29 AUGUST 1952, Page 19

Water-supplies Many places draw water from wells or by means

of pumps, and will, in all probability, continue to do so when the rural water-schemes have been carried out, unless cost is disregarded. One cottage I know would have no other water than that from its own well, and the water in that shaded spot is the coldest I have ever tasted. Once a friend and I stopped to quench our thirst with the permission of the owner. It was a hot summer's day, but the cupful of water made my teeth ache. There are many wells of this sort, sheltered by the hills and fed by springs that rise from the depths of the rock. The owners are fortunate people, for they hardly ever know shortage, unlike some of their neighbours who collect water in rain-butts and chlorinate it, as the daughter of an Anglesey cottager put it, " to dead the little fishes." If you have ever had to work a pump before break- fast in order to wash and shave, you will understand the measures country pectple adopt to get over this tedious chore. One of the happiest is the wind-pump, swinging and spinning away to keep a tank filled. Somehow, no matter where one goes in this country, there is always a bit of a breeze at some hour of the day or night, and the wind-pump is an economical installation.