,transcriber's ,note3 ,minor typographical errors have been corrected without note4 ,irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as printed4 ,words printed in italics are noted with underscores3 italics4 ,,the ,,divining ,,rod3 ,,virgula ,,divina--,,baculus ,,divinatorius 7,,water-,,witching47 ,,by ,,charles ,,latimer1 ,,civil ,,engineer4 ,there are more things in heaven and earth1 ,horatio1 than are dreamt of in your philosophy4--,shakespeare4 ,,cleveland1 ,o1 ,,fairbanks1 ,,benedict ,,co41 ,,printers1 #ahgf4 ,entered according to ,act of ,congress1 in the year #ahgf1 by ,,charles ,,latimer1 ,in the ,office of the ,librarian of ,congress at ,washington4 ,,an ,,essay ,,read ,,before ,,the ,,civil ,,engineers' ,,club ,,of ,,the ,,northwest1 ,,at ,,chicago1 ,,feb4 #a1 #ahge4 ,,preface4 ,my ,essay on the ,divining ,rod1 7vulgus1 ,water-,witching17 having proved interesting to a number of my friends1 ,i have concluded to give it to the public1 with the hope that some useful practical results may be derived from it4 ,i have no apology to make for presenting this subject in a serious light4 ,i regard it as one strictly in the domain of science1 and1 therefore1 worthy of the consideration of scientific men4 ,i have no fear of ridicule1 knowing for myself and not for another1 that what is here presented is the truth4 ,to those who seek absolute truth1 ,i need not recommend a reading of these pages4 ,to those who merely live by science1 drawing their sustenance from it as from the convenient cow1 as ,goethe says1 ,i will simply say1 imprison yourselves1 gentlemen1 in your shell2 the world will move quite as well without you4 ,i add a number of notes from various sources to which ,i had not access before writing my own experience4 ,,about ,,water-,,witching4 7,,what ,i ,,know47 ,i have always observed that when any novelty is presented for the consideration of man1 which is not readily proven by already well known scientific laws1 or which may not be demonstrated by the knowledge and power of most persons1 it is found extremely difficult1 if not impossible1 to gain the attention of the devotee of science4 ,whether1 indeed1 it be from lack of interest1 from incredulity1 or from the fear of ridicule1 or from any other cause1 we look with distrust upon anything which is not in harmony with our preconceived ideas or theories1 and we are apt to raise the cry of humbug or superstition1 and reject1 with a contemptuous assumption of superiority as unbelievers1 propositions which properly put to the test might prove of value to mankind4 ,happily for us a wise ,providence has not ordained that all minds shall plough in a single furrow of the great field of knowledge4 ,some1 therefore1 believe nothing but what they see1 and frequently doubt the evidence of their own senses4 ,others believe everything they see and nearly everything they hear1 and seize with too great credulity upon every new thing presented to them4 ,there are others who disbelieve nothing that is presented to them1 however apocryphal1 without full and impartial investigation1 aided not by testimony alone1 but by actual demonstration4 ,again1 there are men who are afraid to investigate1 lest the world should call them visionary2 these are always prepared to apologize for examining anything outside the mere routine of their special science4 ,but the most frequent error of mankind is to doubt and ridicule1 without investigation1 everything which is not commonly received4 ,to such ,i would cite the pungent words of ,solomon3 ,he that answereth a matter before he heareth it1 it is a folly and a shame unto him4 ,i feel that ,i am speaking to those1 who always listen with interest to every proposition1 and are willing to examine it1 until its demonstration is clear and its hidden mysteries revealed1 and never pronounce anything a superstition or an imposture1 until from patient research they have a right1 through their own experimental knowledge1 to utter a verdict4 ,but1 lest there should be among us one of these doubting ,thomases or disbelieving cynics1 ,i would appeal to him with the history of the two ,spanish students4 ,these two young gentlemen1 while traveling from ,peaflor to ,salamanca1 stopped at a spring to quench their thirst1 and whilst seated upon the ground near the fountain observed something like a tombstone1 level with the water2 engraven on the stone were these words3 ,here lies interred the soul of ,pedro ,garcia4 ,the youngest of the students1 a thoughtless fellow1 said1 laughing loudly3 ,what a joke4 ,here lies interred the soul6 ,who ever heard of a soul being buried8 who can tell me the author of so ridiculous an epitaph8 ,the other1 a reflective1 judicious youth1 said to himself3 ,there is some mystery here1 and ,i intend to solve it before ,i leave this spot4 ,letting his companion depart1 without losing a moment's time he took out his knife1 cut around the stone1 dug under it a little1 and there found buried a purse containing one hundred ducats1 with these words in ,latin inscribed upon it3 ,i declare thee my heir1 whomsoe'er thou art1 who hast had the genius to understand the meaning of the inscription2 but ,i charge thee to use this money better than ,i used it4 ,now to the point4 ,the subject to which ,i am about to call your attention--that of finding water by means of the divining rod--is one of those which in modern times is classed among mere superstitions1 and as such unworthy of serious consideration by sensible people4 ,i think ,i have it in my power to demonstrate to you1 principally from my own personal experiences--the relation of which ,i beg you to accept as strictly accurate--that this is an error on the part of the over-wise skeptics of our progressive epoch4 ,worcester's dictionary gives the following definition of the divining rod3--,a forked branch1 usually of hazel1 said to be useful to discern mines and water4 ,witch-hazel--a tall shrub of eastern ,north ,america1 remarkable for blossoming late in the autumn4 ,another authority gives the following3 ,divining rod--,a hazel twig cut in the form of a ,y1 by the aid of which certain persons 7meaning1 of course1 sorcerers like myself17 called 'scientific1' pretend to be able to discover water or mineral veins4 ,the rod is held in a peculiar manner1 and the 'dowsers' walk backward and forward over the ground to be tried4 ,as soon as he crosses or approaches a metallic vein or aqueous spring the twig turns toward it with a slow1 rotary motion4 ,this superstition has not yet died out1 and 'dowsers' are yet common in remote parts of ,england1 ,france and ,germany4 ,now1 one can easily see that this writer is one of those who apologize for seeming to believe a thing of the kind by calling it a superstition not yet died out4 ,here is another definition3 ,divining rod--,a forked branch1 usually of hazel1 by which it has been pretended that minerals and water may be discovered in the earth4 ,the rod1 if slowly carried along in suspension1 dipping and pointing downwards1 it is affirmed when brought over the spot1 where the concealed mine or spring is situated4 ,the form1 the material and the mode of using the divining rod of the modern miners and water finders seem to be superstitions of comparative recent introduction4 ,many persons with some pretensions to science have been believers in the powers ascribed to the divining rod4 ,here we have another case of the apologetic historian4 ,he dared not say that he believed it1 even though he had seen it4 ,why8 ,simply because there was no scientific fact or theory upon which he could base his belief--so he was afraid even to say what he believed1 lest people who read his encyclopedia might say he was visionary4 ,i read somewhere1 a long time ago1 that this superstition was also rife in the eleventh century4 ,now1 like the young students above cited1 some one among you may exclaim1 ,who will inform me who can be the author of this ridiculous superstition8 ,i wish ,i could tell you2 ,i am sorry ,i can not1 but ,i should not wonder if he lived before the days of ,moses1 the first dowser on record4 ,when oil was discovered in this country many of us believed that there was at last something new under the sun4' ,we have only to turn to the ,scriptures to learn that ,job was in the oil and dairy business a few thousand years before ,oil ,city sprung up under our wondering eyes4 ,job has always been supposed to refer to some great miracle when he says1 in the #bith chapter of his book1 ,i washed my steps with butter and the rock poured me out rivers of oil2 the young men saw me and hid themselves4 ,also1 in ,deuteronomy1 we read1 chapter #cb1 verse #ac1 ,and he made him to suck honey out of the rock1 and oil out of the flinty rock4 ,now1 we have these marvels repeating themselves daily2 and ,i think it no very far-fetched idea to assume that the divining rod was used in the discovery of these precious deposits4 ,i am myself acquainted with a gentleman who has lately successfully located two oil wells by this magic 7so-called7 process4 ,in fact1 who knows but that the first knowledge of the divining rod was a revelation1 and that ,moses not only understood the art1 but taught it to the ,children of ,israel1 from whence the supposed superstition has spread4 ,when ,moses found the water at ,meribeh-,rephidim and ,meribeh-,kadesh1 in the wilderness of ,zin1 he had received the ,almighty's command3 ,go before the people and take with thee the elders of ,israel1 and thy rod wherewith thou smotest the river2 take it in thine hand and go4 ,behold1 ,i will stand before thee upon the rock in ,horeb1 and thou shalt smite the rock1 and then shall come water out of it1 that the people may drink2 and ,moses did so in the sight of the elders of ,israel4 ,in the #bjth chapter of ,numbers we read of a similar miracle occurring three years afterward--,and ,moses took the rod from before the ,lord as he commanded him1 and said1 ,hear1 now1 ye rebels1 must we fetch water out of this rock4 ,and ,moses lifted up his hand and with his rod smote the rock twice1 and the water came out abundantly and the congregation drank and their beasts also4 ,now in the #bast chapter of ,numbers we find these verses3 ,and from thence they went to ,beer1 that is1 the well whereof the ,lord spake unto ,moses4 ,gather the people together and ,i will give them water4 ,then sang ,israel this song--,spring up1 ,o1 well6 sing ye unto it4 ,the princes digged the well1 the nobles of the people digged it1 by the direction of the lawgiver1 with their staves4 ,this shows that the lawgiver pointed out the places for them to dig1 and the people made the wells4 ,there is nothing like faithful searching if you wish to find2 so ,i advise you to look back also as far as ,confucius1 and then come down to the old monk1 ,roger ,bacon1 and it would not surprise me if you should ascertain that those old wise-heads had gone even farther than your humble servant into the mysteries of the divining rod4 ,but ,i will not quote from these ancients2 ,i will only look back a short hundred years4 ,in ,sir ,david ,brewster's ,philosophy you will find that he says that there is no doubt that the presence of water can be detected by the divining rod1 although it can not be demonstrated by any known science4 ,it was this last paragraph which ,i stumbled upon many years ago1 that first brought me to a practical knowledge of this phenomenon4 ,i read it1 and being on a visit in ,raymond1 ,miss41 ,i went to ,judge ----1 of that place1 a scholar and a man of good sense1 whom ,i took for granted had not failed to gather in1 among his great stores of learning1 something about the topic which had struck me so forcibly4 ,i was not mistaken2 the old gentleman told me that he had not only heard a good deal about this matter1 but possessed1 himself1 the power of finding water1 offering to show me how he proceeded4 ,soon after we went1 accompanied by my brother1 ,dr4 ,l41 to a spot where there was a well known under-ground stream4 ,the ,judge cut three forked branches from a peach tree1 each took one and we marched over the spot indicated1 holding our rods according to the approved style of the dowser proper4 ,at a certain point the switches in the hands of the ,judge and myself went down simultaneously2 the effect was very apparent2 but my brother1 in whose hands there was no movement1 mercilessly ridiculed the whole proceeding2 