RECREATIVE S 



the end of the c-r : other on tho top of the wooden 



jiilhir, .'ii! "lit in :i fork to rocoivo it. 



IM a nui'^li brass pallor, one inch and throe- 

 quart. T.S in diaui. ' 'ir exactly equal m"t. 



i.|.|iu-it.- ilnv.-tii.n- in:. iin.-jii.u .-, by using 



attached to tho axlo carrying tin; device. 



It may bo iut together fur a fow shillings, and will not only 



show tin- pretty effects of Mr. 



. u kalotrope, but also those of 



hi.s UK 're elaborate contrivance, 



tlu photodrome, or liyht- 



. in which a device, moving 



round very fast, actually appears to 



ttiU. 



This curious effect is well shown 

 hy attaching tho blackened card- 

 dcvii:<s out out with two 

 circles and ten radii (Fig. 5) to one 

 of tho axles; and the perforated 

 disc (Fig. 0), with ten slots, to the 

 other axlo of tho eamo sized pulley 

 with the crossed band; on turning 

 tho handle the device appears to 

 stand still, although it is moving 

 round at least 100 times in a minute. 

 With the ordinary colour top it 



tring is again wound, to be once 

 * long M may be deeired. The 

 1 for half -a-crown, and will afford 

 person* who can paint a great 



and by the momentum 



whole affair oan be oonsti 



inn- i. amusement to yo 



variety ! <li-<-- 



AH a contrast to thin inexpensive arrangement, is the 



refined colour top, constructed by Mr. Pichler, which oosU one 

 guinea, and u most beantifnlly 

 made. It consist* of a circular 

 brass plate, through wfu 

 panned or fixed a steel axle, M 

 shown in Fig. 8. The spindle 

 assumes the appearance of an in- 

 verted cup at the lower part of the 

 upper face, and it is turned by roll- 

 ing the spindle between the palm* 

 of tho hands. With practice it in 

 surprising what a velocity may be 

 imparted ; and as the brass circle 

 is heavy, and the power accumu- 

 lates in it like a fly-wheel, it will 

 continue rotating for a very con- 

 siderable period. The designs are 

 all most carefully drawn and 

 painted ; thus, by placing Fig. 9, 

 which is painted in squares of green, 



is, of course, necessary to wind 



on tho string each time before 



spinning it, and thus the effects 



cannot be made continuous. In 



order to surmount this objection, 



Mr. Pilkington has arranged a 



very cheap and effective top, 



which may be kept spinning as 



long as the operator wishes to 



observe any particular coloured 



disc ; it can also be used with 



bent wires, or slips of cardboard, 



in order to create those figures 



of vases, tumblers, bottles or goblets, already alluded to in our 



last paper. 



The top (Fig. 7) is made of a circular piece of boxwood, four 

 inches in diameter and half an inch thick ; through the centre 

 of which is passed a hollow brass tube, having a bore of an 

 eighth of an inch ; on the upper face is arranged the coloured 

 disc, painted according to the taste of the operator ; and if 

 variety of effect is desired, a loop of cardboard, also coloured, 

 is fixed in a serai-circular form, as shown in Fig. 7. In order to 

 give it a rotatory motion, the lower part of the tube is placed 

 on a spindle lot into an ebony handle ; the tube drops into the 

 hollow of the brass ring, and is thereby kept in its place when 

 the string, which is tied to and wound round it, is pulled out. 

 Every time the string is pulled out, the boxwood circle rotates, 



Fig. 9. 



yellow, blue, violet, red, orange, 

 on the brass circle, and rotating 

 the top with the palms of the 

 hands, the whole changes to cir- 

 cular figures showing red, green, 

 yellow, or blue in the outer circle, 

 then four sections of yellow, red, 

 green, or blue, crossed by a nar- 

 row circular band, presenting the 

 same colours in varied compart- 

 ments (Fig. 10), and by merely 

 touching or raising the edge of 

 the painted disc, the arrangement 



of colour changes immediately ; the movement of a corner 

 causing a wave of changing colour to pass over the disc. It is 

 very amusing to observe the change of the squares to circles 

 concentric with each other. 



By placing the perforated black card (Fig. 11) on tho first 

 flange, or inverted cnp-likg figure at tho bottom of the top 

 spindle, and looking through it at various coloured discs, while 

 the top is rotating, the shadows cast by the upper and per- 

 forated disc on the lower coloured one produce a remarkable 

 appearance, and make it appear as if a number of rings were 

 standing up above the lower disc, some of which are bine, others 

 red or yellow, according to the manner in which they are 

 painted. Perhaps tho most complete and handsomest appara- 

 tus for showing coloured circles, with or without perforated 



