84 THE WATER-BEARING STRATA. [1851. 



underground waters. In 1851 his volume on 'The 

 Water-bearing Strata of the Country around London, 

 with reference especially to the Water- Supply of the 

 Metropolis/ was published by his friend Van Voorst, 

 and was most favourably received. 1 His complete 

 mastery of the subject must have taken the public by 

 surprise. The author used often laughingly to affirm, 

 that if he had only at that time set up as a consulting 

 water engineer, he would have become a rich man. 



It was probably about this date, or it might have 

 been earlier, that a proposal was made to him to join the 

 late Mr Allnutt, father of the first Lady Brassey, in 

 business as active partner. This partnership w r ould 

 possibly have led the way to fortune, but Joseph Prest- 

 wich (who had been his own master from the time he 

 had assumed the headship of his father's firm) saw that 

 under such circumstances his City work would become 

 more exacting that it would in a greater measure 

 interfere with and curtail his leisure for geologising : 

 on that account, and while fully alive to all the advan- 

 tages offered, he declined. 



It will be gleaned from the following letter to Mrs 

 Russell Scott that he had under consideration a plan for 

 exchanging City work for some other avocation in which 

 he felt that his talents might be turned to better 

 account : 



LONDON, 17th May 1851. 



You have exactly expressed, my own dear sister, that which I 

 feel upon the subject of my work. I care very little about any 

 pecuniary benefit it may be to me, provided the plan should prove 



1 This issue was limited, for the large plate which accompanied the 

 volume was accidentally destroyed before sufficient copies were printed 

 off. In 1895, however, a new issue was published (without the plate), 

 and this contains much new matter and some corrections in the form of 

 a supplement. 



