A FEW NoriCS ON WATKR DIVININC;. 205 



reason for their successes being princi])ally with small supplies 

 of under 100,000 gallons per day. 



In 1887, at the annual audit of the accounts of the Urban 

 District Council of Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England, the Local 

 Government Auditor, I\lr. W. A. Casson, refused to pass an 

 account which had been i)ai(l to a well-known diviner. The 

 objection was raised by several ratepayers, who produced geo- 

 logical plans and sections showing that, if the diviner's recom- 

 mendation was acted upon, the Council would be boiling into a 

 stratum o'f Oxford clay, the thickness of which had been proved 

 by boring to a de]:)th of 700 feet. 



An automatic water finder has been invented for indicating 

 water up to 1,000 feet in depth. 



]n the ])amphlet issued l)y the makers they say: — 



The principle on which the instrnment works is the measuring of the 

 strength of the currents which flow between the earth and the atmosphere, 

 and which are always strongest in the vicinit\- of subterranean water 

 courses the flowing waters of which are charged with electricity to a 

 certain degree. Should a subterranean spring be present under the instru- 

 ment the needle commences to move and the observer must carefully note 

 the number of degrees the needle moves on the scale, and the position of 

 the instrument should be changed from time to time ; the spot where the 

 greatest movement of the needle has been obtained is that where the boring 

 should be carried out. 



If the needle remains stationar}-, it may be taken for granted that a 

 subterranean spring does not exist under the spot where the instrument is 

 fixed. 



The cost of the instrument in England is £50, for depths up 

 to 500 feet. 



The makers also say : — 



In all cases where our staff use the Patent Automatic Water-Finder 

 we are prepared to liore on the principle of no zvater no pa\. 



A few experiments ha\e been made at Zuurl^ekom, with an 

 instrument belonging to Mr. Ford, of Johannesburg, but they 

 were most unsatisfactory. Tt is, however, possible that the in- 

 strument was not in good working order, and it will be advisable 

 to carry out a further set of experiments before giving a definite 

 opinion about it. 



The ])hilosopher " Albinus," as far back as the year 1700, 

 wrote : — 



_ I ween tliat no confoundcdcr thing is to be found in the world than the 

 divining rod business, for whatsoever is right and fit according to one, the 

 same is wrong and unfit according to others, until there is no good to be 

 presumed out of so much confusion. 



This, T think, clearly sun.is up the position to-day. 



In conclusion. I may add that tlie divining rod has been used 

 by myself, and this has led me to take an unbiassed view in dis- 

 cussing the matter. There is no dotrbt that diviners have been 

 successful in many cases, but I do not think that an\- Engineer 

 would be justified in expending large sums of money on the 

 recommendation of a diviner. 