neither the ,judge nor ,i being at all disconcerted by his skeptical derision of our scientific research4 ,i could not be shaken from faith in my actual1 absolute experience1 and was fully convinced that there was a mysterious power1 beyond my ken1 that turned the switch4 ,i pondered over the matter1 and resolved that at some future day ,i would examine more closely into it4 ,this1 to me1 decisive epoch finally came after a great number of trials1 always with satisfactory results as to the bare fact that water could be traced or discovered4 ,that the switch did turn in my hand readily was undoubtedly true--the agency which moved it was the mystery4 ,i knew that electricity had broad shoulders1 and had always carried the weight of every unexplained phenomenon4 ,i said this switch turns by electric force4 ,having evolved my theory1 ,i set out to sustain it1 by experiment4 ,upon inquiry1 ,i found that not only could water be discovered1 but it was asserted that minerals as readily answered to the call of the magic rod2 and1 indeed1 that even their depth beneath the earth's surface might be computed4 ,granting this to be true1 ,i concluded that ,i had not only a philosophical but a mathematical problem to solve4 ,i1 however1 never met any one having any information on this latter point1 nor in my readings did ,i find any allusion to the possibility of ascertaining the depth below the surface of any concealed stream or mineral4 ,on the contrary1 ,i found the general impression to be that the whole thing was a superstition of ignorant minds4 ,the doubters frequently met me1 and with some show of reason1 with this personal argument3 ,i cannot believe this thing1 because the switch does not turn in my hand4 ,it is quite true that every hand does not have the power of giving the motion to the switch2 but this does not disprove the fact of its turning4 ,i have heard that the evidence of one man who heard a bell is worth that of a dozen who did not hear it4 ,the testimony is1 therefore1 to my mind1 clearly in favor of the dowsers4 ,all men are not the same conductors of electricity4 ,i have known persons who could light the gas by running across the floor1 rubbing their feet upon the carpet1 and pointing a finger at the jet4 ,i never saw this done1 but ,i have no doubt that there are many who can do it1 and also many who cannot4 ,now1 although the switch may not turn in the hands of all1 this is no proof that the current producing the movement does not pass through the persons just the same--the effect is only less perceptible in some1 than in others4 ,i had made a very large number of experiments1 from time to time1 before ,i had an opportunity to make one which satisfied me that ,i was on the right track4 ,i had in these experiments exploded the superstition of the witch-hazel1 and learned that peach1 apple1 willow1 dog-wood1 beech1 maple1 iron1 steel1 copper--in fact1 that even an old barrel hoop possessed all of its virtues1 and so concluded that after all this relic of the necromancer's art of former days was a very simple matter1 if we could but find the clue to it4 ,a few years ago it happened that ,i wanted to get water at a place called ,coloma1 upon the ,chicago1 ,michigan ,lake ,shore ,railroad1 of which ,i was then chief engineer4 ,i concluded to test my electric theory here4 ,i found that it was necessary to dig a well upon the depot grounds--the point was to see if ,i could find water where ,i needed a tank4 ,i took a switch and found water near the desired spot2 then1 with my theory in view1 ,i made a second experiment4 ,i bought four ink bottles1 adjusted them to a pair of wooden sandals1 which ,i fastened to my feet4 ,thus insulated1 ,i walked over the ground1 my switch in hand1 but1 as ,i had anticipated1 there was no movement--the diviner's rod was powerless4 ,i therefore assume that ,i am right in ascribing the phenomenon to electricity4 ,i continued my experiments1 having yet the mathematical point unsettled4 ,upon walking over the ground again and again1 ,i found that the switch commenced always to turn at the same places1 equally 7or nearly7 distant from a centre1 and kept gradually turning until it pointed directly downward4 ,to assure myself1 ,i repeated this experiment many times1 and arrived at the conclusion that the switch commenced to turn at an angle of forty-five degrees from the edge of the water1 and that the distance from my hand to the water would be measured by the distance from the point where the switch commenced to turn to the point of absolute turn-down1 and so it seems to be4 ,the following diagram will show more clearly my meaning3 ,a ,b1 ,b ,a is the surface of the earth2 ,w1 a stream or pool of water below the surface4 ,walking along toward ,a ,b the switch begins to move at ,a1 and turns down at ,b2 the angles ,b ,a ,c and ,b ,c ,a being equal1 the distance from ,a to ,b is equal to ,b ,c4 ,measure the distance1 therefore1 from the point of commencement of turning to the point of turn-down1 and you have the depth from your hand to the water4 ,i have verified this over many water-courses1 upon bridges1 etc41 and ,i am satisfied it is correct1 at least for the latitude in which my experiments were made4 ,upon this basis ,i made my first estimate of the depth of the water at ,coloma1 and gave it as from twenty-five to thirty feet4 ,i employed an experienced well borer and had a two and one-half inch pipe driven into the ground at the exact point my switch indicated1 and found water at twenty-seven feet exactly4 ,i had the pipe driven down forty feet1 and found that ,i had thirteen feet of water in it4 ,i then had a windmill erected and a large tank4 ,up to the time of my leaving the road1 the engines were supplied with the water1 which1 besides1 proved to be of excellent quality for drinking4 ,my well borer1 who was a doubting ,thomas1 said he believed that he could get water at the same depth anywhere4 ,fortunately for my theory1 a neighboring store-keeper tried the doubter and failed to get water under fifty-nine feet4 ,subsequent to the satisfactory experiment at ,coloma it happened that on one occasion1 when ,i was traveling west on the ,hannibal ,st4 ,joseph ,railroad1 that ,i was introduced to a gentleman engaged in building a road1 who related to me that during its construction the engineers had made use of drive wells as they moved rapidly along4 ,as the water question was always one of interest to me1 our conversation drifted1 naturally1 to water-witching4 ,the gentleman said that all of his knowledge on this subject had been obtained from his brother--a young man employed by ,horace ,greeley on his farm at ,chappaqua4 ,mr4 ,greeley had sent for him from hearing of him as extremely intelligent and thrifty as a farm hand4 ,it happened while the young man was at ,chappaqua that a well was needed1 and the question of water-witching came up4 ,the young man said that his belief was1 that if one man could find water1 so could another--whereupon he took a forked switch and1 walking about1 found that the magic wand turned down over a rock4 ,he had a blast of powder put in at the point1 the smoke of which hardly cleared away1 revealed a spring of water4 ,here is simply a repetition of the smiting of the rock4 ,in my own experience ,i have a similar instance3 ,i was assistant superintendent at ,highlands1 on the ,vandalia line4 ,mr4 ----1 then chief engineer1 had1 previous to my arrival1 caused a well of ten feet diameter and forty feet depth to be dug and walled up with brick1 but the supply of water was so small that it could be pumped out in a few minutes4 ,a hole had then been drilled sixteen feet to the rock1 which was conglomerate1 of very great hardness1 with no better results4 ,the well was therefore abandoned4 ,if ,i had seen ,mr4 ----1 ,i should have advised penetrating the rock1 but ,i did not meet him1 and did not wish to interfere with the work4 ,mr4 ,koepfle1 the owner of the land upon which the well was located1 arrived just at that time from ,switzerland1 and ,i soon became acquainted with him4 ,he came into my office one day and said3 ,mr4 ,latimer1 do you not think there is water under that ground8 ,i replied1 ,yes1 ,i thought so4 ,did you ever hear of 'water-witching8' he then asked4 ,i said ,yes4 ,can you tell where water is8 ,upon my affirmative answer he requested me to go down and try a switch4 ,i did so and found that it turned down in a number of places about the well4 ,mr4 ,koepfle came to me again to say that there was a dowser in the neighborhood and to ask me what ,i thought of his employing him4 ,i advised him to try the skill of this man by all means4 ,i was not present at the trial1 but a short time afterward ,mr4 ,k4 came to me in great excitement to tell me that the man said there was a subterranean lake at that very point4 ,among other things1 he told me that the wand in this case was a bit of whalebone--an item ,i treasured for future consideration4 ,mr4 ---- had already commenced another well in a marsh about half a mile west of the first4 ,mr4 ,koepfle asked my advice as to what he should do4 ,i replied1 ,i cannot take any action in the matter officially1 but if you will take it upon yourself to bore through that rock and pay the expense of it1 ,i think that no objection can be made to it1 and ,i believe that you will get plenty of water--in which case1 ,i am sure you will not lose your money4 ,but where can ,i get a man8 urged ,mr4 ,koepfle4 ,try ,mr4 ----'s man4 ,i think ,mr4 ---- will be glad to get rid of the expense1 ,i said4 ,mr4 ,k4 came soon after with the man and agreed1 by my advice1 to give him #g4ej per day for his own work and that of his man with the drills4 ,in five days the rock was smitten through with a three-inch drill1 and the water immediately rushed up to a point above the natural surface of the ground1 only held by the railroad bank--which surrounded the well--and there remained4 ,i am not aware that ,mr4 ---- ever knew that his excellent well water was provided for him by the magic power of a morsel of whalebone and a peach twig4 ,upon one occasion1 at a farm of one of my connections1 the water gave out in the well1 7seventeen feet deep17 which had for years supplied a large number of cattle4 ,in the first place ,i ordered the well to be cleaned out1 for it was very dirty2 but there was no improvement4 ,it was then decided to dig another4 ,i found a place about ten feet north of the old well1 where ,i judged there was a small stream1 and repeatedly estimated the depth to it by my rule1 and came to the conclusion that it was between ten and twelve feet4 ,i was rather astonished at this1 for the water1 it may be observed1 was seventeen feet deep in the old well4 ,however the well was begun4 ,i asked the digger at what depth water ought to be found2 he said at seventeen feet2 but ,i made this a test case1 and said1 ,you will find water here between ten and twelve feet1 but if ,i should have to say precisely1 ,i should say at ten feet4 ,water was found at exactly ten feet1 and stood at that point after the well was finished4 ,a peculiar test occurred at ,toulon1 ,illinois4 ,i was talking on the subject with a friend1 a lawyer of that place1 one dark night at about nine o'clock4 ,he asked1 ,can you tell how deep it is to the water in the well in this hotel yard8 ,i answered at once1 ,yes1 but said1 it is rather dark1 and ,i know nothing about the yard or the position of the well4 ,however ,i went out and started at the kitchen door1 only asking upon which side of the house ,i should seek4 ,i traced the stream from the kitchen door1 passing back and forth rapidly until ,i found the well about forty feet from the kitchen and near the barn4 ,when ,i came to the well ,i said1 ,this stream passes five feet from the well and does not go directly into it4 ,i then made some examination with the rod1 and pronounced the depth to the water to be fourteen feet1 which was found by measurement to be correct4 ,i will add1 that ,i was never before in the hotel yard1 did not know where the well was located1 and the night was exceedingly dark4 ,the next morning1 while paying my bill1 the landlord said1 ,you probably do not know how close was your calculation last night4 ,i had that well dug myself1 and we went down forty feet without finding water4 ,before giving it up the digger had himself lowered into the well1 listening as he went to hear