nd stated that the first wood-charcoal used in
its manufacture, mixed with sulphur and saltpeter, was made from the
hazel tree. This lead him to refer to the sympathy existing between
hazel wood and metals, and to add that for this reason the divining rod
was made of this particular wood, which was peculiarly adapted to the
discovery of hidden gold and silver.

Philip Melanchthon, 1497-1560, famously learned in Natural Philosophy
and Theology, discoursed on Sympathy, of which he recognized six
degrees in Nature, and in the second of these he named that sympathy or
affinity which is found to exist between plants and minerals. He used
as an illustration the forked hazel twig employed by those who search
after gold, silver, and other precious metals. He attributed the
movement of the rod to the metallic juices which nourish the hazel tree
in the soil, and he was therefore convinced that its peculiar
manifestations were wholly sympathetic and according to natural law.

Neuheusius spoke of the divining rod as a marvel from the bounteous
hands of Nature, and exhorted men to use it in the search for mineral
wealth and concealed treasure. Enchanted with this
insignificant-looking instrument, he exclaimed: "What shall I say now
concerning the Divine Rod, which is but a simple hazel twig, and yet
possesses the power of divination in the discovery of metals, be that
power derived from mutual sympathy, from some secret astral influence,
or from some still more powerful source. Let us take courage and use
this salutary rod, so that, after having withdrawn the metals from the
abode of the dead, we may seek in the metals themselves some such
faculty for divination as we find in the hazel."

Rudolph Glauber, who made many experiments with the rod, had this to
say of it: "Metallic veins can also be discovered by means of the hazel
rod. It is used for that purpose, and I speak after long experience.
Melt the metals under a certain constellation, and make a ball of them
pierced through the middle; thrust into the hole thus formed a young
sprig of hazel, of the same year, with no branches. Carry this rod
straight in front of you over the places where metals are believed to
be, and when the rod dips and the ball inclines towards the soil, you
may rest assured that metal lies beneath. _And as this method is based
on natural law, it should undoubtedly be used in preference to any
other_."

Egidius Gustman, supposedly a Rosicrucian