THE CULTIVATOR. 
83 
fruits, of one year’s growth, that the wood may be well 
hardened and elastic. Let the two prongs of the fork be of 
equal size and length : from eighteen inches to two feet will 
probably be found most convenient. The prongs, at their 
division, should be from one-fourth to three-eighths of an 
inch in diameter, and gradually tapering to their extremities. 
With the palms upward, grasp firmly with each hand, a 
prong of the rod, the united portion of which should stand 
perpendicularly some ten or twelve inches above the palm 
of the hands. Holding the rod in this position, with the 
hands separated about fifteen inches, walk deliberately 
across the grounds you wish to examine, and at the same 
time holding the rod with a firm close grasp, and keeping 
your attention continually directed to it, that you may ob¬ 
serve its slightest motion. When you arrive near a subter¬ 
ranean stream or resorvoir, the united end of the rod will 
begin to turn downwards. When vertically over the thread 
of the stream, the rod will be attracted with the greatest 
force ; and, in general, it will bend downwards in a degree 
proportioned to the magnitude of the current, its proximity 
to the surface, and the power with which the experimenter 
is naturally endowed of managing the rod. 
In searching for water, it is essential that the rod used 
should be green. But in seeking for the metals, a dry rod 
is employed, and this rod must be taken from the witch-hazel. 
Where the branches of this rod unite, it is hollowed ou t and 
charged with quicksilver. I have never seen a rod prepared 
for searching for mines and concealed treasures ; and, of 
course, can not describe it from my own personal knowledge. 
The description here given is derived from persons respecta¬ 
ble for their intelligence and moral worth ; and whose ve¬ 
racity is above suspicion. These persons have assured me 
that they have witnessed experiments in which a rod of this 
kind, in the hands of gifted individuals, would apparently di¬ 
rect them unerringlv to a concealed coin, that had been hid¬ 
den for the purpose of testing the truth of the claims of pro¬ 
fessors of this art. 
If there be, in reality, no truth in these pretensions, there 
must be a most surprising aptitude in the rods, and in the 
manner in which it is held and used, to deceive the persons 
practicing this art, and those who witness their experiments; 
and to dupe them into the belief that certain persons posses¬ 
sed some occult and useful powers, not imparted to the com¬ 
mon mass of mankind. 
If any of your readers are curious in matters of this kind, 
let them try the experiment in the manner herein directed ; 
and there will be few who will fail to be highly interested 
and amused—if they hold the rod firmly, proceed with at¬ 
tentive caution, and mark with critical care its slightest mo¬ 
tions—with its apparently violent inclination to bend to¬ 
wards the earth, even in opposition to what may at first ap¬ 
pear their most determined efforts to restrain it. 
Some years have passed since this experiment was show¬ 
ed to me by a worthy and esteemed friend, who had learn¬ 
ed the art in the state of Tennessee. Astonished at its 
motions in his hands, I tried the experiment under his in¬ 
struction, and carried the rod according to his direction. To 
my utmost surprise, the rod worked with great power in my 
hands, and at the identical spot where I had seen it bend and 
writhe in the hands of my friend. Elated with my unex¬ 
pected success, I continued my observations, noting with 
the most critical attention, all the circumstances attending 
this experiment. I suspected from the motion of the rod in 
certain places, that there was some hitherto unexplained at¬ 
traction between the united portion of the rod, and the sub¬ 
terranean current of water. If my suspicion, were correct, 
the rod would necessarily be uniform in its motions when 
brought over the same place. But to my great chagrin, the 
rod, which had bowed with so much force over a particular 
spot, that its torsion had broken the bark, when brought 
again to the same place gave no indications of water, but 
stood quietly erect ; or now obsequiously bowed its head 
over a locality, which it had formerly pretended was dry as 
the desert of Sahara. Here, then, were some mortifying 
and unexpected facts to be explained ; and I now set myself 
to observe, with the nicest care, the action of the muscles 
of my hands and arms while performing these experiments. 
My attention was soon rewarded by detecting the truth. 
