Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-09-23
MAGICAh DELUSI0NS.
AMUSING TRICKS DONE WITH THE AID OF
CHEMICALS.
How 10 Change the Color Of Birds Feathers or Of
FlOwG-A Curious Sympathetic Ink
Making Water Boil in Papsr.
Magician in Pt.sosGrg DisDGtch.)

Oh otucf, anu bAhuWAoS ~ lew DS1 ~
water, the surface of the water will be
come luminous in the dark, and by gently
blowing upon it phospborescent unduia
tions will be formed which illuminate tht
air above the field to a considerable dis
lance. In winter the water must be rem
de-ed blood warm. If the phosphorizsd
ether be applied to the hand or other warn
objects it renders them luminous in the
dark.
The most curious of all kinds Of sympa
thetic ink is that from cobalt. 1t Is
very singular phenomenon that the eharac
tsrs of figures traced out with this ink may
be made to disappear or reappear at pleas
IRE. This property is peculiar to Ink made
from cobalt; for all other kinds are at hrs'
invisible until some substance has been
applied to make them appear, but when
once they appear they remain. To prepare
this ink take zaffre and dissolve it in nitro
muriatic acid until the acid extracts the
metallic part of the cobalt, which commu'
nicatss to the zaffre in blue colors; then
dilute the solution with common water.
If YOU write with this liquor on paper the
characters will be invisible; but when ex-
posed to heat they will become green.
Add gradually one ounce, by measure. OF
sulphuric acid to five ounces OF water IN an
earthernware dish, and then add, also grad
ually, three q uarters of an ounce OF gran
ulsted zinc. A rapid production OF hydro
gen gas will instantly take place. Then
add from time to time few pieces OF phos.
phorus of the size Of a pea. hundreds OF
gas bubbles win be produced, which will
take fire on the surface of the effsrvescing
liquid. The whole surface of the liquid
will become luminous, and fire balls, with
Jets of fire, will dart from the bottom
through the liquid with Kissing noise. IL
makes a beautiful effect.
Fix three pins in the table and lay a
piece of money upon them; then place a
beap of the flower of sulphur below the
piece of money; add another above 1t and
set fire to them. When the flame is ex-
tinct You will tind that plate OF metal
has become detached from the coin, thus
making two out of one.
Dissolve csmphor in spirits of wine and
deposit the vessel containing the solution
in close room where the spirits of wine
will evaporate. If any one enters the
room with q candle the air will intiame,
making an effect as bright and sudden as
but there is no danger whatever
from this sparkling effect.
To melt in a moment and make 1t run
into drops, follow this rule: Bring bar
of iron 10 a white heat and then apply to
it roll of sulphur. The iron will immed-
lately melt.
Take a piece of looking-g glass, rest it on
a table in so angle in front of the object
to be copied, then, having a piece of paper
placed behind the mirror, by looking into
it from the upper part of the glass with
one eve, so to speak, and with the other
make the axis of vision meet in the focus
point of both, any object may be seen and
sketched with singular beauty and accur-
acy. This viii be found of great benefit
TO beginners in the art OF painting.
A powder which catches fire when ex-
posed to air can be prepared In this way.
Put three ounces of rock alum and one
ounce of honey or sugar into an earthen
dish, keep the mixture over the fire until
it becomes dry and hard; then pound it to
q coarse powder. Put this into bottle,
leaving part empty, and, having placed II
in q cruc,ble, fill up the Crucible with fine
sand and surround with burning Goals
When the bottle has been kept at u. red
heat for some eight minutes remove; then
stop it with piece of cork, and leaving 1t
to cool preserve the mixture IN small bot
ties we'll closed. II you unclose bottle
and let fall few grains of the powder on
s'bit of paper or any other dry substance
it will first become blue, then pretty
brown, and will, finally, burn the sub
stance on which il has fallen.
To melt lead in piece of paper wrap
ND a smooth ball of lead in 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
flames of taper the lead will be melted
without the paper being burnt. Toe lead,
indeed. when once fused, will not fail, in u
short time, to pierce the paper and run
through.
If 90 grains of phosphorus, cut very
small aud mixed with 40 grains of powder
of zinc, be put into four drachms of water
and two drachms OF concentrated sulphuic
acid be added thereto, bubbles of intiamed
phosphorated hydrogen gas will cover the
whole surface OF the fluid, forming beau
tiful mountain of fire.
A pretty trick is performed in this man
ner: Take pin aud dip into glYcerine and
mark on your arm any number whatever
say 163O-and leave the marks remain.
You must have q confederate, and, on
Joining company, suggest that some one
write some number down. Your confed-
crate will quickly respond, writing the tig'
ures already on your arm on piece OF pa
per. Let him exhibit throughout the
Gro I'D and have him burn on plate. At
ter telling the company that you propose
to make the identical figures appear on
your arm, rub the ashes of the paper on the
spot where you had previously put the
plycerine and you will have the numbers
YOUR confederate marked down on yonr
arm in very bold letters.
To cause brilliant explosion under wa
ter drop piece of phosphorus the size OF 8
pea in q tumbler of hot water, and, from a
bladder furnished with stop-cOck, force a
stream of oxygen directly upon it. This
will cause beautiful explosion under wa
ter.
To change the color Of bird or flower il
ia necessary to have earthen vessels which
have little edges or rims near their mouths.
You should likewise be provided with stop
pers of cork of diameter equal to that OF
their mouths. To make an experiment on
some bird il is necessary TO commence by
making hole in the stopper sufficiently
large to contain the neck of the bird with
out stranglipg it. This done, you divide the
stopper into two equal parts 80 "a to facili-
tate the placing of it around the neck with
out doing injury to the bird. The two
parts being brought together, you place at
the bottom of the vase an ounce Of quick
lime, and beneath that quarter Of an
ourcs of sal ammonisc. When you per-
ceiys the effervescence commences to take
place You promptly insert the stopper, to
which the bird is attached, leaving the
neck outside. The plumsge OF the body,
exposed to the effsrvescent vspor, will be-
come impregnatsd with the various colors
produced by this chemical combination.
Remove the stopper and the bird, and You
will perceive its feathers charged with
divers colors. Two or three minutes serves
to produce this effect. In experimenting
upon a flower the hole in the stopper need
only be large enough to hold the stem
which serves to suspend it in the air dur