the sound of some stream4 ,at fourteen feet he heard water1 and boring in laterally five feet1 where you said the stream was1 he found a plentiful supply1 filling the well with twenty-three feet of water4 ,another experience4 ,one day at ,wyoming1 ,ill41 a friend said to me1 ,i must introduce you to our 'water-witch1' who proved to be a gentleman named ----1 a banker of the place4 ,after some conversation with him1 we agreed to try an experiment together and compare experiences generally4 ,i asked first1 ,what do you use8 ,willow1 hazel or peach--perhaps any green twig would do as well2 but ,i only employ those three4 ,what would you say to an old barrel hoop8 ,i asked4 ,oh1 that would not do at all2 there must be sap in the wood4 ,we each took our rod and went forth1 ,i holding mine in my hands1 whilst my companion held one end of his in his teeth1 the other in both hands4 ,i asked what he meant by that mode of holding the switch4 ,he replied1 ,that is my way2 there is no chance for presumption or pretence in it2 some persons can make the switch turn and be deceived4 ,i observed that our switches moved at the same moment1 mine turning down1 his sidewise2 but in every case we agreed1 and thus traced a number of streams4 ,i tried his plan1 but it would not answer1 while his switch moved held in either way4 ,in discussing the matter1 ,i asked his theory1 which he declined to give1 but which ,i divined by a question he asked1 viz3 ,did you ever see a switch turn for stagnant water8 ,i said1 ,yes4 ,well1 he responded1 ,i never did1 and the rod will not turn over stagnant water for me4 ,now1 said ,i1 ,i understand your theory2 it is that the friction of running waters underground produces an electric current which causes the switch to turn4 ,he admitted that ,i was right4 ,now1 ,i said1 ,i propose to explode two of your notions at once4 ,in the first place1 let us get an old barrel hoop4 ,i found one1 which we divided4 ,i then went with him across the railroad track1 which at that place runs north and south4 ,the rod turned down for both of us at once2 in this case he used the rod in his hand4 ,now1 you see1 ,i said1 that the rail represents stagnant water1 and you find that a dry twig or stick is as good as a green one4 ,i then obtained a piece of copper wire from the telegraph office and gave him4 ,he walked across the track with it in his mouth and hands1 and in every case the rod turned to the south for him4 ,in finding water the rod always turned for him in the direction the stream ran4 ,i found he knew nothing about estimating the depth beneath the surface4 ,he remarked that he had fancied that he knew much of the subject1 but that a man must live and learn4 ,i went with him to his bank1 where we threw down a rod of iron on the floor1 and with our switches found the movement to be the same at every trial4 ,again1 we placed a silver coin on the floor1 with the same result--trying several times with his hand on my arm4 ,i told him that ,i meant to invent an instrument for finding water and estimating its depth4 ,a few months ago ,i received a letter from him1 asking after my proposed invention4 ,this gentleman gave me a curious confirmation of my experiment at ,coloma4 ,he related that a few days previous a friend had been out with him to try if the switch would turn in his hand4 ,it did readily2 but after dinner he found1 upon a second trial1 that there was no movement4 ,this mystery was soon explained by the discovery that our neophyte was standing in his ,india-rubber shoes4 ,another important test ,i made at the ,naval ,academy1 at ,annapolis1 a few years ago4 ,i went there to look at ,sir ,david ,thompson's ,electrometer1 to ascertain if it could give me a clue to something which might guide me in the invention of the instrument in question4 ,i could discover nothing from it1 or from the most delicate galvanometer4 ,one of the professors1 however1 asked me to give them a test4 ,i called for a piece of iron wire1 walked a few feet1 put my foot down and said ,there is something immediately under here4 ,the board was taken up and disclosed the gas-pipe4 ,i asked if they were satisfied4 ,you are a man of quick perceptions and might have noticed the direction of the pipe1 was the answer4 ,are you willing to be blindfolded8 ,i consented and succeeded repeatedly in locating the pipe1 and what is more1 in indicating other points of attraction to the rod1 where all said that my experiment had failed1 but which proved as full a confirmation of my theory as the lead pipe4 ,these points were those where the iron columns supporting the building touched the ceiling underneath4 ,upon one occasion1 ,i visited ,professor ,henry1 of the ,smithsonian ,institute1 and presented the subject to him4 ,the professor took notes in a book1 and asked for a test4 ,i gave him several by locating the gas and water pipes4 ,we then sat down and the professor remarked3 ,this is all personal influence4 ,of course1 the question is none the less important or curious on this account1 and ,i was a little nettled at the summary disposal of the matter4 ,i therefore replied3 ,professor ,henry1 you scientific men are always behindhand in discoveries1 because you will not investigate1 and it is left to those not well versed in the laws of science to ferret out mysteries and lay them bare4 ,i present you two things1 ,professor--first1 ,i find1 by insulating myself that there is no motion of the rod1 which proves electricity2 second1 ,i show that the motion begins at a certain point--an angle of forty-five degrees from the concealed water or metal--and the rod turns down directly over it2 thus physical science and mathematics disprove your theory4 ,i will say that my remarks moved the professor1 who then showed a very decided interest and asked me to come and spend the following morning with him4 ,unfortunately1 my departure from the city deprived me of the proposed interview4 ,i have had many other experiences1 but the relation of them would demand more time than it is expedient to give to them at present4 ,i would add that ,i have observed in my experiments that the smallest underground stream affects the rod in my hand in the same degree as the cataract of ,niagara itself1 and that the presence of a stove1 a bar of iron1 or any other metal--a water or gas pipe1 causes it to turn with the same movement as a large mineral deposit2 but it is my belief that there is a hidden mode of distinguishing between them all1 outside of all questions of personal influence4 ,we know that in what we call the dark age of the world1 all unexplained phenomena were referred to personal witchcraft4 ,we1 as yet1 know little of the many phenomena of electricity1 and in the midst of our own intelligent population we find1 that1 to very many1 the working of the electric telegraph itself is ascribed to superhuman agency4 ,only a few days ago an intelligent telegraph operator and his wife1 at ,horican1 thought the spirits were communicating with him through the wires because they heard the air ,home1 ,sweet ,home in their vibrations--not knowing that he was receiving a musical message from the newly invented telephone1 played at ,chicago1 many miles distant4 ,i have desired to show that the use of the divining rod is at least as old as the ,mosaic dispensation2 that the knowledge or tradition of its use has been understood1 to some extent1 by certain wise men in all ages1 and that in the present age--one of inquiry and research--many have a knowledge of it and make use of it to their own advantage2 that there is no superstition in the matter1 but that it is governed by fixed laws2 that it requires only intelligent research and earnest investigation to understand them thoroughly1 and1 finally1 to arrive at results of the greatest practical benefit to mankind4 ,when we understand that the earth is a great electric ball1 giving and receiving electricity with the nature of the conductors which transport or absorb the various currents1 we may arrive at more comprehensive and correct theories about natural phenomena4 ,i picked up1 a few days since1 a periodical containing an admirable article on the ,electric ,telegraph1 describing most vividly the motion of the currents1 and ,i make use of the words of the writer to illustrate how it is possible to bring this subject to a scientific test3 ,the observer1 whom we have supposed capable of seeing electricity1 would find that the whole surface of the earth1 the atmosphere and probably the fathomless space beyond1 were teeming with manifestations of the electric force4 ,every chemical process and every blow in nature or in art evolves it4 ,the great process of vegetation and the reciprocal process of animal life all over the globe are accompanied by it4 ,as incessantly as the sun's rays pass around the earth1 warming every part in alternation with the cooling influences of night1 great currents or fluctuations of magnetic tension1 which never cease their play1 circulate about the globe1 and other apparently irregular currents come and go according to laws not yet understood2 while the aurora borealis1 flaming in the sky1 indicates the measureless extent of this wonderful power1 the existence of which the world has but begun to discover4 ,our observer would see that these great earth currents infinitely transcend the little artificial currents which men produce in their insulated wires1 and that they constantly interfere with the latter1 attracting or driving them from their work1 and making them play truant1 greatly to the vexation of the operators and sometimes to the entire confusion of business4 ,if a thunder-storm passed across the country1 he would see all the wires sparkling with unusual excitement4 ,when the rain fell and water1 which is a conductor1 trickled along the wires and stood in drops upon the insulators1 he would see the electricity of the line deserting its path and stealing off slyly1 in greater or less quantities1 over the wet surface of the insulators or by the wet straws or kite strings which sometimes hang across the line4 ,now and then he might see the free electricity of the storm overleap the barriers and take possession for the moment of some unguarded circuit1 frightening operators from their posts4 ,such an observer would realize what it is difficult adequately to conceive1 that electricity is1 as has been said1 the hidden force in nature1 and still remains1 as far as man is concerned1 almost dormant4 ,a high scientific authority has remarked1 in speaking of metals1 that the abundance of any object in nature1 bears a proportion to its adaptation to the service of man4 ,if this be true in general1 we may expect electricity will become1 one day1 a familiar thing4 ,i conclude with a word from the wise and godly man ,i have before cited3 ,oh that mine enemy would write a book1 cried ,job4 ,of course1 he meant a book setting forth some new-fangled idea which he knew would bring upon its author the whole army of cavilers4 ,this my little book or essay may bring upon me the same legions1 grown mightier with the centuries which have elapsed since ,job's day4 ,to them1 ,i can only reply1 ,truth is mighty and will prevail4 99 99 99 99 99 ,from ,dr4 ,ashburner in ,reichenbach's ,dynamics of ,magnetism4 ,however vulgar and absurd1 because1 perhaps1 not severely exact to habitually erroneous thinkers themselves1 may appear much of the knowledge floating among boors and peasants1 a very remarkable proof of the importance of some of it is seen in a singular1 though rude anticipation of a part of the most brilliant of ,professor ,faraday's discoveries on magnetism and diamagnetism by means of an instrument1 the name of which has been sufficient to excite the contempt of some so-styled savans of repute4 ,if knowledge be not in the range of the thoughts of certain severe cogitators1 it is then forsooth1 no knowledge at all4 ,the unmerciful contempt which has been cast on the divining rod--virgula divina or baguette divinatoire--by certain cultivators of science may be estimated by a reference to the earlier editions of a translation by ,dr4 ,hutton1 of ,montucla's improvement of ,ozanam's ,mathematical ,recreations1 a book full of most interesting matter4--,in the last edition of that work1 however1 ,dr4 ,hutton proved himself to be1 what he always was1 a sincere lover of truth4 ,led into error at an earlier period1 he was open