its appearance; and,
after proceeding with it in this direction and at this depth, he
found it did not reach the _principal body of subjacent water_ from
which the evil arose. On perceiving this, he was at a loss how to
proceed, when one of his servants came to the field with an _iron
crow_, or bar, for the purpose of making holes for fixing sheep
hurdles in an adjoining part of the farm, as represented on the
plan. Having a suspicion that his drain was not deep enough, and
desirous to know what strata lay under it, he took the iron bar,
and having forced it down about four feet below the bottom of the
trench, on pulling it out, to his astonishment, a great quantity of
water burst up through the hole he had thus made, and ran along the
drain. This led him to the knowledge, that wetness may be often
produced by water confined farther below the surface of the ground
than it was possible for the usual depth of drains to reach, and
that an _auger_ would be a useful instrument to apply in such
cases. Thus, chance was the parent of this discovery, as she often
is of other useful arts; and fortunate it is for society, when such
accidents happen to those who have sense and judgment to avail
themselves of hints thus fortuitously given. In this manner he soon
accomplished the drainage of his whole farm, and rendered it so
perfectly dry and sound, that none of his flock was ever after
affected with disease.

"By the success of this experiment, Mr. Elkington's fame, as a
drainer, was quickly and widely extended; and, after having
successfully drained several farms in his neighborhood, he was, at
last, very generally employed for that purpose in various parts of
the kingdom, till about thirty years ago, when the country had the
melancholy cause to regret his loss. From his long practice and
experience, he became so successful in the works he undertook, and
so skillful in judging of the internal strata of the earth and the
nature of springs, that, with remarkable precision, he could
ascertain where to find water, and trace the course of springs that
made no appearance on the surface of the ground. During his
practice of more than thirty years, he drained in various parts of
England, particularly in the midland counties, many thousand acres
of land, which, f