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thirty years ago, and had publiflied to the world 

 twenty years now pad. Though I am by no means 

 very eager in qiiefl: of that kind of honour which 

 fome people covet fo highly, of being an inventor; 

 yet I could not help concurring with my friends in 

 thinking that it would be improper to let the prefent 

 pafs without at leafh taking fome publick notice of it. 

 The letter, of which the inclofed is a copy, was fent 

 to Sir John at the date it bears: from him, I had 

 an anfwer a few days ago, in polite terms excufing 

 himfelf for not having adverted to my claim; faying, 

 that Mr. Elkington is a mere practical man, who 

 reads, he believes, no books either on agricul- 

 ture or any thing elfe, and therefore he fuppofes he 

 never faw or heard of mine: that to the bed of his 

 information he began to praftife draining about thirty 

 years ago, and has been gradually improving in that 

 art ever fince, till he has at length attained to the 

 perfeftion he now poffeffes. All tliis may be very 

 true; but if I aftually pra£lifed his mode of draining 

 thirty years ago, in as great perfedion as he now 

 does, and if I publickly defcribed, twenty years ago, 

 what he has not yet defcribed, it would feem that my 

 claim to notice is at leafl: equal with his. The truth 

 is, I think the matter fo fimple that it njever came 

 into my mind to think of looking for a publick pre- 

 mium for it, of any fort. I fent a copy of this letter 

 to London, to be inferted in fome of the papers of 



greatefl: 



