110 



The Divining Rod. 



Vol. IV. 



case presents, in order that he may arrive at 

 the " wliys and wlierefbres." 



Under the specious and imposing names of 

 virgula divina — caduceus — baculus divina- 

 torius — Aaron s rod, &c. &c., the divming 

 rod has been extensively used for the last 

 eight hundred years, for the iwo-fold purpose 

 of discovering hidden treasures of the pre- 

 cious metals, and wells of water. Many con^ 

 flicting opinions and fanciful explanations 

 have been offered. Perhaps the most elabo- 

 rate work which has yet appeared on the sub- 

 ject was a duodecimo volume by M. Thouvk- 

 NEL, published at Paris, in 1781, wherein he 

 details six hundred curious and interesting 

 experiments for the purpose of illustrating the 

 " Phenomenes de la Baguette divinataire." 



I have known several water smellers, as 

 they are called in this neighborhood, and have 

 seen them smell for water — and water ivas 

 found in all the places where they desig- 

 nated. But before we can place a just esti- 

 mate upon facts of this nature, it will be ne- 

 cessary to consider 



1. The means used, — and 



2. The object sought. 



1. Of the means. — In olden times a hazel 

 branch appears to have been in the highest 

 repute for the divining rod. Originally, per- 

 haps, it might have been the witch hazel. — 

 Some still prefer hazel — some the peach — 

 apple — elm, &c. A few, however, greater 

 adepts I suppose, use any kind of wood, pro- 

 vided it has the proper form — a close fork 

 with two slender equal branches. (See figr. 

 15.) ^ 



Fig. 15. 



A belief in the efficacy of the divining rod 

 implies the existence of something like polar 

 attraction betvietn it and the water, whereby 

 the larger end is inclined with considerable 

 force towards the hidden element, somewhat 

 as the magnetic needle tends to its proper 

 pole. To discover this -polarity of the rod — 

 or more properly to ascertain the situation of 

 the aqueous pole toward which it is attracted 

 — the operator first inverts the rod and then 

 grasjw the exfremitios of its brancht^s with 

 his htuuls, having the backs turned downward 

 imd the arms extended. By this manunivre 

 tiiii brandies are smartly bent outward near 



the hands, so as to bring the ends in a hori- 

 zontal position. (See fig. 16.) 



Fig. 16. 



Thus equipped the water smeller proceeds 

 to smell for water, not with his nose, but by 

 means of this magic wand. As he walks 

 forward it is alledged that when he approaches 

 a stream of water below the surface, the top 

 of the rod will begin to incline from its ver- 

 tical position — and that the inclining force 

 will increase till the rod is greatly bent — or 

 broken — or reverted to its natural position — 

 sometimes the delicate hands of the operator 

 blister in the process. The spot where the 

 inclining force is greatest is the one where 

 they say the water will certainly be found — 

 the depth being in an inverse ratio to the force 

 of attraction. Fig. 17 may represent a sec- 



m 



\Mmhm 



mwm 



tion of a field liaving a subterranean stream of 

 water B. The positions of the rod at AAA A 

 indicate the iiicieasing attraction as it is 

 brought nearer to a vertical ixjsition over the 