An involuntary, and before unobserved, motion of my hands 
and arms—too slight to be observed by the nicest eye of a 
person walking at my side—had produced the motion of the 
rod : and I can assure you, gentlemen, and your readers, 
that a rod held in the same manner in your hands, will writhe 
with as much violence, as it will in the hands of the most 
successful “ water-witch” in the United States, whether 
layman or clergyman. Since I have detected the true cause 
of its motion in my hands, (and, as I fully believe, in the 
hands of all others,) I can depend with the utmost confi¬ 
dence upon the forked hazel to work in my hands, with any 
required degree of force, or not at all, in any place, as I 
please. And from the general results obtained by sinking 
artesian wells, we are warranted in promising gentlemen a 
plentiful supply of water, whenever they sink a well where 
the mineral rod indicates, if they but sink the shaft a suffi¬ 
cient depth. 
Immediately after detecting the true cause of the motion 
of the rod in my hands, and, as I fully believe, the only 
cause of its motion in the hands of any one, I fully explain¬ 
ed to my friend how we had been gulled by our heedlessly 
neglecting to attend to all the circumstances of the experi¬ 
ments we had made ; but my success in his case was not 
very flattering. Indeed, I have rarely succeeded in convinc¬ 
ing an adept in this art, that the result of his experiment was 
entirely fallacious : for it is as true in this, as in politics or 
religion, that 
“A man, convinced against his will, 
Is of the same opinion still.” 
The public are deeply interested in knowing the truth up¬ 
on this subject. If the claims of these “water-witches” can 
be sustained by facts, decisive, and well authenticated, let 
them be spread befere the public in the columns of your 
journal, that all reasonable doubt may be driven from our 
minds. Until this shall have been done, let every individu¬ 
al be upon their guard, and never suffer themselves to com¬ 
mit the folly of sinking a well in an inconvenient situation, 
merely because an honest, well meaning dupe has bent a 
peach or hazel twig over the place. N IVES. 
Wallingford, Vt. Feb . 1840. 
Geological Survey-Root Crops, &c. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker— As you have taken the 
editorial department of the Cultivator, I feel greatly dispos¬ 
ed to transfer to you the confidence I used to place in its late 
lamented editor, in all matters relating to the theory or prac¬ 
tice of farming; a confidence begot in me by a close, atten¬ 
tive perusal of every number of the Cultivator, from the 
first prospectus up to the present time. And as the several 
volumes stand in good, substantial binding on the shelf, I 
often regard them as a legacy worthy to be left to my chil¬ 
dren. Now, sir, that the Cultivator may suffer nothing in 
its high reputation, by its union with the Farmer, is all that 
the subscribers can wish ; and from an intimate acquaintance 
with the Genesee Farmer for the last two years, I have not a 
doubt but their wish will be gratified. If the Cultivator and 
Farmer is continued with the same spirit and originality of 
the two numbers already received, I promise to add so ma¬ 
ny volumes of it to this valuable legacy, as I may yet num¬ 
ber years of life. 
This communication was begun with the intention of sug¬ 
gesting through the Cultivator, to my brethren of the plow, 
the propriety of petitioning our legislature in due time, that 
when the geological survey of this state shall be completed, 
a copy of the same shall be aeposited in each of the school 
district libraries in the state, instead of supplying the mem¬ 
bers of the legislature with extra copies, which never get a 
general circulation, but are commonly laid on lawyers’book 
shelves, along with musty records, out of the reach of an 
agricultural Community. Farmers ought, from the nature of 
the subject, to be interested in the survey more than any 
other class ofj citizens ; and if the plan proposed be adopted, 
many will be brought in contact with the work, who would 
never think of inquiring after it, if it was out of sight. It 
will not certainly be anti-republican for every man to go to 
the district library for part of his reading ; and thus there 
will be no room for favoritism in the distribution of the 
work. 
I also wish to call the attention of such farmers as are 
about commencing the cultivation of root crops, to the im¬ 
portance of selecting that kind of crop which is best adapted 
to their several soils. Loamy soils are absolutely necessary 
for the cultivation of roots ; and the lighter the loam the 
better for the turnep, while a heavier one suits the beet. 
This accords with the experience of my neighbors and my¬ 
self. We have raised three crops of the mangel wurtzel, 
two or three of the carrot, and four or five of the ruta baga. 
Our soil is a loam sufficiently light for most farm crops, but 
rather apt to become hard, if worked while wet, resting on 
an argillaceous slate. The result of our experience is, that 
while the ruta baga has never exceeded the rate of four hun¬ 
dred bushels per acre, and the carrot about the same or ra¬ 
ther less ; the mangel wurtzel has, in no instance, fell short 
of a thousand bushels. 
