The workmen accustomed to subaqueous existence do not suffer these inconven iences; novices feel pains in the head and ears, but these pass away after a short initia tion. It is stated that one man who had suffered from difficulty of breathing was com pletely cured by " belling," and that deafness is not produced by it, but, on the contrary, is in some cases relieved.
In Schott's Technica Curiosa, published in 1664, is described a lorica aguatica, or aquatic armor, which consisted of a leathern dress, to protect the diver from the water, and a helmet. In 1721, Halley describes a contrivance of his own of nearly the same kind; its object was to enable the diver to go out from the bell and walk about; he was to be provided with a waterproof-dress, and a small diving bell, with glass front, as a helmet over his head, which was to be supplied with air by means of a tube from the diving-bell.
The modern diving-dress is made of india-rubber cloth; a strong metal helmet, with round pieces of plate-glass in front, rests upon a pad on the shoulders; the air is sup plied to this helmet from above, in the same manner as for the diving-bell, but instead of the waste air passing out below, a second tube carries it up. Leaden weights are attached to the side of the diver, and thus he may descend a ladder and walk about below. He carries with him one end of a cord communicating with the assistants above, and by pulling this, as agreed upon, makes a series of signals.
called the rirgula dirina, the baculus dirinatorius, the caduceus or wand of Mercury, the rod of Aaron, etc.—is a forked branch, usually of hazel, and sometimes of iron, and even of brass and copper, by which it has been pretended that minerals and water have been discovered beneath the surface of the earth. The rod, when suspended by the two prongs, sometimes between the balls of the thumbs, will dis tinctly indicate. by a decided inclination, it is alleged, the spot over which the concealed
mine or spring is situated. Other powers are ascribed to the divining-rod, but this is the chief. Many men, even of some pretensions to scientific knowledge, have been believers in the occult power ascribed to this Magic wand. Agricola, Sperlingius, and Kirchmayer, all believed in its supernatural influence. So did Richelet, the author of the dictionary. The learned Morhoff remained in suspense, while Thouvenot and Pryce, in the latter part of the 18th c., gave ample records of its supposed power. Bayle, in his dictionary, under the word abaris, gives some ingenious arguments both for and against the divining-rod. In a work published by Dr. Herbert Mayo in 1847 and 1851, entitled On the Truth Contained in Popular Superstitions, be gave some curious illustrations of the art, supposed to be possessed by one in forty of the Cornish miners. At,Weilbaeli, in Nassau, he likewise met with one Edward Seebold, who, lie says, pos sessed the power, but afterwards lost it. Arthur Phippen, in 1853, published a pamphlet containing an account of two professional diviners' or dowsers. One of them, named Adams, gave 'remarkable indications of being able to detect water under-ground. He not only was able to discover the particular spot where water might be found—he could even perceive a whole line of water running under-ground.
Scientific men, who have bestowed any care on the examination of nature, regard this alleged power of the divining-rod as an unconscious delusion, ascribing the whole phenomenon to the effect of a strong impression on the mind acting through th agency of the nerves and muscles. See ANIMAL MAGNETISM.