Z^t popular Science i^exos 



AND 



BOSTON JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY. 



Volume XXIII. 



BOSTON, FEBRUARY, 1889. 



Number 2. 



CONTENTS. 



Familiar Science. — Scientific Recreations . 17 



Nitrogen 17 



Events at Niagara iS 



Division of Lat>or in tfie Economy of Animal 



Life .'.... 18 



Paris Letter 19 



Lignite 20 



Scientific Brevities 20 



Practical Chemistry and the Arts. — Elec- 

 troplating and Electrotvping 21 



Handling of Acids 21 



Things That Never will be Settled .... 22 



Railroad Notes 22 



A Useful Cement 22 



Home, Farm and Garden. — Maize .... 22 



Those Dogs 24 



Selected Recipes 24 



Gleanings 24 



Editorial. — The Immaterial Forces .... 25 



The Pasteur Institute 26 



A Young Tortoise with Two Heads ... 26 



Meteorology for December 27 



Astronomical Phenomena for February . . 28 



Literary Notes 28 



Medicine and Pharmacy. — The Hygienic 



Advantages of Country Life 29 



Monthly Summary of Medical Progress . . 29 



The Verdict of Science in Relation to Alcohol 30 



The Vitiil Spark 31 



Practical Mind Healing 32 



Medical Memoranda 32 



Publisher's Column 32 



Paiiiiliar Science. 



SCIENTIFIC RECREATIONS. 

 The Magic Basket. — A common trick 

 with East Indian jugglers is to place a child in 

 a basket and strap the cover firmly down. A 

 sharp sword is then passed through the sides 

 of the basket and is pulled out dripping with 

 blood. After the spectators have been duly 

 horrified at the apparently atrocious murder, 

 the basket is opened and shown to be empty, 

 while the child makes his appearance at a 

 little distance, alive and iinhint. The trick, 

 as performed by the skillful orientals, is a very 

 surprising one, ])ut the explanation, as given 

 l)v Robert Iloudin. and publisiied in /,a IVa- 

 ture, is remarkably simple. 



As might be supposed, the secret of the 

 trick lies in the construction of the basket, 

 which is represented in the engraving. Fig. 

 I showing it as it appears when the child is 

 first placed in it, and Fig. 2 showing it laid 

 on its side and opened so that the spectators 

 may see that it is empty, the double sides. A, 

 C, B, swinging outwardly, and allowing the 

 child to escape into the flowing robes of the 

 juggler, to emerge from thence while the at- 

 tention of the audience is distracted by the 



passing of the sword through the sides of the 

 basket and into a sponge filled with some red- 

 colored substitute for blood. 



I'igs. 1 .ind 2. 



A similar basket or box can be easilv con- 

 structed, and when skillfully handled can be 

 used to produce .some surprising illusions. 

 The movable double sides, A C and B C, are 

 fastened firmlv together and turn on a hinge 

 at C. In the illustration the end of the basket 

 nearest the spectator is omitted, to show more 

 fully the interior construction. 



The Game of Bobechon. — Roll a piece 

 of flannel into a cylindrical form, tie it tightly 

 together and sew it upon a circular piece of 



Place the whole arrangement in a soup plate, 

 and the game of "bobechon" is ready to be 

 pla3'ed. 



The feat required to be performed is to take 

 a flexible stick or twig in one's hand, and 

 with it to push the "bobechon," coin and all, 

 out of the plate, without removing the stick 

 from it. It is not necessary that the coin 

 shall remain in its place, but only that it shall 

 not fall into the plate. The problem seems 

 extremely easy, but in fact it will take many 

 trials before the "bobechon" can be pushed 

 out of the plate without leaving the coin be- 

 hind. 



It can be done in the following manner, 

 although considerable practice will be neces- 

 sary to learn the exact method : Take the 

 twig in the hand and press the end down upon 

 the plate so as to bend it into an arc of a circle 

 (see illustration.) Move it till the summit of 

 the arc rests against the angle formed by the 

 flannel roll and the felt. Move it slowly 

 sideways until the "bobechon" reaches the 

 edge of the plate. Then continue the side 

 movement, but at the same time extend die 

 arm quickly and push the twig from you. 

 This movement will cause the roll to bend 

 outwards, so that the coin falls outside the 

 plate, and a second quick movement of the 

 arm is all that is necessary to send the "bobe- 

 chon" after it. 



This game is a favorite one with the adven- 

 turers who frequent fairs and public gather- 

 ings in France, and by the aid of this simple 

 apparatus they succeed in obtaining many 

 sous from the unwary spectators, who do not 

 realize the difiiculty of the apparently easy 

 problem presented for their solution. 



I'lg- 3- 



thick felt, as represented in the illustration. 

 If properly made, the roll of flannel should be 

 stift' enough to htJld a coin upon the top 



NITROGEN. 



the mysterious element. 



There is a substance which is invisible, 

 which has neither odor nor taste, which is 

 perfectly inactive chemically, and, in fact, 

 poses.ses no qualities of matter, except weight 

 and bulk. This is the gas nitrogen which 

 constitutes four-fifths of the atmosphere which 

 surrounds us. It is apparently a dead, inert 

 form or manifestation of matter, and yet it 

 is, perhaps, one of the most important and 

 useful of all the elements, and if it should 

 vanish from the universe, life would cease to 

 exist. 



This apparent paradox is explained by the 