It may be useful to state my method of preparing the seed 
of the mangel wurtzel for planting. Owing to their rough 
exterior and lightness, they are apt to lodge in the holes of 
the drill; while to plant them by hand amounts to almost a 
prohibition of the crop on a large scale. First, soak the seed 
in water until it is ready to sprout; then pour off the water, 
and add so much plaster or lime as will absorb the moisture, 
stirring it up, then put the seed in small quantities into a 
sieve or colander, and give it a swinging or rotary motion, 
like riddling grain, until each seed is rendered smooth and 
round by it» coating of plaster, while the loose- plaster pas 
ses out at the boles of the sieve. The seeds now put into 
the drill, (I use Robbins’ drill,) will be so smooth and heavy", 
that it will drop with great regularity, and come up with 
certainty. Yours, &c. L. B. ARMSTRONG. 
Kingsbury, Feb. 10, 1840. _ 
Whitington Wheat. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —Please to have the good¬ 
ness to publish in your next number, the following commu¬ 
nication : 
As my character officially (as a seedsman) has been ani¬ 
madverted on, relative to the sales I made last spring of the 
Whitington New White Wheat, for spring wheat, when it 
has been ascertained (and an experiment made in my own 
garden proved the same) that in our climate it should be 
sown in the fall, I would merely observe that no design to 
deceive the public was dreamed of, as some inconsiderate 
persons have thought proper to remark, even in the papers. 
I could have no great emolument from the supposed imposi¬ 
tion, as my whole stock was twenty-eight bushels, and sold 
at but a trifling profit, as it cost £1 per bushel in London, 
to which heavy expenses are added : I sold it at 25 cents 
per quart, and gave a good deal away. My own opinion, 
and that of many of our first agricultural gentlemen, is, that 
it is the finest wheat ever introduced to this country, and 
they one and all intend making a trial of it the ensuing fall. 
Mr. Whitington, of Surrey, England, who sent it out to me, 
writes, in reply (26th Sept.) to my making known to him 
the disappointment of those who tried it: “In answer to 
yours, I am as much vexed, as I am confounded ; I really 
am at a loss to account for the extraordinary results you 
communicate. I enclose you one of last year’s circulars, 
and one of the present season’s. As regards its winter pro¬ 
perties as well as spring, it has been tested, and publicly 
admitted to be the best wheat in this country for rapid growth 
standing uninjured in the most severe weather, and yielding 
by an excess of 16 bushels per acre off the very poorest soils, 
every other tried variety of white wheat. As to its failure 
for a spring wheat with you, I repeat I can not account, nei¬ 
ther can I learn of American gentlemen here. It is. of a 
Swiss origin, which induced us to try it as a spring grain 
for two seasons, sowing it in February, which in this coun¬ 
try is the latest period for sowing wheat. Our circular ex¬ 
presses what was done with it in 1838, and this year, 1839, 
we sowed it on the 23d and 24th of March, fifteen acres of 
it, and all was housed by the 25th of August. In addition 
to this fact, Messrs. G. Wildes & Co., Mr. J. Fothergill (the 
London corn factor,) Messrs. Phillipson, the extensive farm¬ 
ers of Sutton estate in Surrey, have all had capital crops of 
it, from sowings in February and March ; while Mr. Baxter, 
the large flour factor, who also farms 300 acres, only nine 
miles from London, sowed ten acres of it during the jjrgt 
week of April, and has carried a capital crop; assures 
me fully forty bushels per acre. We stand [00 con _ 
nected and engaged as agents for severM, no blemen’s estates, 
and farming largely, as well as being land surveyors, for up¬ 
ward of forty years, to represent falsely any article, as do 
also our agents, Messrs. Gibbs & Co. I can have no right 
to doubt you, but whether and what are the local causes 
which have created the disappointments, ought to be best 
known by you, and under these circumstances I would not 
advise you to sell it again as spring grain. I regret you did 
not write me sooner, that I might have sent you some in 
time to sow the present autumn, the successful issue of which 
is beyond all question. I will send you twenty bushels by 
the next packet, hoping it may yet arrive in time for this 
autumn’s sowing, and from which you can supply to those 
who may, under their hopes, insist on some sort of compen¬ 
sation. If it arrive in time, and your weather be mild and 
open, sow the wheat, desiring it may be buried three inches 
deep.” 
