expense, in the following manner: Provide a box, which you can fit up
with architectural designs cut on pasteboard; prick small holes into
those parts of the building where you wish the illuminations to appear,
observing that, in proportion to the perspective, the holes are to be
made smaller, and on the near objects the holes are to be made larger.
Behind these designs thus perforated you fix a lamp or candle, but in
such a manner that the reflection of the light shall only shine through
the hole: then placing a light of just sufficient brilliancy to show
the design of the buildings before it, and making a hole for the sight
at the front end of the box, you will have a tolerable representation
of illuminated buildings.
The best way of throwing the light in front is to place an oiled
paper before it, which will cast a mellow gleam over the scenery, and
not diminish the effect of the illumination. This can be very easily
planned, both not to obstruct the sight, nor be seen to disadvantage.
The lights behind the picture should be very strong, and if a
magnifying glass were placed in the sight hole it would tend greatly to
increase the effect. The box must be covered in, leaving an aperture
for the smoke of the lights to pass through.
The above exhibition can only be shown at candle light; but there is
another way, by fixing small pieces of gold on the building, instead
of drilling the holes, which gives something like the appearance of
illumination, but by no means equal to the foregoing experiment.
N. B.--It would be an improvement if paper of various colors, rendered
transparent by oil, were placed between the lights behind the aperture
in the buildings, as they would then resemble lamps of different
colors.
Sun and Spirit.
Put a small quantity of spirits of wine into a glass, and put a cent or
coin in with it; then direct the rays of the sun by means of a burning
glass upon the coin, and in a short time it will become so hot as to
inflame the spirits.
Stars in Water.
Put half a drachm of solid phosphorus into a large pint flask--holding
it slanting that the phosphorus may not break the glass. Pour upon
it a gill and a half of water and place the whole over a tea-kettle
lamp, or any common tin lamp filled with spirits of wine. Light the
wick which should be almost half an inch from the flask; and as soon
as the water is heated, streams of fire will issue from the water by
starts, resembling sky-rockets; some particles will adhere to the
sides of the glass, representing stars, and will frequently display
brilliant rays. These appearances will continue at times till the water
begins to simmer, when immediately a curious aurora borealis begins,
and gradually ascends till it collects to a pointed flame; when it has
continued half a minute, blow out the flame of the lamp and the point
that was formed will rush down, forming beautiful illuminated clouds
of fire, rolling over each other for some time, which, disappearing, a
splendid hemisphere of stars presents itself; after waiting a minute
or two, light the lamp again, and nearly the same phenomenon will be
displayed as from the beginning. Let the repetition of lighting and
blowing out the lamp be made for three or four times at least, that
the stars may be increased. After the third or fourth time of blowing
out the lamp, in a few minutes after the internal surface of the flask
is dry, many of the stars will shoot with great splendor from side
to side, and some of them will fire off with brilliant rays; these
appearances will continue several minutes. What remains in the flask
will serve for the same experiment several times, and without adding
any more water. Care should be taken after the operation is over, to
lay the flask and water in a cool, secure place.
Parlor Ballooning.
It is an interesting and amusing experiment to inflate a balloon made
of gold-beater’s skin (using a little gum arabic to close any holes or
fissures), filling it from a bladder or jar, and tying a thread around
the mouth of it, to prevent the escape of the gas. When fully blown,
attach a fanciful car of colored paper, or very thin pasteboard, to it,
and let it float in a large room; it will soon gain the ceiling, where
it will remain for any length of time; if it be let off in the open
air it will soon ascend out of sight. This experiment may be varied by
putting small grains of shot into the car, in order to ascertain the
difference between the weight of hydrogen gas and atmospheric air.
Marvelous.
Wrap up a very smooth ball of lead in a piece of paper, taking care
that there be no wrinkles in it, and that it be everywhere in contact
with the ball; if it be held in this state over the flame of a taper,
the lead will be melted without the paper being burnt. The lead,
indeed, when once fused will not fail in a short time to pierce the
paper, and run through.
Mutability.
Infuse a few shavings of logwood in common water, and when the liquid
is sufficiently red pour it into a bottle. Then take three drinking
glasses and rinse one of them with strong vinegar; throw into the
second a small quantity of pounded alum, which will not be observed if
the glass has been washed, and leave the third without any preparation.
If the red liquor in the bottle be poured into the first glass, it will
appear of a straw color; if the second it will pass gradually from a
bluish gray to black, when stirred with a key or any piece of iron
which has been previously dipped in strong vinegar. In the third glass
the red liquor will assume a violet tint.
[Illustration: THE END.]
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Transcriber’s Notes:
Illustrations have been moved to paragraph breaks near where they are
mentioned.
Punctuation has been made consistent.
Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in
the original publication, except that obvious typos have been corrected.
Additional notes:
p. 3: Inserted “that” (paper, that give)
p. 6: “choose” changed to “chose” (and chose to)
p. 11: “jar, or a soup-plate” should be “jar, and a soup-plate”
p. 18: “altered as in fig. 4” should be “altered as in fig. 6”
p. 18: “lightness” changed to “tightness” (absolute tightness. Such)
p. 22: “entirely. As” changed to “entirely, as” (out entirely, as)
p. 28: “valve shown in fig. 4” should be “valve shown in fig. 6”
p. 45: “with” inserted (ground, with a)
End of Project Gutenberg's How to Do Chemical Tricks, by A. Anderson