to inquiry1 and became1 subsequently1 convinced of facts1 the existence of which he had at one time doubted4 ,my friend1 ,mr4 ,charles ,hutton ,gregory1 lent me a copy of the ,speculum ,anni for the year1 #ahbh1 in which he pointed out some passages relating to this matter which ,i cannot avoid extracting here1 and premising a few observations on the instrument called the divining rod1 virgula divina1 baculus divinatorius1 baguette divinatoire4 ,this has been supposed to be a branch of a tree or shrub1 necessarily of a forked or letter ,v shape1 by the assistance of which1 certain gifted persons were enabled to discover mines1 springs of water underground1 hidden treasures1 and to practice other occult doings4 ,this1 with regard to shape1 is just as vulgar an error as that which supposes that a stick of any kind of wood1 held in the hand1 serves as well as the hazel or white thorn1 for the production of the phenomena4 ,in the counties of ,somerset1 ,devon and ,cornwall1 the facts on this subject are well known1 and the practice of dowsing1 as it is called1 has been cultivated time out of mind4 ,in ,france1 the men of scientific pursuit have for the most part ridiculed the use of the baguette1 notwithstanding abundant evidence in various parts of the country being extant of the success which has attended the practice of the sourciers4 ,the ,baron ,von ,reichenbach has established facts regarding the emanation of lights from graves which are quite as remarkable as the proofs of emanations taking place from metals or from running water4 ,now that the ,baron's researches and the concurrent testimony of the cultivators of mesmeric science have established that certain individuals are more susceptible of magnetic impressions than others1 it will not be pronounced impossible that subterraneous running water may influence some persons and not others4 ,in different classes the sensitive powers are known to vary greatly as they do indeed among those of the same species4 ,but1 it has been asked1 granting that emanations from subterraneous waters may powerfully effect certain persons1 what connection is there between this impression and the motion or rotation of the hazel rod which is held in the person's hand or laid over his fingers8 ,what6 is it fact that the hazel rod or white thorn moves or rotates in the hands of a person of a certain impressionability1 when that person passes over any ground underneath his footsteps on which there happens to be a metallic lode or a subterraneous stream of water which we call a spring8 ,i have been informed by highly respectable persons1 who have in the ,west of ,england1 witnessed the facts1 that under these circumstances a hazel or a white thorn rod does rotate and does move and occasionally dips with so energetic a force that on one occasion the bark of a fresh hazel rod was stripped from the stick and left in the grasp of the operator's hand4 ,the following extracts will further illustrate the subject3 ,although the effects or motion of the divining rod1 when in the proximity of springs1 has been and is to this day considered by most philosophers a mere illusion1 yet ,i think the following brief observations relating to the subject1 and which was communicated to ,dr4 ,hutton by a lady of rank1 with the account of her subsequent experiments performed before him1 his family and a number of friends1 7as given in the ,doctor's translation of ,montucla's edition of ,ozanam's ,recreations71 must convince the most incredulous that in the hands of some persons in certain situations the baguette is forcibly acted on by some unknown1 invisible cause4 ,notwithstanding the incredulity expressed by ,montucla relative to the indication of springs by the baguette or divining rod1 there appears to exist such evidences of the reality of that motion as it seems next to be impossible to be questioned4 ,this evidence was brought about in the following manner4 ,soon after the publication of the former edition of the ,recreations1 the editor received by the post the following well written pseudonymous letter on the subject of this problem4 ,the letter in question is dated ,feb4 #aj1 #ahje1 and1 as with the whole correspondence it would be too long for our limits1 ,i shall select such parts only as are immediately essential to a right understanding of the subject4 ,the lady observes1 ',in the year #aggb1 7,i was then nineteen71 ,i passed six months at ,aix1 in ,provence4 ,i there heard the popular story of one of the fountains in that city having been discovered by a boy who always expressed an aversion for passing one particular spot1 crying out each time there was water4 ,this was held by myself and by the family ,i was with1 in utter contempt4 ,in the course of the spring the family went to pass a week at the ,chateau d',ansonis1 situated a few miles to the north of the ,durance1 a tract of country very mountainous and where water was ill supplied4 ,we found the ,marquis d',ansonis busied in erecting what may be termed a miniature aqueduct to convey a spring the distance of half a league1 or nearly as much1 to his chateau1 which spring he asserted had been found out by a peasant1 who made the discovery of water his occupation in that country1 and maintained himself by it1 and was known by the appellation of ,l',homme a la ,baguette4 ,this account was received with unbelief almost amounting to derision4 ,the ,marquis1 piqued with being discredited1 sent for the man and requested we would witness the experiment4 ,a large party of ,french and ,english accordingly attended4 ,the man was quite a peasant in manners and appearance3 he produced some twigs cut from a hazel1 of different sizes and strength1 only they were forked branches1 and hazel was preferred as forking more equally than most other trees1 but it was not requisite that the angle should be of any particular number of degrees4 ,he held the ends of the twigs between each forefinger and thumb1 with the vertex pointing downwards4 ,standing where there was no water1 the baguette remained motionless4 ,walking gradually to the spot where the spring was under ground1 the twig was sensibly affected2 and1 as he approached the spot1 began to turn round2 that is1 the vertex raised itself and turned towards his body1 and continued to turn till the point was vertical2 it then descended outwards1 and continued to turn1 describing a circle as long as he remained standing over the spring1 or till one or both the branches were broken by the twisting1 the ends being firmly grasped by the fingers and thumbs1 and the hands kept stationary1 so that the rotary motion must1 of course1 twist them4 ,after seeing him do this repeatedly1 the whole party tried the baguette in succession1 but without effect4 ,i chanced to be the last4 ,no sooner did ,i hold the twig as directed than it began to move as with him1 which startled me so much1 that ,i dropt it and felt considerably agitated4 ,i was1 however1 induced to resume the experiment1 and the effect was perfect4 ,i was then told it was no very unusual thing1 many having that faculty--which1 from what has since come to my knowledge1 ,i have reason to believe is true4 ,on my return to ,england ,i forbore to let this faculty 7or whatever you may term it7 be known1 fearing to become the topic of conversation or discussion4 ,but two years afterwards1 being on a visit to a nobleman's house1 ,kimbolton1 ,huntingdonshire1 and his lady lamenting that she was disappointed of building a dairy house on a spot she particularly wished1 because there was no water to be found--a supply she looked on as essential--under promise of secresy ,i told her ,i would endeavor to find a spring4 ,i accordingly procured some hazel twigs1 and in the presence of herself and husband1 walked over the ground proposed1 till the twig turned with considerable force4 ,a stake was immediately driven into the ground to mark the spot1 which was not very distant from where they had before sunk4 ,they then took me to another and distant building in the park1 and desired me to try there4 ,i found the baguette turn very strong1 so that it soon twisted and broke4 ,the gentleman persisted that there was no water there1 unless at a great depth1 the foundation being very deep 7a considerable stone cellar7 and that no water appeared when they dug for it4 ,i could only reply that ,i knew no more than from the baguette turning1 and that ,i had too little experience of its powers or certainty1 to answer for the truth of its indications4 ,he then acknowledged that when that building was erected they were obliged to drive piles for the whole foundation1 as they met with nothing but a quicksand4 ,this induced him to dig in the spot ,i first directed4 ,they met with a very fluent spring2 the dairy was built and it is at this time supplied by it4 ,i could give a long detail of other trials ,i have made1 all of which have been convincing of the truth1 but they would be tedious4 ,for some years past1 ,i have been indifferent about its becoming known1 and have consequently been frequently requested to show the experiment1 which has often been done to persons of high estimation for understanding and knowledge1 and ,i believe they have all been convinced4 ,three people ,i have met with who have1 on trying1 found themselves possessed of the same faculty4 ,i shall add only one more particular incident4 ,having once shown it to a party1 we returned into the house to a room on the ground floor4 ,i was again asked how ,i held the twig4 ,taking one in my hand1 ,i found it turned immediately2 on which an old lady1 mother to the gentleman of the house1 said that room was formed out of an old cloister1 in which cloister was a well1 simply boarded over when they made the room4 ',l',homme a la ,baguette1 from experience1 could with tolerable accuracy1 tell the depth at which the springs were1 and their volume1 from the force with which the baguette turned2 ,i can only give a rough guess4 ,in strong frost1 ,i think its powers not so great4 ,on a bridge or in a boat1 ,i think it has no effect--the water must be under ground to affect the baguette1 and running through wooden pipes acts the same as a spring4 ,i can neither make the baguette turn where there is no water1 nor prevent it from turning where there is any1 and ,i am perfectly ignorant of the cause why it turns4 ,the only sensation ,i am conscious of1 is1 an emotion similar to that felt on being startled by sudden noise1 or surprise of any kind4 ',i generally use a baguette about six inches from the vertex to the ends of the twigs where they are cut off4 ',i shall most probably be in ,london next winter1 and will 7if you wish it7 afford you an opportunity of making your own observations on this curious fact4' ,the lady arrived in ,london1 wrote to ,dr4 ,hutton to inform him that she proposed being in ,woolwich on ,friday1 the #cjth inst41 7,may1 #ahjf17 at eleven in the forenoon4 ',accordingly1' says ,dr4 ,h41 'at the time appointed1 the lady1 with all her family1 arrived at my house at ,woolwich ,common1 where1 after preparing the rods1 etc41 they walked out to the grounds1 accompanied by the individuals of my own family and some friends2 when ,lady ---- showed the experiment several times in different places1 holding the rods1 etc41 in the manner as described in her ,ladyship's first letter above given4 ,in the places where ,i had good reason to know that no water was to be found1 the rod was always quiescent2 but in other places1 where ,i knew there was water below the surface1 the rods turned slowly and regularly1 in the manner above described1 till the twigs twisted themselves off below the fingers1 which were considerably indented by so forcibly holding the rods between them4 ',all the company present stood close around the lady1 with all eyes intently fixed on her hands and the rods1 to watch if any particular motion might be made by the fingers1 but in vain2 nothing of the kind was perceived1 and all the company could observe no cause or reason why the rods should move in the manner they were seen to do4 ,after the experiments were ended1 every one of the company tried the rods in the same manner as they saw the lady had done1 but without the least motion from any of them4 ,and1 in my family1 among ourselves1 we have since then several times tried if we could possibly cause the rod to turn by means of any trick1 or twisting of