The wheat sent out to reimburse, came too late to do 
any thing with it the last autumn, but will be delivered in 
such quantity, as was before purchased, gratis ; can be kept 
in a case or glass demijohn, sealed air tight for fear of wee¬ 
vil, until the proper time to sow it next fall. 
Sufficient quantity has been sent to W. Thorium , Alba¬ 
ny, to reimburse, in such quantities as was purchased of 
him (gratis) last spring. GEO. C. THORBURN. 
11 John-street, New- Yorki 
Preparation of Seed Corn. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —I send you the result 
of an experiment made in planting corn the past season. 
Having seen statements of the benefits derived from 
steeping the seed in a solution of sulphate of iron, 
(copperas,) as securing it against the ravages of birds 
and cut-worms, we resolved upon giving it a trial. Mr. 
Jacob Kirk (with whose crop the experiment was tried) 
procured a few ounces, dissolved it in hot water, and 
poured over the corn. After remaining in the solution 
from six to eight hours, the corn was taken out, rolled 
thoroughly in plaster, and planted. A few rows of the 
same kind of corn was planted in the middle of the 
field, without steeping the seed, but just as it came 
from the cob. The field was likewise planted with 
pumpkin seeds, also without preparation. After the 
corn and pumkins had come up, I observed that many 
of the latter were cut off by the worms, but could not 
see a single stalk of corn disturbed, until I examined 
the rows (for I had marked them) the seed of which 
had not been prepared. Here I found the worms at 
work, nearly a tenth part of which they had destroyed; 
the birds had likewise taken some. The steeped corn 
was of a greener and more healthy color than the other; 
grew faster, with stouter stalks, while that from the 
unprepared seed could readily he pointed out by its 
more yellow and dwindling appearance; neither was 
the yield so great as the other. 
Now, whether this difference in yield is to he attri¬ 
buted to the copperas, or to the plaster, or to both, I 
have yet to learn; but think the copperas prevented 
the birds and worms from committing depredations, as 
we have frequently rolled seed corn in plaster, but have 
never found that, a security against either birds or 
worms. 
The above is at your service—you will please pardon 
errors in composition, as my province is behind the 
plow, and not the pen. Yours, R. FOSTER. 
Lewisberry, York Co. Pa. April, 1840. 
The Rohan Out-Done. 
Messrs. Editors —I tried some experiments in 1838, 
to ascertain the best method of cultivating the potato 
crop, the quantity of seed required per acre, &c. I 
also tried to see how many potatoes I could raise from 
a single tuber. In consequence of this experiment, se¬ 
veral of the small boys in our neighborhood, came in 
as competitors on the ensuing year; one of whom rais¬ 
ed from a single tuber, which weighed about six or se¬ 
ven ounces, the enormous amount of four bushels and 
one-fifth, heaped measure; one of which xvas much 
the largest tuber I have seen since I left my native 
state, New-York, in 1816 ; many others were very large. 
The potatoes, when growing, occupied a fraction less 
than one square rod of ground ; making, for this coun¬ 
try, a very great yield per acre, notwithstanding a se- 
rmre and continued drouth all the time they were grow¬ 
ing—having been planted on the 9th of June, and being 
killed by an unusually early frost in September. I saw 
the potato planted, and the proceeds dug and measured. 
H. N. G. 
Quaker Bottom, Ohio, Jan. 25, 1840. 
Hard-Pan Rands—Inquiry. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —I wish to inquire 
through your agricultural paper, for the best method of 
cultivating what is usually called (in this section) hard- 
pan lands. There is considerable such land in the 
southwest part of this state; and during three or four 
years last past, many of the occupants have realized 
but little for their labor. Such land is usually wet and 
cold. The surface of such land is a black muck, vary¬ 
ing in depth from six to fifteen inches. The subsoil is 
invariably exceeding hard, and it is with great difficul¬ 
ty that the plow can be made to penetrate it at all. Con¬ 
sequently, it holds water a long time, and necessarily it 
is late before thq farmer can get in his crop. Should 
there he an_y one among your readers, xvho has experi¬ 
mented sufficiently on such soils to have arrived at a 
Uure conclusion, he would benefit those farmers who 
occupy such lands, and show himself a friend to agri¬ 
cultural improvement, to make it known. 
J. TOWNER. 
Gainesville, March 28, 1840. 
