56 IRRIGATION FARMING. 



locating a stratum or underflow of water by means of a 

 forked stick, held in such a way that it is expedled to 

 dip at a point over the underlying waters as the 

 operator passes along on the surface. This is called 

 *' water witchery," and is at best a very problematical 

 pradlice, scarcely worth the time that one might devote 

 to it, and certainly not always worth the fees that may 

 be charged. The way to put a water locator of this 

 sort to a pradlical test is to place stakes at the points 

 where his forked willow may show the downward ten- 

 dency, indicative, as he will say, of the water under- 

 neath. Let several stakes be driven at different points. 

 Then blindfold the water prospector, lead him around 

 in a circle several times, and if his magic wand will 

 repeat the dipping adlions as before, and the two sets 

 of stakes agree, some dependence may then be placed 

 in the operation, but the test will be more apt to fail 

 and the deception will at once be apparent. 



