ENGLISH AGRICULTURE. 105 



following experience. The ground was wet, the trench which 

 he had dug did not appear to be sufficient. Then we have 

 the story of the shepherd with his bar over his shoulders. 

 Mr. Elkington asked for the shepherd's bar, and plunged it 

 down through the bottom of the drain, and up came the 

 water, almost giving the idea of the miraculous. Mr. Elking- 

 ton was considered to be almost a wizard in his time, and to 

 possess the power of divining water. I am not sure how far he 

 encouraged that idea, but he was certainly credited with the 

 power of being able to use the divining-rod, and of knowing 

 exactly where to look for sources of water. Mr. Elkington 

 plunged the shepherd's bar down through the drain, and up 

 came the water. He afterwards used an augur contrived 

 especially for this purpose, most successfully on his own farm. 

 He was employed in Warwickshire very largely, and subse- 

 quently in all parts of England, and finally in 1795 Parlia- 

 ent granted him 1000 for his services to his country. 

 Mr. Elkington's system of drainage could not be carried out 



very where; we might in vain strike the shepherd's bar into 

 hard clay, but a state of things illustrating his system is 



epicted in diagram 2. p. 98. Springs pour out at B, and run 



ver the surface, and the water pressure from below is con- 



tantly pushing up from B c. Mr. Elkington's trench was 

 therefore perfectly futile, but when he tapped the tail of the 

 water-bearing stratum, as shown on the diagram, up came 



Le water with force, until at length the level of the water 

 B became transferred to the level of G G, and the whole 



f this ground was relieved from the upward water pressure, 

 d the springs being tapped, all this land, possibly several 

 res in extent, would be drained. The ground is wet with 



ater pressing upwards, the trench being made to cornmuni- 

 te with the sand or gravel which is below, and at once a 

 tendency is induced to lower the water-table to the requisite 

 depth. Now it may occur to us that such circumstances 





