Vegetable Air-bubbles
Put a small branch of the tree with its leaves, or part of a small
plant, in a vessel of water, and, placing the vessel in the receiver,
exhaust the air.
When the pressure of the external air is taken off, the spring of that
contained in the air-vessels of the plant, by expanding the particles,
will make them rise from the orifices of all the vessels for a long
time together, and produce a most beautiful appearance.
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To Soften Iron Or Steel
Either of the following simple methods will make iron or steel as soft as lead: 1. Anoint it all over with tallow; temper it in a gentle charcoal fire, and let it cool of itself. 2. Take a little clay, cover your iron with it, temper it in a c... To Spin Sealing-wax Into Threads By Electricity
Stick a small piece of sealing-wax on the end of a wire, and set fire to it. Then put an electrical machine in motion, and present the wax just blown out at the distance of some inches from the prime conductor. A number of extremely fine filaments w... To Take A Plaster-of-paris Cast From A Person's Face
The person must lie on his back, and his hair be tied behind. Into each nostril put a conical piece of paper, open at each end to allow of breathing. The face is to be lightly oiled over, and the plaster being properly prepared is to be poured over ... To Take Impressions Of Coins Medals &c
Cut fish-glue, or isinglass, into small pieces, immerse it in clear water, and set it on a slow fire; when gradually dissolved, let it boil slowly, stirring it with a wooden spoon, and taking off the scum. The liquor being sufficiently adhesive, tak... To Tell A Person Any Number He May Privately Fix On
When the person has fixed on a number, bid him double it and add four to that doubling; then multiply the whole by 5; to the product let him add 12, and multiply the amount by 10. From the total of all this, let him deduct 320, and tell you the rema... To Tell Any Number A Person Has Fixed On Without Asking Him Any
Questions. You tell the person to choose any number from 1 to 15; he is to add 1 to that number, and triple the amount. Then, 1. He is to take the half of that triple, and triple that half. 2. To take the half of the last triple, and triple t... To Tell By A Watch Dial The Hour When A Person Intends To Rise
The person is told to set the hand of his watch at any hour he pleases, which hour he tells you; and you add in your mind 12 to it. You then desire him to count privately the number of that addition on the dial, commencing at the next hour to that a... To Tell How Many Cards A Person Takes Out Of A Pack And To Specify
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common Pack. Each court card in this amusement counts for ten, and the other cards according to the number of their pips. Let the person who draws the cards add as many more cards to each of those he has drawn as will make each of their numbers twe... To Tell The Card That A Person Has Touched With His Finger
This amusement is to be performed by confederacy. You previously agree with your confederate on certain signs, by which he is to denote the suite, and the particular card of each suite; thus: if he touch the first button of his coat, it signifies an... To Tell The Number Of Points On Three Cards Placed Under Three
different Parcels of Cards. You first premise that the ace counts for eleven; the court cards ten each; and the others according to the number of their pips. You then propose to any person in company to choose three cards, and to place over each as... To Tell The Number Of The Cards By Their Weight
Take a parcel of cards, suppose forty, among which insert two long cards; let the first be, for example, the fifteenth, and the other the twenty-sixth from the top. Seem to shuffle the cards, and then cutting them at the first long card, poise those... Two Figures One Of Which Blows Out And The Other Re-lights A
Candle. Make two figures, of any shape or materials you please; insert in the mouth of one a small tube, at the end of which is a piece of phosphorus, and in the mouth of the other a tube containing at the end a few grains of gunpowder; taking care... Two Inodorous Bodies Become Very Pungent And Odorous By Mixture
When equal parts of muriate of ammonia and unslaked lime, both substances destitute of odour, are intimately blended together in a mortar, a very pungent gas (ammonia) becomes evolved. ... Vegetable Air-bubbles
Put a small branch of the tree with its leaves, or part of a small plant, in a vessel of water, and, placing the vessel in the receiver, exhaust the air. When the pressure of the external air is taken off, the spring of that contained in the air-... Water Boiled By Air
Take water made so warm that you can just bear your hand in it, but that has not been boiled; put it under the receiver, and exhaust the air. Bubbles of air will soon be seen to rise, at first very small, but presently become larger, and will be at ... Water Colder Than Ice
Put a lump of ice into an equal quantity of water, heated to 176 degrees, the result will be, that the fluid will be no hotter than water just beginning to freeze; but if a little sea salt be added to the water, and it be heated only to 166 or 170, ... Water Fire-fountains
To make a fire-fountain for the water, first have a float made of wood, three feet diameter; then in the middle fix a round perpendicular post, four feet high, and two inches diameter; round this post fix three circular wheels made of thin wood, wit... Water-gilding Upon Silver
Take copper-flakes, on which pour strong vinegar; add alum and salt in equal quantities; set them on a fire, and when the vinegar is boiled, till it becomes one-fourth part of its original quantity, throw into it the metal you design to gild, and it... Water-mines
For water-mines you must have a bowl with a wheel on it, made in the same manner as the water-wheel; only in its middle there must be a hole, of the same diameter as that of the intended mine. These mines are tin pots, with strong bottoms, and a lit... Water-rockets
They may be made from four ounces to two pounds. If larger, they are too heavy; so that it will be difficult to make them keep above water without a cork float, which must be tied to the neck of the case; but the rockets will not dive so well with a... Weather Table
--------------------+---------------------+------------------------ NEW AND FULL MOON. SUMMER. WINTER. --------------------+---------------------+------------------------ If the new or full m... White Ink For Writing On Black Paper
Having carefully washed some egg-shells, remove the internal skin, and grind them on a piece of porphyry. Then put the powder into a small vessel of pure water, and when it has settled at the bottom, draw off the water, and dry the powder in the sun... Winter Changed To Spring
Take a print that represents winter, and colour those parts which should appear green, with the second green invisible ink, described in page 25; observing, of course, the usual rules of perspective, by making the near parts deeper in colour than th... Withered Fruit Restored
Take a shrivelled apple, and, placing it under the receiver, exhaust the air. The apple will immediately be plumped up, and look as fresh as when first gathered: for this reason, that the pressure of the external air being taken off, the air in the ... Wonderful Nature Of Lightning
If two persons, standing in a room, looking different ways, and a loud clap of thunder, accompanied with zigzag lightning, happen, they will both distinctly see the flash at the same time; not only the illumination, but the very form of the lightnin... Writing On Glass By The Rays Of The Sun
Dissolve chalk in aqua fortis, to the consistence of milk, and add to that a strong solution of silver. Keep this liquor in a glass decanter well stopped. Then cut out from a paper the letters you would have appear, and paste the paper on the decant... Snap But In The Great Operations Of Nature The Light Is What We Call Lightning And The Sound Produced At The Same Time Though
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into a, d, g, or q; the v into y, &c. Take a parcel of cards, suppose twenty, and on one of them write with juice of lemon or onion, or vitriol and water, the word law, (these letters should not be joined;) and on the other, with the same ink, the ...