THE HAZEL 63 
fessed himself to be half a convert to this belief, 
and the practice of “dowsing” as it is there called, 
is still common in Cornwall and other western 
counties. According to the local superstition, the 
rod is guided to the metalliferous lodes by guardian 
pyxies, the “kobbolds” of the German miner. It 
was no doubt this popular term “dowsing ” which 
suggested to Scott the mame of Dousterswivel, 
the charlatan in “The Antiquary,” who uses a 
forked Hazel-rod in his magical performances. ‘lhe 
rhabdomancist is stated to feel a sudden accelera- 
tion or retardation of the pulse, or a sensation of 
great heat or cold, at the moment of discovery. 
In many places an ancient custom prevailed, 
which it was thought unlucky to omit, of going 
a-nutting on Holy Rood Day, September 14th ; 
whilst the practice of burning nuts on All- 
Hallows Eve, October 31st, alluded to by Burns 
in his “ Hallowe’en,” and by Gay, was so general 
that the vigil was called Nutcrack Night. The 
Vicar of Wakefield and his neighbours, it will be 
remembered, religiously cracked nuts on All- 
Hallows Eve. 
The wood of the Hazel is a whitish red, close 
and even in grain, soft, highly elastic and easily 
split, and has been used in turnery, whilst well- 
veined veneers are obtained from the larger roots. 
Under the microscope it exhibits some very broad 
pith-rays, radial lines of small vessels and nearly 
circular annual rings. The tree is mainly grown, 
however, as coppice, its shoots being useful for 
hampers, for “corf” rods (ie. for baskets used in 