the fingers held in the manner the lady did2 but in vain2 we had no power to accomplish it4' ,the annexed figure represents the form and position of the rod1 about six inches in length1 cut off just below the joint or junction of the two twigs4 ,there can be no impropriety in stating now that the lady in question was the ,honorable ,lady ,milbanke1 wife of ,sir ,ralph ,milbanke1 ,bart41 7afterward ,noel17 and mother of the present ,dowager ,lady ,byron1 wife and widow of the great poet4 ,a very interesting analogous statement relating to the same person will be found in the ,quarterly ,review for ,march1 #ahbj1 ,no4 ,,xliv1 volume #bb4 ,lately1 in ,france1 the ,count de ,tristan has published a work on the subject1 and a most interesting volume1 containing two memoirs1 has been written by ,m4 ,thouvenel1 a physician of reputation in ,france1 who was commissioned in the year #agha1 by the king1 to analyze and report upon the mineral and medicinal waters of the kingdom4 ,the author undertakes a patient and laborious investigation1 in the spirit of a philosopher1 and regards his inquiries as leading to a new thread in the tangled skein of physics1 which1 like any fact of science1 may lead to the discovery of a thousand others2 a fact which may have escaped the vigilant sagacity of observers1 or which may have been totally abandoned to the blind credulity of worthy soft-headed persons1 or1 in short1 since the reign of a kind of false philosophy1 the offspring of scientific pride1 may have been delivered over to the presumption of men of false wisdom4 ,thouvenel found a man named ,bleton1 whose business was that of a sourcier1 or discoverer of springs by means of the divining rod1 and upon this man he made more than six hundred observations1 many of them in the presence of above one hundred and fifty persons1 mostly of important stations1 and very creditable from their high character1 who testify to the truth of the observed phenomena4 ,among others1 was ,m4 ,jadelet1 professor of physic at ,nancy1 a man eminent for his abilities1 who was not only a witness of these experiments1 but was actually concerned in the greatest part of them4 ,as in the case of ,lady ,milbanke1 with ,bleton an internal feeling was coincident with the movement of the rod4 ,whenever this man was in a place where there existed subterraneous waters1 he was immediately sensible of a lively impression1 referable to the diaphragm1 which he called his commotion4 ,this was followed by a sense of oppression in the upper part of the chest2 at the same time he felt a shock1 with general tremor and chilliness1 staggering of the legs1 stiffness of the wrists1 with twitchings1 a concentrated pulse1 which gradually diminished4 ,all these symptoms were more or less strong1 according to the volume and depth of the water1 and they were more sensibly felt when ,bleton went in a direction against the subterranean current than when he followed its course4 ,stagnant water under ground did not affect him2 nor did open sheets of water1 ponds1 lakes or rivers affect him4 ,the nervous system of this man must have been susceptible1 since he was more sensibly affected by change of weather and variations in the atmosphere than other persons2 otherwise he appeared healthy4 ,a severe acute disorder had absolutely at one time deprived him of the faculty of perceiving water1 and his sensibility in this respect did not return until three months after his recovery2 so that if he were sensitive1 he could not be classed among the sick sensitive4 ,but however remarkable these constitutional peculiarities may have been1 there was in ,bleton's case a more than usual distinctness in the behavior of the divining rod4 ,unlike many sourciers1 he did not grasp it closely2 he did not warm it in his hands2 he did not prefer a young1 hard branch1 forked1 newly plucked and full of sap4 ,his custom was to place horizontally on his forefinger and thumb a rod of any kind of wood 7except elder71 fresh or dry1 not forked1 only a little curved or bent4 ,a very straight rod failed to turn on its axis1 but a bent rod turned on its axis with more or less rapidity1 according to the quantity of the water and the force of the current4 ,thouvenel counted from thirty-five to eighty revolutions in a minute1 and always noted an exact proportion between the rotation of the rod and the convulsive motions of ,bleton4 ,if these memoirs be critically examined1 it will be found that the author experimented with full care to avoid every source of fallacy4 ,the natural motions of the rod on ,bleton's fingers were backward1 but as soon as he withdrew from the spring over which he stood1 in any direction whatever1 the rod1 which instantly ceased to turn1 was subject to a new law1 for at a determinate distance from the spring an action of rotation in a direction contrary to the former one took place4 ,this was invariable1 and upon measuring the distance of the spot where this retrograde phenomenon took place1 from the spring1 the depth could generally be found4 ,i pass over an account of numerous experiments made by this intelligent and careful observer1 pointing out the analogies of the known phenomena of electricity and magnetism1 by modifications resulting to the sensibility of ,bleton1 and the rotation of the rod by various ingenious electrical and magnetic trials suggested by the inventive sagacity of ,thouvenel1 in order to arrive at the curious anticipations of some of ,professor ,faraday's discoveries1 by means of the sensibility of ,bleton and the invariable laws which regulated the rotation of the divining rod1 when the experiments were made over places where various substances had been concealed under ground4 ,it was found that whether the trials were made in this manner1 or over masses of coal1 subterraneous currents of water or metallic veins1 the divining rod indicated a determined sphere of electric activity1 and was1 in fact1 an electrometrical rod4 ',of all the phenomena relating to the distinction of fossil bodies1' says ,thouvenel1 'acting by their electrical emanations1 doubtless the most surprising is this3 upon the mines of iron1 of whatever kind they may be1 the rods supported by the fingers of ,bleton turned constantly on their axes from behind forward1 as upon the mines of coal2 while upon other metallic mines1 as upon other metals extracted from their mines1 the rotary movement took place in the contrary direction1 that is to say1 from before backward4 ,this circular movement1 which never varies while ,bleton is in a perpendicular position over mines or upon metals1 presents revolutions as rapid and as regular as the revolutions in the contrary direction upon the mines of iron and coal4' ,the constitutional effects of spasms and convulsive twitchings took place more or less in all the veins1 but copper emanations excited very strong and disagreeable spasmodic symptoms1 accompanied by pains about the heart1 by flatulent movements in the bowels1 and by abundant eructations of air4 ,on lead1 there seemed to be less unpleasant consequences1 but stronger again on the mines of antimony4 ,having previously determined that for ,bleton1 on all the metals except iron1 there existed a sphere of electric activity which propagated itself toward the west1 a great number of experiments were made1 which always had the same results4 ,at the depth of two1 three or four feet under ground were buried gold1 silver1 copper1 tin1 lead and iron4 ,the weight of each was only from five to eight pounds4 ,in other similar pits1 pyrites of all kinds1 sulphur1 coal1 resin1 wax and lard were buried4 ,all these different deposits were made at distances from each other in gardens or in open country1 and they were so well covered over and concealed1 that nothing could be perceived but private marks1 to be known only by certain assistants4 ,over the resin1 wax and lard1 ,bleton experienced nothing4 ,over the coal1 there was a decided effect1 the convulsive tremor of muscle was manifest1 and the rod rotated from behind forward4 ,over the iron1 the same indications1 but more energetic4 ,a feeble impression from the sulphur1 but sufficient to establish a difference between it and the two preceding2 and the rod over the sulphur turned from before backward4 ,pyrites produced the same rotation as sulphur1 and a slight tendency of the electric sphere toward the west4 ,gold and copper especially exhibited strongly this singular tendency of the active electric emanations4 ,over silver1 tin and lead1 also1 it was more remarkable4 ,it extends itself more or less from the focus of the metals according to their depth and their mass4 ,for example1 in describing a circle having a radius of three or four feet from this focus1 ,bleton felt absolutely no action except on the line of the west4 ,it was the same when1 in proceeding from the vertical point of the focus1 he successively traversed all the radii of the circle1 or even if he went from all the points of the circumference to proceed to the center4 ,in these two inverse proceedings it was always only on the radii going westward1 that his person and the rods were affected by movements more or less intense1 according to the kinds of metal4 ,it must1 however1 be admitted that the action of these metals presenting only the differences of greater or less in degree1 either in the nervous and muscular impressions of the body or in the circular revolutions of the rods constantly moved from before backward1 these differences do not yield a certain means of distinguishing the five metals one from the other4 ,the object ,thouvenel had in view was nevertheless fulfilled1 for he had established the extent and the determination of a sphere of electric activity towards the west in certain metals and on sulphur which does not exist in the same manner1 on iron1 on coal1 or on streams of water4 ,to give a summary then of the relations of these phenomena to those established by ,professor ,faraday1 it may be said that over iron mines1 the divining rod assumes a movement of rotation diametrically opposite to that which it exhibits over all other mines4 ,when iron and other metals are extracted from their ores and deposited under ground1 the phenomenon occurs with the same distinction1 that is to say1 with the iron it rotates towards the north4 ,with all other metals submitted to trial1 its action is from east to west4 ,the influence of the red metals seems to be more energetic than that of the white4 ,but with regard to this divining rod1 let one condition be remarked--the relation of the organic substance to another organic and living power of matter1 to a human being in a certain susceptible state of nervous system4 ,thouvenel describes the symptoms which affected ,bleton when he was in the sphere of metallic action1 and the rod becomes the secondary part of a philosophical instrument composed of an impressionable human being and a piece of stick4 ,a highly respectable girl1 the lady's maid of a very clever and intelligent friend of mine residing in ,hertfordshire1 offers1 when she is mesmerized1 a great many deeply interesting phenomena4 ,she is as guileless and as good a being as can be met with1 and is much beloved by her excellent and amiable mistress who has repeatedly addressed me in her case4 ,if a piece of hazel stick or white thorn be presented to ,harriet1 she grasps it and sleeps mesmerically in less than a minute4 ,the sleep is at first very intense and deep1 and then the stick is held so firmly that the spasmodic state of the muscles renders it very difficult for even a powerful bystander to turn it in her hand4 ,harriet ,p's impressionability was put to a very useful purpose4 ,her mistress heard that she had a practice of 'dowsing' for water1 and writes thus to a friend1 ,july1 #ahde3 ',we made a carious experiment here1 some days since1 with ,harriet ,p----4 ,we have very bad water here and have long been unable to find a good spring4 ,mr4 ,g4 has in vain dug and dug for one4 ,i proposed the divining rod2 for said ,i1 ,dr4 ,ashburner would not think it a foolish experiment4 ,harriet ,p4 was willing1 so we went forth to a field the most likely one for a spring--,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,g41 myself1 and two friends staying here4 ,we put ,harriet to sleep with the hazel stick4 ,she grasped it so tightly we were obliged to use the gold chain4 ,she then held it only in