332 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1928 



III. THE EVIDENCE FOR DIVINING 



The decision between these conflicting explanations must depend 

 on the evidence. It is overwhelming in quantity, and though I 

 have dijDped into it for years I have not read a hundredth part of 

 it. Fortunately, however, the best evidence has been collected and 



summarized by advocates of 

 water divining. Barrett and 

 Besterman's Divining Kod, 

 and the series of works by 

 Mager state the case for the 

 action of the divining rod by 

 psychic and physical causes, 

 respectively. 



Barrett and Besterman 

 (1926, Chap. IV, pp. 65-102) 

 put forward three cases as of 

 especial weight — those at 

 Horsham, Waterford, and 

 Carrigoona. Near Horsham 

 in northwest Sussex Mullins 

 found water for Sir Henry 

 Harben at Warnham Lodge. 

 The country consists of a 

 sheet of Weald Clay with, to 

 the southeast of the house, 

 a low hill capped by a bed of sandstone. Around the top of this 

 hill (fig. 6) five wells were sunk at sites selected by Mullins; water 

 was found in two cases at the depth of 12 feet, in one at 19 feet, in 

 another at 35 feet, and in the well C, apparently a misprint for G, 

 at a depth unstated. 

 Mullins' selection of 

 these sites and his suc- 

 cess do not appear sur- 

 prising. Many hills in 

 the clay districts of the 

 southeast of England 

 are capped by sand, 

 gravel, or sandstone, 

 which protects the clay 

 from being worn away by wind and rain. In many cases the only 

 chance for shallow wells is upon such hills, for their porous beds are 

 charged with rain water which is discharged by springs or wells. 

 The occurrence of water on the hill at Warnham would appear prob- 

 able to one experienced in well sinking in such positions, for the 



15 Wabxhau LoDiii Par 



(II !.1) 



Figure 6. — Barrett & Besterman's Figure 15 



WATERFORD 

 99 



Figure 



^lo 10 The WATturoRO ExPeniMENT 



7. — Barrett & Besterman's Figure 19 



