought directly to the door of every house on that street.
The wells are made in the shape of barrels of stout staves five or six feet in height. These taper slightly at their lower ends, and are fitted one within another; and as the well is dug; deeper the sections are adjusted and driven down. Wells of great depth are often sunk in this way. The well made in this manner has the appearance, as it projects above the ground, of an ordinary barrel or hogshead partially buried.
Stone curbs of a circular form are often seen. An ancient form of well-curb is a square frame, made of thick timber in the shape shown in fig. 287. The Chinese character for “well” is in the shape of this frame; and as one rides through the city or village he will often notice this character painted on the side of a house or over a door-way, indicating that in the rear, or within the house, a well is to be found. A picturesque well-curb of stone, made after this form, is shown in [fig. 288], from a private garden in Tokio.
Fig. 288.—Stone well-curb in private garden.
While the water is usually brought up by means of a bucket attached to the end of a long bamboo, there are various forms of frames erected over the well to support a pulley, in which [pg 299] runs a rope with a bucket attached to each end. [Fig. 289] is an illustration of one of these frames. Sometimes the trunk of a tree is made to do service, as shown in fig 290. In this case the old trunk was densely covered with a rich growth of Japanese ivy.
In the country kitchen the well is often within the house, as shown in the sketch [fig. 167] (page 186). In the country, as well as in the city, the regular New England well-sweep is now and then seen. In the southern part of Japan particularly the well-sweep is very common; one is shown in the picture of a southern house ([fig. 54], page 73).