No. 4. 



The Divining Rod. 



Ill 



water — the operator passing from the right to 

 the left hand. 



Tiiis inclination of the rod rnay be occa- 

 sioned by the polar attraction between it and 

 the water — but 1 conceive that there are other 

 causes in constant operation which must give 

 the rod just such an inclination to turn down- 

 wards. Among these I may briefly notice 



1. The elasticity or spring of the rod where 

 it is bent near to the hands of the operator. — 

 (See A A fig. 16.) 



2. The involuntary and unconscious relax- 

 ation of the muscles of the hands. This is 

 greatly promoted by their being made to grasp 

 so slender an object. 



3. The force of gravity acting on the rod 

 itself — giving it a direct tendency downwards. 

 When a long and stout rod is employed, both 

 the leverage and the power will be very con- 

 siderable — more than sufficient to snap a 

 brittle twig if the hand does not relax its hold. 

 The -necessary motion imparted to the rod in 

 walking, increases the facility with which 

 these forces act. 



The grand consideration then is to deter- 

 mine whether there may not be natural causes 

 in operation amply sufficient to produce the 

 alleged result without having recourse to the 

 aid of enchantment. I submit this to the 

 judgment of the reader. Perhaps he could 

 decide more readily if he would make a few 

 experiments either with a forked rod or an 

 elastic wire, bent to the proper form, by walk- 

 ing to and fro in his parlor, or while sitting in 

 an easy chair on a rainy day. 



2. Of the object, — The defenders of the 

 divining rod say that the proof of their faculty 

 lies in the undeniable fact that toater can al- 

 ways be found in theplaces which they desig- 

 nate. Now if it were true that water can only 

 be foiind in a feio .selected places, their fact 

 would go very far to sustain their pretensions. 

 But in order to come at the true value of that 

 fact, it must be taken in connexion with ano- 

 ther, which is quite as well authenticated, 

 viz.: That water can be found in almost 

 every situation within a few feet of the sur- 

 face, and without the aid of the divining rod. 

 It is therefore necessary to inquire under 

 what conditions water exists in the earth, 

 before we can safely determine whether the 

 ■ divination of the divining rod of the divinor 

 is adequate and necessary to discover its lo- 

 cation. 



The rains which fall upon the earth pene- 

 trate it variously, according to the nature and 

 arrangement of the strata which enter into 

 the composition of its different parts. Some 

 of these strata are impervious to water — others 

 allow it to pass freely through them. They 

 are sometimes vertical — sometimes horizontal 

 — or variously inclined. 



Influenced by the force of gravity, water 



constantly tends downwards to its lowest 

 level, and if no obstruction presented would 

 soon occupy a position around the central 

 nucleus of the earth. If the earth were 

 sufficiently porous, and the quantity of water 

 not too great, it would all descend below the 

 deepest valleys, leaving the whole surface 

 one wide arid waste. There could be no 

 evaporation — consequently no dew nor rain — 

 nor fountains and streams of water. (See 

 fig. 18.) 



Pig. 18. 



The proportionate quantities of earth and 

 water, and the wise arrangement of the hete- 

 rogeneous materials which compose the globe, 

 has happily produced a better state of things. 

 The water still tends to the centre, but is 

 collected in reservoirs on the surface of the 

 deeper valleys, forming ponds, lakes, and seas. 

 (See fig. 19.) 



Fig. 19. 



Water is rapidly evaporated from those ex- 

 tended surfaces, and diffiised through the at- 

 mosphere from whence it descends in the form 

 of dew and rain. These not only refresh the 

 surface of the earth; but, by penetrating it, 

 supply the fountains and streams, which in 

 their turn replenish the ocean. But they f ur- 

 nisli our wells also. 



Fig. 20 may be supposed to represent a 

 portion of the earth's surface. The left hand 

 section is composed of loose materials, which 

 allow the water to sink to its lowest level as 

 marked by the black line — corresponding with 



