CHAPTER VII. 

 LOCATION AND MOVEMENTS OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. 



Fallacy of the Divining Rod. Numerous mechanical devices 

 have been proposed for. detecting the presence of underground 

 water, ranging in complexity from the simple forked branch of 

 witch-hazel, peach or other wood, to more or less elaborate me- 

 chanical or electric contrivances. Many of the operators of these 

 devices, especially those who use the home-cut forked branch, 

 are entirely honest in the belief that the working of the rod is 

 influenced by agencies usually regarded as electric currents 

 following underground streams of water that are entirely inde- 

 pendent of their own bodies, and many uneducated people have 

 implicit faith in their ability to locate underground water in this 

 way. 



Rods of this type have been carefully tested by the writer, 

 who early found that at times they worked entirely independently 

 of his will. This, by most people would be regarded as conclu- 

 sive evidence of their efficacy, and if water was not found beneath 

 the spot where the rod turned down it would always be because 

 one "didn't go deep enough." 



As a matter of fact, though the rod turned down in the hands 

 of the writer without any volition on his part, careful and con- 

 tinued experiment showed the action to be entirely unrelated to 

 the presence or absence of water, but due rather to slight and, 

 until watched for, unsuspected muscular movements such as 

 leaning forward in ascending a grade or other natural changes of 

 the position of the body resulting from unconscious adjustments 

 of poise to suit the irregularities of the surface on which he was 

 walking, or to other causes, the effects of which were communi- 

 cated through the arms, wrists and hands to the rod. A slight 



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