Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-12
OWNING RODS.

Electricity is Now SuppIantins the
Old-Time Witchhaxel Branch.
From the Chicago Record.
The most notable patent for a diving rod
or metal finder was issued in March last 20
F. H Brown. Several patents had previous
~ been granted for mechanical and cleo
trical contrivances designed to locate gold,
silver and other ores, and a great many
applications have been rejected for various
reasons.
The commissioner of patents would not,
for example, issue patent for witchhazel
divining rod, because that has been in COM
mon use for centuries, and comparatively
few of the devices that have been offered
in this line involve original or meritorious
features. To secure n patent the usefulness
and practicability, as web as the novelty of
an invention, must be demonstrated, and
the dtvining rod in various forms has been
in use ever since the time of Jacob. Few
people realize the extent to which the d.
vining rod and its substitutes are used al
the present day to locate minerals. springs
OF water, subterranean rivers, hidden treas
ure, etc. There are people in New England
who still earn living that way, and that
Is supposed to be the seat of our highest
civilization and greatest intellectual attain
ment, although, as have frequently stated,
the statistics show a higher degree of edu-
cation In Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska
Large numbers of successful oil wells in
Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana have been
and still are bored at points designated by
.'oil smellers.' as they call them: prospec-
tors in the mining regions use magnets and
all sorts of electrical appliances, and in
almost every county of the United States
in the agricultural districts you will find
farmers who still believe in the efficacy Of
a split rod of witchhaZe
AS late as 1876 Mr.. Charles Lattimer Of
Cleveland, a well-known engineer, wrote q
book to demonstrate its usefulness in deter
mining substerranean water passages. The
''dowsing rod for the same purpose Is
made of two prongs of whalebonc, with one
end of each fastened firmly in an empty
cartridge shell. Similar divining rods were
used in the times of Moses and Aaron.
Marco Polo found them in China. Philip
Melancthon, the religious reformer and
friend of Martin Luther, testified to their
efficacy and defended them from the inQui-
sition, by which they were denounced and
prohibited. Divining rods have command
ed the faith and confidence of all races in
all countries in all times, and there has
been little improvement in the design.
Electricity is now used, however, for such
matters more than the ordinary rod Of
witchhazel, and, as in the recent patent
granted to Mr.. F. II. Brown. the operator
usually connect with an ordinary battery
two wires which are attached to two stakes.
When he reaches place where he suspects
minerals may be found. he drives the stakes
in the earth, turns on the current, and, If
the circuit is completed by a body of ore in
the earth bell some other annCncia-
tor connected with the battery will an
nounce the discovery. Springs of water
and subterranean streams can be located in
the same way.
simple device consists of rod with
an electrical battery and wire the top
and a wire running down the center. This
rod is driven in the ground, and if the end
comes in contact with ore or minerals Of
any kind the result is felt by the operator