one hand1 and immediately began to walk1 taking her own way4 ,she went very carefully for about twenty yards1 then suddenly stopped as if she had been shot4 ,not a word was uttered by any one4 ,we all looked on1 and were not a little surprised to see the rod slowly turn round until her hand was almost twisted backwards4 ,it looked as if it must pain her2 still no one spoke4 ,suddenly she exclaimed1 ,there6 there6 don't you see the stick turn8 ,the water is here1 under my hand4 ,i see1 oh1 ,i see2 let me look2 don't speak to me2 ,i like to look4 ,how deep is the water8 said ,mrs4 ,g41 speaking to ,harriet's fingers4 ,oh1 about three feet2 ,i can't quite tell1 but it is here4 ,in a moment1 to our astonishment1 she sank down on the grass1 and took the stick again in her hands4 ,we made a strange group around her1 as we were all much astonished to see what we had come there to see4 ,she seemed so like a witch4 ,we marked the place1 and1 after a few minutes1 we awoke her4 ,in the evening she was again mesmerized to sleep1 and we asked her what she saw at the spring4 ,why1 ,i saw water1 water everywhere4 ,then1 said ,i1 how do you know where the spring is8 ,oh1 because it goes trinkle1 trinkle1 ,i know it is there4 ,why did you sit down8 ,why1 because ,i was so giddy2 it seemed as if all was water but the little piece of ground ,i stood upon4 ,i saw so much water1 all fresh1 no sea4 ,i tried to see the sea but could not2 ,i could not at all4 ,mr4 ,g4 caused a large hole to be dug1 and just at the depth of three feet the water was found4 ,a brick well has been constructed1 and there is a good supply of excellent water4 ,no one could doubt the action of the rod1 it turned so evidently of itself in her hand4 ,of course1 when awake1 ,harriet knew nothing of the circumstance4' ,so many and so various are the testimonies and the facts relating to the divining rod1 that it would be tedious to recite the hundreds of respectable documents offered by those authors who have written on the subject4 ,a work by ,tardy de ,montravel1 printed in #agha1 entitled ,memoire ,physique et ,medicinale sur la ,baguette ,divinatoire1 abounds in testimonies of the truth of the same class of facts4 ,one of the most curious works on this subject1 is a little book entitled ,occult ,physics1 or treatise on the ,divining ,wand and on its utility in the discovery of springs of water1 mines1 concealed treasures1 thieves1 and escaped murderers1 with principles which explain the most obscure phenomena of ,nature1 by ,l4 ,l4 de ,vallemont1 ,ph4,d4 ,this work1 embellished with plates1 illustrating the different kinds of divining rods with the various modes of holding them for use1 appeared at the latter part of the seventeenth century1 and passed through several editions in ,france and ,holland4 ,it is remarkable for much curious literary and historical learning1 and for able statements of the arguments which were used in the controversies rife at that period1 on the realities of the facts under consideration4 ,it contains a curious catalogue of a great number of mines discovered in ,france1 by means of the divining rod1 made out by a ,german mineralogist employed for the purpose by the ,cardinal de ,richelieu4 99 99 99 99 99 ,from ,cyclopedia ,americana4 ,,divining ,,rod4--,a rod made with certain superstitions ceremonies1 either single and curved1 or with two branches like a fork1 of wood1 brass or other metal4 ,the rod is held in a particular way1 and if it bends towards one side1 those who use the rod believe it to be an indication that there is treasure under the spot4 ,some publications respecting a man who1 in quite recent times pretended to be able to discover water and metals under the ground by his feelings1 attracted much attention4 ,campetti1 an ,italian1 born at ,gargnano1 on ,lake ,garda1 has attracted much attention in our time by pretending to be capable of ascertaining by his feelings the places where metals and water exist under ground4 ,many experiments seem to confirm his statements4 ,the ,king of ,bavaria sent for him in #ahjf1 and he came to ,munich1 where the experiments were renewed4 ,these experiments were chiefly made with pendulums of sulphurous pyrites1 which are said to vibrate if brought near to metals4 ,rhabdomancy is the power considered by some as existing in particular individuals1 partly natural and partly acquired1 of discovering things hid in the earth1 especially metals1 ores1 and bodies of water1 by a change in their perceptions1 and likewise the art of aiding the discovery of these substances by the use of certain instruments2 for example1 the divining rod4 ,that rhabdomancy1 generally speaking1 is little more than self-delusion1 or intentional deception1 is now the opinion of most natural philosophers and physiologists4 ,still it has some champions4 ,from the most remote periods1 indications are found of the art of discovering veins of ore and water concealed in the bowels of the earth1 by a direct perception of their existence4 ,the divining rod is held in the hand so that the curvature is inclined outward4 ,if the person who holds the rod possesses the powers of rhabdomancy1 and touches the metallic or any other magnetic substance1 or comes near them1 a slow1 rotatory motion of the rod ensues in different directions1 according to particular circumstances2 and1 as in the other cases1 no motion takes place without a direct or indirect contact with a living person4 ,in the ,south of ,france and ,switzerland this art is frequently made use of under the name of ,,metalloscope 7when discovering or feeling for metals17 and of ,,hydroscope 7when discovering or feeling for water74 99 99 99 99 99 ,from ,chamber's ,cyclopedia4 ,,the ,,divining ,,rod--often called the ,virgula ,divina1 the ,baculus ,divinatorius1 the ,caduceus1 or ,wand of ,mercury1 the ,rod of ,aaron1 etc4--is a forked branch1 usually of hazel1 sometimes of iron1 or even brass or copper1 by which it has been pretended that minerals and water have been discovered beneath the surface of the earth4 ,the rod when suspended by the two prongs1 sometimes between the balls of the thumbs1 will distinctly indicate by a decided inclination1 it is alleged1 the spot over which the concealed mine or spring is situated4 ,many men1 even of some pretensions to scientific knowledge1 have been believers in the occult power ascribed to the magic wand4 ,agricola1 ,sperlingius1 and ,kirchmayer1 all believed in its supernatural influence4 ,so did ,richelet1 the author of the ,dictionary4 ,the learned ,morhoff remained in suspense1 while ,thouvenot and ,pryce1 in the latter part of the eighteenth century1 gave ample records of its power4 ,in a work published by ,dr4 ,herbert ,mayo1 in #ahdg and #ahea1 entitled1 ,on the ,truth ,contained in ,popular ,superstitions1 he gave some curious illustrations of the art1 supposed to be possessed by one in forty of the ,cornish miners4 ,at ,weilbach1 in ,nassau1 he likewise met with one ,leebold1 who1 he says1 possessed the power1 but afterwards lost it4 ,arthur ,phippen1 in #ahec1 published a pamphlet containing an account of two professional diviners1 or dowsers4 ,one of them1 named ,adams1 gave remarkable indications of being able to detect water underground4 ,he not only was able to discover the particular spot where the water might be found1 he could even perceive a whole line of water running underground4 99 99 99 99 99 ,from ,hartwig's ,subterranean ,world4 ,as far back as the eleventh century1 the divining rod came into practice and found full credence in a superstitious age4 ,a forked branch of hazel tree1 cut during a peculiar phase of the moon1 was the means employed in ,germany for the discovery of buried treasures1 of veins of metals1 of deposits of salt1 or of subterranean sources4 ,but the miraculous rod did not indiscriminately show its power in every hand4 ,it was necessary to have been born in certain months1 and soft and warm1 or--according to modern expression1 magnetic fingers were indispensable for handling it with effect4 ,the diviner possessing these qualifications took hold of the rod by its branches so that the stem into which they united was directed upwards4 ,on approaching the spot where the sought for treasure lay concealed1 the magical rod slowly turned towards it1 until finally the stem had fully changed its position1 pointed vertically downwards4 ,to increase the solemnity of the scene1 the wily conjurers generally traced magical circles1 that were not to be passed1 burnt strong smelling herbs and spices1 and uttered powerful charms1 to disarm the enmity of the evil spirits that were supposed to guard the hidden treasures4 99 99 99 99 99 ,from ,american ,cyclopedia4 ,,divining ,,rod4--,the increase of knowledge has not yet expelled even from the educated portions of the ,united ,states all faith in the magic virtues of this instrument4 ,there is a mystery in the hidden flow of subterranean courses of water1 and in the occurrence of deposits of valuable ores1 which encourage a resort to mysterious methods for discovering them4 ,if the wise can point to no sure clue to them1 the ignorant pretender does not fail to find one1 which to many is all the more acceptable for its extravagant pretensions and inexplicable nature4 ,it is stated by a writer in the ,american ,journal of ,science1 7,vol4 #aa1 #ahbf17 that the divining rod has been in frequent use since the eleventh century4 ,a work was published in ,france1 in #ahga1 detailing six hundred experiments made to ascertain the facts attributed to it1 by which is unfolded1 according to this work1 their resemblance to the admirable and uniform laws of electricity and magnetism4 ,these sciences still continue to be appealed to in order to support in some vague way phenomena which defy other means of explication4 ,as commonly used1 the divining rod is a forked1 slender stick of witch hazel2 elastic twigs1 however1 of any sort1 or even two sticks of whale-bone fastened together at one end1 do not appear to be rejected in the want of the hazel tree4 ,one branch of the twig is taken in each hand between the thumb and forefinger1 the two ends pointing down4 ,holding the stick in this position1 the palms towards the face1 the gifted operator passes over the surface of the ground2 and whenever the upper point of the stick bends over and points downward1 there he affirms the spring or metallic vein will be found4 ,some even pretend to designate the distance below the surface according to the force of the movement1 or according to the diameter of the circle over which the action is perceived1 one rule being that the depth is half the diameter of this circle2 whence1 the deeper the object is1 below the surface1 the further is its influence exerted4 ,it is observable that a rod so held will of necessity turn as the hands are closed more tightly upon it1 though this has at first the appearance of serving to resist its motion4 ,from the character of many who use the rod and believe in it1 it is also plain that this force is exerted without any intention or consciousness on their part1 and that they are themselves honestly deceived by the movement4 ,on putting the experiment to the test by digging1 if water is found it proves the genuineness of the operation2 if it is not found1 something else is1 to which the effect is attributed1 or the water which attracted the rod is sure to be met with if the digging is only continued deep enough4 ,some ingenuity is therefore necessary to expose the deception4 ,the writer above referred to succeeded in showing the absurdity of the operation by taking the diviners over the same ground twice1 the second time blindfolded1 and each time marking the points designated by the rod4 ,this1 however1 is a test to which they are not often willing to subject their art4 ,some operators do not require a forked twig4 ,there was1 in #aheg1 and may be still1 within less than one hundred miles from ,new ,york1 a man who believed himself gifted in the use of the divining rod1 and was occasionally sent for to go great distances1 to determine the position of objects of value sunk in the lakes1 of ores and of wells of water4 ,he carried several little cylinders of tin1 but what they contained was a secret4 ,one had an attraction for iron1 another for copper1 a third for water1 etc4 ,he had in his hand a little rattan cane1 which he used as not likely to excite the