THE YOL'NG SCIENTIST. 
27 
These movements must of course be prac- 
ticed until tliej can be made with the rapidity 
of thought, but even when this proficiency is 
attained, it is not well to attempt making the 
pass immediately after the card is replaced in 
the pack, for at that moment the eyes of the 
spectators are fixed on the hands of the per- 
former, and no matter how rapid his manip- 
ulations may be, there is always more or less 
of a shock or tremor caused by the cards press- 
ing against one another, and this being no- 
ticed, may give rise to a suspicion that by 
some means or another the card has been 
changed. It is better, rather, to wait until 
their attention has been called off, and then 
make the pass. 
Having become dexterous in making 
pass, you may now attempt /omn^. 
The card to be fojced, being, we will s 
pose, either on the top or at the bottom of 
pack, make the pass, and so bring it to the < 
tre. Place that which is now the upper ps 
Fig. 6. 
on the lower one, in a diagonal manner, 
in the illustration, so that the two packs 1< 
something like a fan when half way opened. 
Suppose that the pack is in the right hand, 
the top packet will be under the control of the 
left hand. 
Spread out the cards of this packet with the 
fingers of the left hand, and the thumb of the 
right, always remembering to keep in sight 
the card, to be forced ; if this card was on top 
of the pack before the pass was made, it will 
now be the first one of the lower packet, and 
if the under one of the pack, will be at the 
bottom of the upper packet. 
Present the pack to some person, with the 
request that he or she, (and I must here remark 
that it is much easier to force a card on a lady 
than on a gentleman) will draw a card, " which 
ever one you like." At the moment that his 
hand reaches the pack, quietly slide along the 
cards of the top packet, by means of the riglit 
thumb, until just as he is about to draw, when 
you must so manage that the card will be in- 
vitingly before him. By thus sliding along 
the cards, you at once do away with the idea 
that there is any preparation about the matter, 
at the same time that you are, by this means, 
enabled to reach the card you want to force 
and which in ninety-nine times out of a hun- 
dred, will be drawn. 
It requires some little practice, but as it is al- 
most indispensable in magic, the time spent in 
perfecting yourself in manipulation will not be 
lost. 
The Heavens for February , 
METEORIC SHOWERS. 
Some years ago a committee was appointed 
by the British Association for the Advancement 
of Science, to systemize and analyze all the 
facts and reports concerning luminous meteors. 
The epochs which this committee established 
we will give each month. For Feb, they are : 
10th, 15th, 18th, March 6th and 12th. These 
are simply the dates on which star-showers 
have occurred with more or less frequency, 
and for those interested in meteoric astron- 
omy a fine field for investigation is present- 
ed to establish their periods an4 radiant 
points. 
These two lines that look so solemn 
Were put in here to fill this column. 
up- 
the 
jen- 
ick, 
as 
3ok 
DOUBLE STARS. 
Under this head we will give each month 
some tests for telescopes of different grade. 
a Ursae Minoris (Polaris) is a fine double. The 
companion is faint and difl&cult to "pick up" 
with a small telescope. An aperture of two 
inches and a power of sixty will separate 
them. The companion is estimated to be 
of the mag. and 18".6 distant from Po- 
laris, having a pale white tint. Rev. W. R. 
Dawes saw it with his large refractor, hav- 
ing its object glass diminished to one inch 
and using a power of eighty, but no small 
instrument having an object glass less than 
two inches will show it. After once finding 
it with a large glass it is much easier to 
catch it in small ones. A power of thirty- 
five or forty will show about thirty stars in 
the field with Polaris. Proctor mentions 
this as a good test for the illuminating power 
of telescopes. 
