178 



EECEEATIVE SCIENCE. 



that I simply give one experiment of eacL, 

 class : — 



1. From simple colours to produce a com- 

 pound colour. — Take a disc coloured equally 

 red, blue, and yellow, and placing your finger 

 upon the red, have the blue upon your left 

 hand, and the yellow on the right; rotate 

 this very gently, so that blue passes the eye 

 before the yellow ; by turning the key away 

 from you, you have a blue. Let this cease, and 

 then very gently reverse the key ; by turning it 

 towards you, awAKM gkeen will be produced. 

 The singularity of this I will not now discuss. 



2. Have a disc coloured in concentric 

 bands like a target, say blue centre, then 

 crimson, orange, yellow, and purple; j'^ou 

 wUl look for a rainbow-like blending — try. 



3. Wliat white is composed of. — Divide a 

 disc, violet 80", indigo 40", Prussian blue 60', 

 green 60", yellow 48°, orange 27°, red 45° ; 

 rotate with speed. 



4. Screw on a disc, half blue half white, 

 rotate and mount the pattern, say Fig. 4, on 

 to the spindle. The black wUl gradually dis- 

 appear and become blue, while all the perfora- 

 tions are white. 



6. Put down a multi-coloured disc and 

 pattern. Pig. 5 will produce a jewel-like con- 

 stellation ; Pig. 6 will give long rays of colour 

 darting like a meteor or comet's tail, etc. 



6. This is a different class of experiment. 

 Put down a multi-coloured disc, and imme- 

 diately upon it place a rather open pattern, 

 as Pig. 7 (looping up the string), screw these 

 down together and rotate — this wiU show a 

 beautiful graduation of tints ; then mount a 

 pattern over all and apply the chromascope. 

 A magnificent double and treble network or 

 engine-turning wiU appear to view, varied 

 according to the speed of rotation, as also by 

 changing the upper pattern. 



These experiments may be varied ad in- 

 finitum, and many others will suggest them- 

 selves to the manipulatingreaders of this work, 

 from which, I have no doubt, very interest- 

 ing and important results wiU be obtained. 



All the experiments may be tried by 

 candle-light. The yellows only becoming dull, 

 a few self-evident arrangements wiU have to 

 be made. The light must be placed nearly 

 level with the black discs, so as not to throw 

 a shadow upon the disc-table, and then the 

 colours appear exceedingly brilliant through 

 the chromascope. 



Thus I wlU now leave the matter ; but as 

 every few days suggest to me some improve- 

 ment and new use for this curious instrument, 

 I may be able, at a future time, when I have 

 matured my experiments, to interest others 

 in them through the medium of this work. 

 Guildford. Thos. GtOODCHILD. 



THE APTERYX at DINNEE. 



On a worm being presented to an Apteryx, it 

 seized it between the tips of its mandibles, 

 and a sleight was then performed which it 

 perfectly baffled the eye to follow. AH that 

 was seen was a sudden jerk of the head 

 upwards, and an opening of the bill equally 

 sudden and simultaneous ; the worm mean- 

 time disappearing with the quickness of a 

 flash of lightning. The mode by which it 

 was swallowed appeared to be this: — The 

 worm being taken between the tips of the 

 mandibles, a very rapid retrograde move- 

 ment of the head and neck gave it an im- 

 petus in the direction of the throat. It 

 was held fast just time enough to give 

 this impetus, and the biU being opened at 

 that moment and the worm released, it was 

 carried by the force into the throat, and 

 swallowed by the ordinary muscular action 

 of the oesophagus. Toads, chameleons, wood- 

 peckers, and many other creatures, take their 

 prey with an imperceptible motion of the 

 tongue ; but in this case it had to traverse 

 the entire length of a long bill. 



0. S. EouNi). 