observation of those he met4 ,taking one of the cylinders out of his pocket he slipped the rattan into a socket in its end1 and holding in his hands the other end of the stick1 he set the contrivance bobbing up and down and around4 ,that it was attracted and drawn towards any body of ore in the vicinity he was evidently convinced4 99 99 99 99 99 ,from ,notes and ,queries4 ,,divining ,,rod4--,divination by the rod or wand is mentioned in the prophecy of ,ezekiel4 ,hosea1 too1 reproaches the ,jews as being infected with the like superstition3 ,my people ask counsel at their stocks and their staff declareth unto them4 ,chap4 iv1 #ab4 ,not only the ,chaldeans used rods for divination1 but almost every nation which has pretended to that science1 has practiced the same method4 ,herodotus mentions it as a custom of the ,alani1 and ,tacitus of the old ,germans4 ,see ,cambridge's ,scribleriad1 book ,v1 note on line #ba4 ,in the manuscript ,discourse on ,witchcraft1 #agje1 written by ,mr4 ,john ,bell1 page #da1 ,i find the following account from ,theophylact on the subject of rabdomanteia or rod-divination3 ,they set up two staffs1 and1 having whispered some verses and incantations1 the staffs fell by the operation of dmons4 ,then they considered which way each of them fell--forward or backward1 to the right or left hand--and agreeably gave responses1 having made use of the fall of their staffs for their signs4 ,dr4 ,henry1 in his ,history of ,great ,britain1 tells us 7,,ii1 #eej71 that after the ,anglo-,saxons and ,danes embraced the ,christian religion1 the clergy were commanded by the canons to preach very frequently against diviners1 sorcerers1 auguries1 omens1 charms1 incantations1 and all the filth of the wicked and dotages of the ,gentiles4 ,the following is from ,epigrams1 etc41 published ,london1 #afea--,virgula ,divina3 ,some sorcerers do boast they have a rod1 ,gathered with vowes and sacrifice1 ,and 7borne about7 will strangely nod ,to hidden treasure where it lies2 ,mankind is 7sure7 that rod divine1 ,for to the wealthiest 7ever7 they incline4 ,the earliest use made of the divining rod by the miners was for the discovery of the lode4 ,so late as three years ago 7#ahej71 the process has been tried4 ,the method of procedure was to cut the twig of an hazel or apple-tree of twelve months' growth1 into a forked shape1 and to hold this by both hands in a peculiar way1 walking across the land until the twig bent1 which was taken as an indication of the locality of the lode4 ,the person who generally practises this divination boasts himself to be the seventh son of a seventh son4 ,the twig of hazel bends in his hands to the conviction of the miners that ore is present2 but then the peculiar manner in which the twig is held1 bringing muscular action to bear upon it1 accounts for its gradual deflection1 and the circumstance of the strata walked over always containing ore gives a further credit to the process of divination4 ,the vulgar notion still prevalent in the north of ,england of the hazel's tendency to a vein of lead ore1 seam or stratum of coal1 etc41 seems to be a vestige of this rod divination4 ,the virgula divina or baculus divinatorius is a forked branch in the form of a ,y1 cut off an hazel stick1 by means whereof people have pretended to discover mines1 springs1 etc41 underground4 ,the method of using it is this3 the person who bears it1 walking very slowly over the places where he suspects mines or springs may be1 the effluvia exhaling from the metals1 or vapor from the water impregnating the wood1 makes it dip or decline1 which is the sign of a discovery4 ,in the ,living ,library or ,historical ,meditations we read3 ,no man can tell why forked sticks of hazill 7rather than sticks of other trees growing upon the very same places7 are fit to shew the places where the veins of gold and silver are4 ,see ,lilly's ,history of his ,life and ,times1 for a curious experiment 7which he confesses1 however1 to have failed71 to discover hidden treasure by the hazel rod4 ,in the ,gentleman's ,magazine1 for ,february1 #ageb1 xxii1 #gg1 we read3 ,m4 ,linnus1 when he was upon his voyage to ,scania1 hearing his secretary highly extol the virtues of his divining rod1 was willing to convince himself of its insufficiency1 and for that purpose concealed a purse of one hundred ducats under a ranunculus which grew by itself in a meadow and bid the secretary find it if he could4 ,the wand discovered nothing1 and ,m4 ,linnus's mark was soon trampled down by the company who were present2 so that when ,m4 ,linnus went to finish the experiment by fetching the gold himself1 he was utterly at a loss where to seek it4 ,the man with the wand assisted him and pronounced that it could not lie the way they were going1 but quite the contrary2 so he pursued the direction of his wand and actually dug out the gold4 ,m4 ,linnus adds1 that such another experiment would make a proselyte of him4 ,we read in the same book for ,november1 #agea1 xxi1 #ejg3 ,so early as ,agricola1 the divining rod was in much request1 and has obtained great credit for its discovery where to dig for metals and springs of water2 for some years past its reputation has been on the decline1 but lately it has been revived by an ingenious gentleman who1 from numerous experiments1 hath good reason to believe its effects to be more than imagination4 ,he says that hazel and willow rods1 he has by experience found1 will actually answer1 with all persons in a good state of health1 if they are used with moderation and at some distance of time1 and after meals1 when the operator is in good spirits4 ,the hazel1 willow and elm are all attracted by springs of water4 ,some persons have the virtue intermittently2 the rod in their hands will attract one half hour and repel the next4 ,the rod is attracted by all metals1 coals1 amber and limestone1 but with different degrees of strength4 ,the best rods are those from the hazel or nut tree1 as they are pliant and tough and cut in the winter months4 ,a shoot that terminates equally forked is to be met with--two single ones of a length and size may be tied together by a thread and will answer as well as the other4 ,in the supplement to the ,athenian ,oracle1 p4 #bcd1 we read that the experiment of a hazel's tendency 'to a vein' of lead ore is limited to ,st4 ,john ,baptist's ,eve1 and that with an hazel of that same year's growth4 ,there is a treatise in ,french entitled1 ,la ,phisique ,occulte ou ,traite de la ,baguette ,divinatoire1 et de son utilite pour la decouverte des sources d',eau1 des ,minieres1 de ,tresors caches1 des ,voleurs et des ,meurtriers fugitifs3 par ,m4 ,l4 ,l4 de ,vallemont pretre et docteur en theologie2 #ab mo41 ,amsterdam1 #afic4 #dfd pages4 99 99 99 99 99 ,from ,brand's ,popular ,antiquities4 ,at the end of ,henry ,alan's edition of ,cicero's treatise ,de ,divinatione1 and ,de ,fate1 #ahci1 will be found ,catalogus auctorum de divinatione ac fato1 de oraculis1 de somniis1 de astrologia1 de dmonibus1 de magia id genus aliis4 ,with the divining rod seems connected a lusus naturae of ash tree bough resembling the litui of the ,roman augurs and the ,christian pastoral staff which still obtains a place1 if not on this account ,i know not why1 in the catalogue of popular superstitions4 ,seven or eight years ago1 ,i remember to have seen one of these1 which ,i thought extremely beautiful and curious1 in the house of an old woman at ,beeralston1 in ,devonshire1 of whom ,i would most gladly have purchased it2 but she declined parting with it on any account1 thinking it would be unlucky to do so4 ,mr4 ,gostling1 in the ,antiquarian ,repertory1 ii1 #afd1 has some observations on this subject4 ,he thinks the lituus or staff1 with the crook at one end1 which the augurs of old carried as badges of their profession and instruments in the superstitious exercise of it1 was not made of metal but of the substance above mentioned4 ,whether1 says he1 to call it a work of art or nature may be doubted3 some were probably of the former kind2 others1 ,hogarth1 in his ,analysis of ,beauty1 calls lusus natur found in plants of different sorts1 and in one of the plates of that work gives a specimen of a very elegant one1 a branch of ash4 ,i should rather1 continues he1 style it a distemper or distortion of nature2 for it seems the effect of a wound by some insect which1 piercing to the heart of the plant with its proboscis1 poisons that1 while the bark remains uninjured and proceeds in its growth1 but formed into various stripes1 flatness and curves for the want of the support which nature designed it4 ,the beauty1 some of these arrive at1 might well consecrate them to the mysterious fopperies of heathenism1 and their rarity occasions imitations of them by art4 ,the pastoral staff of the ,church of ,rome seems to have been formed from the vegetable litui1 though the general idea is that it is an imitation of the shepherd's crook4 ,the engravings given in the ,antiquarian ,repertory are of carved branches of the ash4 99 99 99 99 99 ,from ,modern ,magic1 by ,m4 ,shele de ,vere1 published #ahgc4 ,the relations in which some men stand to nature are sometimes so close as to enable them to make discoveries which are impossible to others4 ,this is1 for instance1 the case with persons who feel the presence of waters or of metals4 ,the former have1 from time immemorial1 generally used a wand1 the so-called divining rod1 which1 according to ,pliny1 was already known to the ancient ,etruscans as a means for the discovery of hidden springs4 ,an ,italian author1 ,amoretti1 who has given special attention to this subject1 states that at least every fifth man is susceptible to the influence of water and metals1 but this is evidently an over-estimate4 ,in recent times many persons have been known to possess this gift of discovering hidden springs or subterranean masses of water1 and these have but rarely employed an instrument4 ,catharine ,beutler1 of ,thurgovia1 in ,switzerland1 and ,anna ,maria ,brugger1 of the same place1 were both so seriously affected by the presence of water that they fell into violent nervous excitement when they happened to cross places beneath which1 large quantities were concealed1 and became perfectly exhausted4 ,in ,france1 a class of men1 called sourciers1 have for ages possessed this instinctive power of perceiving the presence of water1 and others1 like the famous ,abbe ,paramelle1 have cultivated the natural gift till they were finally enabled1 by a mere cursory examination of a landscape1 to ascertain whether large masses of water were hidden anywhere1 and to indicate the precise spots where they might be found4 ,why water and metals should almost always go hand in hand in connection with this peculiar gift1 is not quite clear2 but the staff of ,hermes1 having probably the form of the divining rod was always represented as giving the command over the treasures of the earth1 and the ,orphic ,hymn 7v4 #ebg17 calls it--hence1 the golden rod1 producing wealth and happiness4 ,on the other hand1 the ,aqu ,virga1 the nymph of springs1 had also a divining rod in her hand1 and ,numa1 inspired by a water-nymph1 established the worship of waters in connection of that of the dead4 ,for here1 also1 riches and death seem to have entered into a strange alliance4 ,del ,rio1 in his ,disquisitiones ,magic1 mentions thus the ,rahuri of ,spain--the lynx-eyed1 as he translates the name--who were able1 on ,wednesdays and ,saturdays1 to discover all the veins of metals or of water beneath the surface1 all hidden treasures and corpses in their coffins4 ,there is at least one instance recorded1 where a person possessed the power to see even more than the ,rahuris4 ,this was a ,portuguese lady1 ,pedegache1 who first attracted attention by being able to discover subterranean springs and their connections1 a gift which brought her great honors after she had informed the king of all the various supplies of water which were hidden near a palace which he was about to build4 ,shafts were sunk according to her directions1 and not only water was found but also various soils and stones which she had foretold would have to be pierced4 ,she also seems to have cultivated her talent1 for we hear of her next being able to discover treasures1 even valuable antique statues in the interior of houses1 and finally she reached such a degree of intuition that she saw the inner