The great system of fountains in the grounds of the Crystal Palace, though the most stupendous that the world has ever seen, is designed with an unity which greatly enhances, or rather fully displays, its unrivalled magnificence. The whole system is divided into two series, the upper and the lower. The upper series, which consists of the six basins adorning the long extent of the second terrace, with the great circular fountain in the centre, and the smaller ones on either side of it, in all, nine fountains, constitutes the display on ordinary occasions. Beyond these, as we advance down the central path, are the iron Water Temples, from which the water rushes down a series of twelve cascades, extending for a distance of 600 feet, till it falls over the stone arcade in the great fountain basins, forming a glittering cataract 120 feet broad, with a fall of thirty feet. The Water Temples with their cascades and falls, and the two great fountains into the basins of which they discharge, constitute the lower series, which is played only on grand occasions; but all are part of one design, and each one ministers to its completeness. Unlike most similar works, sculpture has not been used to enhance or obtain the effect desired. Under any circumstances, water, when thrown high into the air, assumes a graceful and beautiful appearance; no ungentle curves or distortions of form mar its expression of a natural beauty, which, though it may be the roaring grandeur of a mighty stream, or the gentle grace of the smallest jet, bears with it an unspeakable charm. In the Crystal Palace Fountains the designs are carried out by the water alone, and the sculptural ornamentation is confined to the margins of the basins, and, down the sides of the cascades, to some small ornamental bronze fountains of secondary importance. The first six fountains of the upper series which ornament the Italian Garden on the second terrace throw their highest jets to the height of 90 feet, the lower jets form graceful designs round the bases of these columns of water, and in other parts of the basins. It is so arranged that the waste water from these basins is again used for the lowest jets of the fountains which lie between these and the Water Temples, a rapid descent in the ground giving sufficient pressure for this purpose; the same is the case with the water flowing from these again, as it is once more used for the lower water designs in the great basins.