The Artificial Landscape
Procure a box, as in Fig. 12, of about a foot long, eight inches wide,
and six inches high, or any other dimensions you please, so they do
not greatly vary from these proportions. At each of its opposite ends,
on the inside of this box, place a piece of looking-glass that shall
exactly fit: but at that end where the sight hole A is, scrape the
quicksilver off the glass, through which the eye can view the objects.
Cover the box with gauze, over which place a piece of transparent
glass, which is to be well fastened in. Let there be two grooves at
each of the places C D E F, to receive two printed scenes, as follow:
On two pieces of pasteboard, let there be skilfully painted, on both
sides, any subject you think proper, as woods, bowers, gardens,
houses, &c.; and on two other boards, the same subjects on one side
only, and cut out all the white parts: observe also, that there ought
to be in one of them some object relative to the subject, placed at A,
that the mirror placed at B may not reflect the hole on the opposite
side.
The boards painted on both sides are to slide in the grooves C D E F,
and those painted on one side are to be placed against the opposite
mirrors A and B; then cover the box with its transparent top. This box
should be placed in a strong light, to have a good effect.
When it is viewed through the sight hole, it will present an unlimited
prospect of rural scenery, gradually losing itself in obscurity; and
be found well worth the pains bestowed on its construction.
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Refraction Of Light
In the middle of an empty basin put a piece of money, and then retire from it till the edge of the basin hides the piece from your sight: then keep your head steady, let another person fill the basin gently with water; as the water rises in the basi... Remarkable Effects On The Visual Nerves By Looking Through
differently-coloured Glasses. After looking through green spectacles, the white paper of a book will, on first taking them off, appear to have a blush of red; and after looking through red glasses, a greenish cast. This seems to intimate a relation... Remarkable Properties In Certain Plants
Plants, when forced from their natural position, are endowed with a power to restore themselves. A hop-plant, twisting round a stick, directs its course from south to west, as the sun does. Untwist it, and tie it in the opposite direction, it dies. ... Resin Ignited By Electricity
Wrap some cotton wool, containing as much powdered resin as it will hold, about one of the knobs of a discharging-rod. Then having charged a Leyden jar, apply the naked knob of the rod to the external coating, and the knob enveloped by the cotton to... Scrolls For Rockets Cases For Scrolls Should Be Made Four Or Five
inches in length, and their interior diameters three-eighths of an inch: one end of these cases must be pinched quite close before beginning to fill; and when filled, close the other end; then in the opposite sides make a small hole at each end, to th... Secret Correspondence
To carry on a correspondence without the possibility of the meaning of the letter being detected, in case it should be opened by any other person, has employed the ingenuity of many. No method will be found more effectual for this purpose, or mor... Secret Correspondence By Music
Form a circle like Fig. 2, divided into twenty-six parts, with a letter of the alphabet written in each. The interior of the circle is moveable, like that in Fig. 1, and the circumference is to be ruled like music-paper. Place in each division a not... Several Different Cards Being Fixed On By Different Persons To Name
that on which each Person fixed. There must be as many different cards shown to each person, as there are cards to choose; so that, if there are three persons, you must show three cards to each person, telling the first to retain one in his memory.... Single Vertical Wheels There Are Different Sorts Of Vertical
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If, while sitting in a room, you look earnestly at the middle of a window, a little while, when the day is bright, and then shut your eyes, the figure of the window will still remain in your eye, and so distinct that you may count the panes. A remar... Sky-rockets
Rockets being of the fire-works most in use, we shall give them the preference in description. As the performance of rockets depends much upon their moulds, they should be made according to the following proportions:--Taking the diameter of the orif... Spiral Wheels They Are Only Double Horizontal Wheels And Made
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This fire is the most beautiful of any composition yet known. As it requires great trouble to bring it to perfection, particular care must be paid to the following instructions. They are made generally in cases about six inches long, but not driven ... Stands For Rockets Care Must Be Taken In Placing The Rockets
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Pour a little clear water into a small glass tumbler, and put one or two small pieces of phosphoret of lime into it. In a short time, flashes of fire will dart from the surface of the water, and terminate in ringlets of smoke, which will ascend in r... Swans And Ducks In Water
If you would have swans or ducks discharge rockets into the water, they must be made hollow, and of paper, and filled with small water-rockets, with some blowing powder to throw them out; but if this is not done, they may be made of wood, which will... Table-rockets Table-rockets Are Designed Merely To Show The Truth
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Construct a figure of Bacchus, seated on a cask; let his belly be formed by a bladder, and let a tube proceed from his mouth to the cask. Fill this tube with coloured water or wine, then place the whole under the receiver. Exhaust the air, and the l... The Animated Feather
Electrify a smooth glass tube with a rubber, and hold a small feather at a short distance from it. The feather will instantly fly to the tube, and adhere to it for a short time; it will then fly off, and the tube can never be brought close to the fe... The Armed Apparition
If a person with a drawn sword place himself before a large concave mirror, but further from it than its focus, he will see an inverted image of himself in the air, between him and the mirror, of a less size than himself. If he steadily present the ... The Art Of Bronzing
Bronzing is that process by which figures of plaster-of-paris, wood, &c. are made to have the appearance of copper or brass. The method is as follows: Dissolve copper filings in aqua fortis. When the copper has impregnated the acid, pour off the ... The Artificial Balloon
