"Shepton Mallet, Somersetshire,
"September 12th, 1896.
"Replying to your letter in regard to a local diviner, we had one of the name of Sims, from Pilton, who successfully denoted a spot on our ground where we have had an abundant supply of water since. This was some eight years ago.
"The writer of this letter also has had some considerable experience with Mr Lawrence of Bristol, who was one of the most noted divining rod men in the West of England. He also was successful in denoting a supply for a Bristol brewery with which the writer was connected; and in numerous other instances in the neighbourhood. Mr Lawrence bore a very high reputation. We believe he died a few months ago at a ripe old age.
"The Anglo-Bavarian Brewery Ltd.,
"J. Clifford,
"Manager."
Having written to ask if a previous boring had been made, and if so, what depth, and with what result, the following reply was received:—
"Shepton Mallet, Somersetshire,
"September 18th, 1896.
"Replying to yours of the 14th, a boring was carried out to the extent of some 140 feet without success on another portion of our premises, before it was successfully done at the spot indicated by the water finder; here, a well was sunk and abundant water obtained at a depth of 40 feet.
"The Anglo-Bavarian Brewery Ltd.,
"J. Clifford,
"Manager."
In the following case, the best advice was obtained and some £1000 spent fruitlessly searching for an underground spring prior to the dowser's visit. The first notice of it appeared in a local newspaper, The West Sussex Times and Sussex Standard, from which the following letter is reprinted:—
"Warnham Lodge, Horsham,
"January 3rd, 1893.
"Having had very great difficulty in the supply of water to this house, I sent for John Mullins, of Colerne, near Chippenham, who, by the aid of a twig of hazel, pointed out several places where water could be found. I have sunk wells in four of the places and it each case have been most successful.
"It may be said that water can be found anywhere—this is not my experience. I have had the best engineering advice and have spent many hundreds of pounds, and hitherto have not obtained sufficient water for my requirements, but now I have an abundant supply.
"I certainly should not think of sinking another well without previously consulting John Mullins.
"Henry Harden."
It is sometimes urged that only springs yielding a limited supply of water are found by dowsers, who fix on spots where more or less surface water can be got from shallow wells rather than run the risk of sinking a deep well. Many of the cases already cited refute this notion, and the following bears on the same point. It is from Messrs Beamish & Crawford, the well-known brewers, of Cork.
"Cork Porter Brewery, Cork,
"December 30th, 1896.
"In reply to your letter of 26th inst., we beg to state:
"1. We had an old well yielding a small supply of water. It was about 30 feet deep.
"2. No new well was fixed on by Mullins. He bored down to a depth of about 60 feet below the bottom of the old well, and therefore about 90 feet below the surface of the ground.
"3. The supply of water now obtained from the new pipes sunk by Mullins is, as nearly as we can estimate, about 10,000 gallons per hour.
"Beamish & Crawford Ltd."
It goes without saying that professional dowsers are not always successful in their quests. "I am inclined," states Professor Barrett, "to think we may take from ten to fifteen per cent. as the average percentage of failures which occur with most English dowsers of to-day, allowing a larger percentage for partial failures, meaning by this that the quantity of water estimated and the depth at which it is found have not realised the estimate formed by the dowser."
What then is the secret of the dowser's often remarkable success? The question is whether, after making every allowance for shrewdness of eye, chance, coincidence, and local geological knowledge, the dowser has any instinctive or supernormal power of discovering the presence of underground water. Professor Barrett, who has perhaps devoted more time to the subject than any other man living, is inclined to answer in the affirmative.