parts of the human body1 and pointed out their diseases and defects4 ,the divining rod1 originally a twig of willow or hazel1 is often made of metal1 and the impression prevails that in such cases an electric current arising from the subterranean water or metals enters the diviner's body by the feet1 passes through him1 and finally affects the two branches of the rod1 which represent opposite poles4 ,it is certain that when the electric current is interrupted1 the power of the divining rod is suspended4 99 99 99 99 99 ,from ,notes and ,queries4 ,perhaps1 like many of your correspondents1 ,i had imagined that the supposed properties of the divining rod had been a discovery recently made1 either by the great ,american artist1 ,mr4 ,barnum1 or by one of ,dii ,minores of this country4 ,to my mortification1 however1 ,i find that it is as old as the hills1 or at least contemporaneous with the ,sortes ,virgilian1 et id genus omne4 ,i have before me the works of ,mr4 ,abraham ,cowley1 in two vols4 #ab mo41 ,london1 #afha1 and in one of his ,pindarique ,odes1 addressed to ,mr4 ,hobs1 ,i find the following lines3 ,to walk in ruines like vain ghosts1 we love1 ,and with fond divining wands1 ,we search among the dead ,for treasures buried4 ,and to these lines is added the following note3 ,virgula ,divina1 or divining wand1 is a two-forked branch of a hazel tree which is used for the finding out either of veins or hidden treasures of gold or silver1 and being carried about bends downwards 7or rather is said to do so17 when it comes to the place where they lye4 ,in the first edition of his ,mathematical ,recreations1 ,dr4 ,hutton laughed at the divining rod4 ,in the interval between that and the second edition a lady made him change his note1 by using one before him1 at ,woolwich4 ,hutton had the courage to publish the account of the experiment in his second edition1 after the account he had previously given4 ,by a letter from ,hutton to ,bruce1 printed in the memoir of the former which the latter wrote1 it appears that the lady was ,lady ,milbanke4 ,a ,cornish lady informs me that the ,cornish miners to this day use the divining rod4 ,however the pretended effect of the divining rod may be attributed to knavery and credulity by philosophers who will not take the trouble of witnessing and investigating the operation1 any one who will pay a visit to the ,mendip ,hills1 in ,somersetshire1 and the country around their base1 may have abundant proof of the efficacy of it4 ,its success has been very strikingly proved along the range of the ,pennard ,hills1 also1 to the south of the ,mendip4 ,the faculty of discovering water by means of the divining rod is not possessed by every one1 for indeed there are but few who possess it in any considerable degree1 or in whose hands the motion of the rod1 when passing over an underground stream1 is very decided1 and they who have it are quite unconscious of their capability until made aware of it by experiment4 ,i saw the operation of the rod1 or rather of a fork formed by the shoots of the last year1 held in the hands of the experimenter by the extremities1 with the angle projecting before him4 ,when he came over the spot beneath which the water flowed1 the rod1 which had before been perfectly still1 writhed about with considerable force1 so that the holder could not keep it in its former position1 and he appealed to the bystanders to notice that he had made no motion to produce this effect1 and used every effort to prevent it4 ,the operation was several times repeated with the same result1 and each time under the close inspection of shrewd and doubting1 if not incredulous observers4 ,forks of any kind of green wood served equally well1 but those of dead wood had no effect4 ,the experimenter had discovered water1 in several instances1 in the same parish 7,pennard71 but was perfectly unaware of his capability till he was requested by his landlord to try4 ,the operator had the reputation of a perfectly honest man1 whose word might be safely trusted1 and who was incapable of attempting to deceive any one--as indeed appeared by his open and ingenuous manner and conversation on this occasion4 ,he was a farmer1 and respected by all his neighbors4 ,so general is the conviction of the efficacy of the divining rod in discovering both water and the ores of calameni or zinc all over the ,mendip1 that the people are quite astonished when any doubt is expressed about it4 ,the late ,dr4 ,hutton wrote against the pretension1 as one of many instances of deception founded upon gross ignorance and credulity1 when a lady of quality1 who herself possessed the faculty1 called upon him and gave him experimental proof1 in the neighborhood of ,woolwich1 that water was discoverable by that means4 ,this1 ,dr4 ,hutton afterwards publicly acknowledged4 99 99 99 99 99 ,after delivering my essay before the ,civil ,engineers' ,club of the ,northwest1 the following letter was forwarded to me by the secretary3 ,,brownsville1 ,,tenn4 ,,gentlemen3--,i notice that at a meeting of your honorable ,club1 ,mr4 ,latimer read an essay upon the subject of the ,divining ,rod1 and seemed to be at a loss to know how to tell whether the rod's movements pointed to or indicated any particular substance under the earth4 ,i am now seventy-three years of age1 and have been studying and experimenting with it since twenty years of age4 ,i am not satisfied what causes the motion of it in my hands1 but by experimenting1 ,i can tell to a certainty whether ,i am over any substance1 either water or mineral1 or whether it is sulphur1 salt or any other kind of water4 ,i am glad that investigation in this is being made by scientific men1 and hope some day it may profit man4 ,for any information you may want1 address me at ,brownsville1 ,tennessee4 ,very respectfully1 ,,harry ,,sangster4 ,upon receipt of this letter from ,mr4 ,sangster1 ,i wrote to him asking him to explain to me upon what principle he could discover the difference between metals and water1 and between one kind of water and another4 ,to this ,i have received the following answer1 just in time to add it to this publication3 ,,brownsville1 ,may #aj1 #ahgf4 ,c4 ,,latimer1 ,,esq41 ,cleveland1 ,ohio3 ,,dear ,,sir3--,your favor of the #eth inst4 is before me2 also that of the #aeth ult4 ,you must excuse me for not answering the latter sooner1 owing to ill health and other causes4 ,i am glad to furnish you all the information in my power relative to the matter in question1 because ,i would like to see it developed--as ,i believe it will be eventually--into a tangible1 practical and useful science4 ,the prejudice now prevailing against it will1 in my opinion1 ere long be dispelled4 ,it is impossible for me1 in the space of a letter1 to give a full statement of my views1 theory and experience on the subject of finding the locality of metals1 minerals and water under the surface of the ground2 but will endeavor to answer the inquiry of your first letter as concisely and explicitly as possible4 ,i understand fully the method of calculating the depth of water beneath the surface4 ,what you wish to know is1 after the substance is shown to exist beneath a certain point1 whether it be mineral1 metal or water1 and the kind1 character and description of each4 ,as you are aware of the fact1 the simple forked rod will indicate the presence of either of these4 ,now1 to tell which of these it is1 and the character of the same2 if it be water1 the kind of water4 ,this is my method of testing the same1 whether it be water1 mineral or metal3 ,it is on the principle of affinity--the attraction that like substances have for each other4 ,after the rod indicates the particular spot1 ,i take a sponge and saturate it with ordinary drinking water1 either from spring or well1 and put it on the top of the rod1 and test it with this4 ,if the substance beneath be water1 and the same kind of that in the sponge1 it will turn much stronger1 and the demonstration be more active and powerful4 ,but1 if the rod should not turn at all1 it will be some other substance1 either mineral or metal4 ,to test the kind of water1 after ,i am satisfied that it is water--to discover1 for instance1 whether it be sulphur water1 ,i dip my sponge in that kind of water1 and test as above4 ,if the movement of the rod be active and strong when this is done1 the water below will be that species of water4 ,if salt water1 dip the sponge in that kind of water1 and the result will be similar2 and so on through the whole catalogue of waters4 ,in regard to the metals4 ,the tests are made in a similar manner4 ,after ,i discover by proper tests that it is a metal1 which are as follows3 ,if it be metal or mineral1 after the sponge is saturated with water1 the rod will not act at all4 ,i then put a piece of metal on the top of the rod2 first1 a small bit of iron4 ,if there is no movement of the rod at the spot already indicated1 it is safe to conclude that the substance is not of that nature2 so ,i continue the experiment with different kinds of metal--lead1 silver1 copper1 tin1 gold1 etc41 until ,i find some one of these that will cause the rod to turn and operate in a manner sufficiently strong and satisfactory4 ,the same method pertains to the minerals4 ,of course1 a great deal of the practical operations of these various tests1 will depend upon one's discretion and judgment at the time they are made1 which it is impossible to put upon paper4 ,this is but a general outline of the system4 ,if ,i can be of any further assistance to you in the investigation of this subject1 do not fail to let me know of it4 ,would be pleased to hear from you at any and all times4 ,be sure and send me your pamphlet4 ,yours1 respectfully1 ,,harry ,,sangster4 ,immediately after receiving this letter1 ,i made some experiments as follows3 ,i took a green1 forked twig1 and found that over iron water-pipe1 gas-pipe1 and over a cistern of water1 it turned down vigorously4 ,i then took a wet rag and fastened it on top of the twig or rod4 ,as ,mr4 ,sangster testifies1 ,i found it powerless over the iron water-pipe and over the gas-pipe1 but it turned rapidly over the cistern4 ,i put a key on the end of the rod over the wet rag2 then the rod turned over both iron pipes promptly4 ,again1 ,i took off the rag and put the key on the rod1 and walking to the cistern1 found that there was no movement4 ,i took off the key and the rod turned instantly4 ,i have no doubt but that he is correct as regards other metals4 ,,conclusion4 ,if any one1 after the perusal of these pages1 is disposed to doubt the efficacy of the divining rod1 he will find it at least difficult to explain the coincidences between my experiences and those of the various persons presented in the foregoing pages--all confirming most fully conclusions reached by me1 after many experiments made when quite alone4 ,and1 he must be even more eccentric than ,l',homme la ,baguette1 who does not find in the subject a treasure hidden1 well worthy of his research4 ,it will be noticed that ,i can lay claim to no originality1 or rather to no knowledge beyond that of the greater number of the parties mentioned1 in regard to the fact of the discovery of minerals or waters2 but1 ,i find myself in advance in two essentials4 ,first1 ,i absolutely proved1 by insulating myself on glass or ,india rubber sandals1 that the electric emanations were cut off4 ,secondly1 that these emanations universally radiate at an angle of forty-five degrees from the horizontal1 and thus the calculation of the depth below the surface1 is simply the solution of a mathematical problem4 ,in this theory of the invariable law of electric emanations1 ,i have received the strongest confirmation in the perusal of ,baron ,von ,reichenbach's ,dynamics of ,magnetism4 ,by numerous and varied experiments1 ,reichenbach proved that from metals1 and especially from magnets1 there is a constant emanation of electric flame upward1 at an angle of forty-five degrees with the horizon4 ,for a more serious study of the subject1 ,i refer the reader to the work itself1 which is full of curious and well authenticated experiences4 ,finally1 ,i would paraphrase the words of my friend1 the renowned ,pedro ,garcia3 ,to thee1 whomsoever thou art1 who mayst have the genius to investigate and the courage to face wise fools1 ,i predict a valuable discovery1 which will benefit the human race4 ,,the ,,end4