Take a bladder containing only a small quantity of air, and a piece of lead to it, sufficient to sink it, if immersed in water. Put this apparatus into a jar of water, and place the whole under a receiver. Then exhaust the air, and the bladder will ... The Artificial Halo
Place a candle on one side of the receiver, and let the spectator place himself at a distance from the other side. Directly the air begins to be exhausted, the light of the candle will be refracted in circles of various colours. ... The Artificial Landscape
Procure a box, as in Fig. 12, of about a foot long, eight inches wide, and six inches high, or any other dimensions you please, so they do not greatly vary from these proportions. At each of its opposite ends, on the inside of this box, place a piec... The Artificial Rainbow
Opposite a window into which the sun shines direct suspend a glass globe, filled with clean water, by means of a string that runs over a pulley, so that the sun's rays may fall on it. Then drawing the globe gradually up, you will observe, when it co... The Artificial Spider
Cut a piece of burnt cork, about the size of a pea, into the shape of a spider; make its legs of linen thread, and put a grain or two of lead in it to give it more weight. Suspend it by a fine line of silk between an electrified arch and an excited ... The Awn Of Barley An Hydrometer
The awn of barley is furnished with stiff points, which, like the teeth of a saw, are all turned towards the point of it; as this long awn lies upon the ground, it extends itself in the moist air of night, and pushes forward the barley-corn, which i... The Boundless Prospect
Take a square box, about six inches long and twelve high, or of any other proportionate dimensions. Cover the inside with four flat pieces of looking-glass placed perpendicular to the bottom of the box. Place at the bottom any objects you please, as... The Burnt Writing Restored
Cover the outside of a small memorandum book with black paper, and in one of its inside covers make a flap, to open secretly, and observe there must be nothing over the flap but the black paper that covers the book. Mix soot with black or brown s... The Cameleon Spirit
Put into a decanter volatile spirit, in which you have dissolved copper filings, and it will produce a fine blue. If the bottle be stopped, the colour will disappear; but when unstopped, it will return. This experiment may be often repeated. ... The Candle Lighted By Electricity
Charge a small coated phial, whose knob is bent outwards so as to hang a little over the body of the phial; then wrap some loose cotton over the extremity of a long brass pin or wire, so as to stick moderately fast to its substance. Next roll this e... The Card Changed By Word Of Command
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You offer the long card, or any other that you know, and as the person who has drawn it holds it in his hand, you pretend to feel the pips or figure on the under side, by your fore-finger; or you sagaciously smell to it, and then pronounce what card... The Card Discovered Under The Handkerchief
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When a card has been drawn, you place it under the long card, and by shuffling them dexterously, you bring it to the top of the pack. Then lay or throw the pack on the ground, observing where the top card lies. A handkerchief is then bound round you... The Card Hit Upon By The Guess
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Take a card, the same as your long card, and, rolling it up very close, put it in an egg, by making a hole as small as possible, and which you are to fill up carefully with white wax. You then offer the long card to be drawn, and when it is replaced... The Card In The Mirror
Provide a mirror, either round or oval, the frame of which must be at least as wide as a card, and the glass must be wider than the distance between the frame, by at least the width of a card. The glass in the middle must be made to move in two groo... The Card In The Opera Glass
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A confederate is previously to know the card you have taken from the pack, and put into your pocket-book. You then present the pack to him, and desire him to fix on a card, (which we will suppose to be the queen of diamonds,) and place the pack on t... The Card In The Ring
Get a ring, made of any metal, in which is set a large transparent stone or piece of glass, to the bottom of which is fastened a small piece of black silk; under the silk is to be the figure of a small card; and the silk must be so constructed that ... The Cemented Bladder
Tie the neck of the bladder to a stop-cock, which is to be screwed to the plate of the pump, and the air exhausted from the bladder; then turn the stop-cock, to prevent the re-entrance of the air, and unscrew the whole from the pump. The bladder wil... The Changeable Rose
Take a common full-blown rose, and, having thrown a little sulphur finely pounded into a chafing-dish with coals, expose the rose to the vapour. By this process the rose will become whitish; but if it be afterwards held some time in water, it will r... The Convertible Aces
On the ace of spades fix, with soap, a heart, and on the ace of hearts a spade, in such a manner that they will easily slip off. Show these two aces to the company; then, taking the ace of spades, you desire a person to put his foot upon it, and a... The Convertible Cards
To perform this amusement you must observe, that there are several letters which may be changed into others, without any appearance of ... The Cup Of Tantalus
You place a cup of any sort of metal on a stool of baked wood or a cake of wax. Fill it to the brim with any liquor; let it communicate with the branch by a small chain; and when it is moderately electrified, desire a person to taste the liquor, wit... The Deforming Mirrors
If a person look in a concave mirror placed perpendicularly to another, (that is, supposing one mirror to be laid on the floor, and the other attached to the ceiling,) his face will appear entirely deformed. If the mirror be a little inclined, so as... The Diagonal Opera Glass
By the diagonal position of a plane mirror, a curious opera-glass is constructed, by which any person may be viewed in a theatre or public company without knowing it. It consists only in placing a concave glass near the plane mirror, in the end of a... The Distorting Mirror
Opticians sometimes grind a glass mirror concave in one direction only, or longitudinally; it is in fact a concave portion of a cylinder, the breadth of which may be considered that of the mirror. A person looking at his face in this mirror, in the ...