The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-04-13
FINDS HIDDEN SPRINGS.
MERIDEN MAN POSSESSES MYS-
 FERROUS POWER.

With Aid of Peach Tree Twig He Can
 Tell Land Owners Just Where to Dig
 for Water-Hereditary in Moore
 Family.
 There are tricks in all trades, and lots of little short cuts besides. To the city bred man the ways and means of the farmer sound strange. He will tell you of getting up bedtimes, milking a score of cows, delivering milk to a hundred customers and getting back to commence a long days work on the farm at about the time you are get ting out of bed and beginning to think of breakfast. Every once in awhile we hear of something strange happening on the farms, but the strangest has just come to light It is probably an old idea and has been known to the farmers for decades, but to others it is something unique and strictly up to date,
 When a farmer desires to locate wa ter on his place he procures the services of someone with the power to indicate with assistance of a peach twig just where that water may be found. There are several farmers herabouts laying claim to this peculiar power and they seldom miss cue. They go about their work in a businessllke fashion and stand no laughing or back talk from anybody.
 All these gentlemen are equipped with Y-shaped twig. This is cut from a peach tree and in some sections a witchhazel twig is thought to be the thing. This is balanced in the two hands, one end pointing straight ahead. As the ground is reached where there is hidden water the end of the twig points downward and the spring is located. Not everybody can do this difficult trick, however, and the successful ones are in demand.
 Julius w. Yale can be credited with possessing this hidden power, and he has detected hidden springs more than once to the delight of his neigh hors. His son, J. Hobart Yale, is not so fortunate. He is not very strong believer in the theory, but ad- mits he has tried it.
 In 1903 man named Merriman, who lives on Johnson's Hill, came tu my farm and said he could locate water said MT. Yale He had a peach twig cut out in the form of a Y, or sling shot. He told me to go down g feet and would find water I went 30 feet and did not find any. l procured a steam drill and went down SO feet and did not find any. Then I went down 9S feet and got an abundance.
 If I wanted to drill we'll and the peach twig pointed to particular the well at that place, but If I didn't would pay no attention to the twig
 "I cannot make the twig work in my hands, but my father can. A week ago he went to Jason Wilcox's farm with a twig for the purpose of assisting in locating a desirable spot for we'll One was found but. in such location my father not digging for water as 1t was thought to be too deep. A wind mill would have to be purchased to get the water to the desired spot.
 There are many farmers who laugh at the idea, but there are others who take considerable stock in it. l have seen 1t work well in a number of in- stances
 There is man In Haddam by the name of Moore who has quite a repu- tation for locating wells and the peo- pie down that way almost believe him to be in league with the evil one so &C., curate is he in discovering hidden springs. For a generations MT. Moore's ancestors, both male and female, for the women also possess the faculty, have located the spot where water could be found for nearly everyone who has built house within a radius of % miles of his home.
 MT. Moore cannot explain from whence the power comes, but he knows he possesses is, that his father possess ed it and his great-grandfather was looked upon in his lifetime as almost in league with the ''evil one' so &C., curately would his hazal twig point to the spot where a spring of sparkling water was always found. .-Meriden Re- cord.