Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1876-02-25
The "Witch Hazel.


At recent meeting In Chicago of the
Civil Engineers Club Of the Northwest,
Mr.. Charles Latimer read an interesting
paper on the subject Of Water Witohery,S y
or the discovery of water by means of the
divining.rod. His remarks are thus re.
ported by the Times
1t was almost impossible to make men
listen TO anything that could be said in
favor of the workings of the divining.rod,
because no scientific cause could he as
signed for its mysterious action. The at
tention of Mr.. Latimer was first called to
the subject about thirty years ago, by a
passage in an old book, to the effect that
such pow er did certainly exist, however
difficult IL was TO give a satisfactory ex-
PLANTATION of it. Mr.. Latimer then com
menced making experiments, and found
that twig in his own hands became a
true divining-rod, and that he could indi-
cate the places where water was to be
found. ,r.
In looking for q cause he naturally
thought Of electricity, that wonderful
agent, of which yet so little is known, ana
TO which everything mysterious is now re,
ferrcd. His numerous experiments led
him TO adopt this explanation, and to work
out theory to account for the action OF
the rod. He found that witch hazel was
not absolutely necessary, hut that almost
any kind of a twig and even an old barrel
hoop, as well as u piece Of wire or whale
bone, would answer the same purpose
Different individuals are differently
charged with electricity, as is shown by a
simple experiment. Some people by SIM
ply walking quickly across carpet be-
come so highly charged that they can
easily light gas jet with spark from
the finger, while others seem to be def
cient In this respect, and considerable
amount OF friction is required before an
effect is produced. 1t is on this ground
that the fact that the divining.rod will not
work in the hands Of everyone is ac-
counted for.
Mr.. Laimer gave long list of in.
stances in which the divining-rod had
been used by him with marked success
under the most varied and trying circum-
stances, leaving no possible doubt Of the
existence of the power His experiments
had been so successful that he could now
indicate not only the spot at which the
water was to he found, but the distance
below the surface. lie had observed that
the twig or rod begun to turn down when
the operator reached point where line
at an angle of forty-tve degrees from the
water would strike the surface, and conse-
quently the distance from this point to the
point at which the rod turned directly
down would give the distance of the
water below the surface.
He gave q number of cases in which the
correctness of this theory had been prac-
tically demonstrated, both by himself and
others.
He had also found that the divinng-rod
fIa 1pcaliftr Of irpr nr
other metals with the same certainty rs in
the case of water, and narrated a number
of experiments which he had made TO
prove this fact. He had also found that
when the operator was insulated from the
ground, either by rubber shoes or by glass,
the rod would not work, proving to his
mind that the movement of the rod was
due to the action of electricity.
The instances narrated by the gentle
man in which his theory had been borne
out by the facts were numerous and eX-
tremely interesting. In one case he had
discovered q subterranean lake only few
feet below the bottom of a we'll, which
had been dug for the use of the railroad
company, at Highland, on the Vandaia
line. The we'll was forty feet deep and
ten feet wide but at that depth rock had
been struck, and the supply of water
being deficient, the well was abandoned.
On boring through the rock the well was
filled, and the water rose aboye the sur
face. In another case he had Traced the
course of asubterranean stream in the yard
of hotel at Toulon, ILL.,, as a test, one
| dark night, and the existence OF the water
was afterwards found.
In conclusion, Mr.. Latimer was con-
vinced that the subject only needed a
thorough scientific investigation to devel-
op principles of immense importance tO
mankind. He could not as yet tell
Whether the divining- rod indicated water
or metal, but he was confident that, with
the proper means of noting the action OF
the rod the distinction could be made. lie
believed that instruments would yet bC
invented for this purpo,e, which would
not only indicate the particular substance
bhiddcn below the surface, but would alSC
show how deem it was buried.
The scientific world has only very
slight knowledge of the wonderful agen
known as electricity, which pervades all
nature, and which occasionally gives .
glimpse of its power in the death dealing
thunder-bolt or the flaming aurora, and
in this direction an immense field is open
10 the investigator. o..
Mr.. Latimer expected that his theories
would be ridiculed and rejected by many
but he was confident that he was on tho
threshold of a great discovery, and that in
spite of all caviling and foolish opp0si
ton, the old maxim would lie verified
Truth is mighty, and will prevail"