550 
AMERIOAl^ AGEICULTUEIST. 
[December, 
The Doctor’s Talks. 
A long time ago I showed how some of the tricks 
of the so-called magicians are performed; Since 
then I have had several letters asking for more of 
these tricks. An exhibition of magic, “ sleight of 
hand,” or conjuring, as it is called, is very amusing; 
we see all sorts of impossible things done before 
our eyes, and though we know that our senses are 
deceived, the deception is performed so neatly, that 
we are at a loss to see how it is done. Most of the 
conjurer’s tricks are performed by tlie aid of in¬ 
geniously contrived apparatus ; the various boxes, 
Fig. 1.— A KNIFE THROUGH THE WRIST. 
cans, jars, etc., he uses in his strange art, are all 
made to help the illusion. 
A KNIFE THROUGH THE WRIST. 
The trick of passing a knife through the wrist, 
will show how very simple some of the deceptions 
are. The magician shows his arm, with a large 
knife passing completely through it, as in figure 1. 
If you were to see the knife, it would no longer be 
a ms ;,ter of wonder. The knife is cut in two, and 
the parts connected by means of a curved spring, 
as in figure 2. By means of the spring, one-half 
of the knife is held above the wrist, and the other 
half directly below it, the knife appearing to the 
eye exactly as if it passed through the arm. Other 
Fig. 2.— THE KNIFE. 
tricks, equally surprising, are performed by the 
aid of devices quite as simple as those mentioned. 
DRAWING LIQUID FROM THE FOREHEAD. 
This trick could be performed by two persons, for 
the amusement of a gathering of young folks. One 
who undertakes to perform any trick should be 
perfectly cool and self-possessed, and be a good 
Fig. 3.— LIQUID FROM THE FOREHEAD. 
talker. This trick requires two boys, who should 
rehearse their parts beforehand. One boy, whom 
we will call George, perfoi-ms the trick, and Charles 
acts as his assistant, George attracts the atten¬ 
tion of the company by saying to the other : “ Why 
Charles, what on earth makes you look so pale, 
what is the matter with you?”— Charles. —“Yes, 
something is the matter, I feel very badly.”— 
George. —“ What have you taken ?”— Charles. —“ I 
saw in the next room a bottle 
which I supposed might be 
some refreshment, and I— 
tasted of it.”— George. — 
“ What! a bottle on the 
shelf ? —Mother’s hair tonic! 
Oh, Charles, why did you 1 
It will at once fiy to your 
head, and give you colly¬ 
wobbles of the brain.” — 
Charles .— “Oh, what shall I 
do ?—what shall—I—do—oo 
— 00 .”— George. —“Sit here, 
and ni relieve you at once.” 4 .—the funnel. 
George goes out and returns with a big awl and a 
glass in one hand,and a small funnel in the other. He 
asks one of the company to hold the glass, makes 
Charles bend his head over, and at once plunges 
the awl into his forehead. Then asking the holder 
of the glass to bring it to the proper position, ap¬ 
plies the funnel to Charles’ forehead, and a quan¬ 
tity of dark liquid runs into the glass.— George. — 
“ There, Charles, how do you feel no'fi."—Charles. 
—“Better, much better.”— George. —“A walk in 
the open air will quite restore you, come.” This 
gives George a chance to remove his awl and fun¬ 
nel before the others examine them. The trick, 
when well done, is very puzzling, the awl appear¬ 
ing to enter the forehead, and the liquid to run 
from the wound. The awl, as seen in figure 3, is 
so arranged that with a slight pressure upon its 
blunt point, it slips into the handle. When pressed 
against the boy’s forehead, it appears to enter the 
skull. The funnel, figure 4, is a double one. Such 
funnels are sold by dealers in magician’s imple¬ 
ments, and can be made by a tinman. A funnel is 
placed inside of another, with a small space between 
the two. Molasses and water, or other colored 
liquid is placed in the space between the two fun¬ 
nels ; there is a small air hole connecting with this 
space, just where the handle is attached. As long 
as the thumb is kept over this air-hole, the liquid 
will remain in the space, but as soon as the hole is 
uneovered, and air allowed to enter, the dark liq¬ 
uid will run out and should be caught in the glass. 
Christmas Surprises. 
If Christmas presents are not too numerous it is 
a good plan to prolong the pleasure by a few unex¬ 
pected surprises. In one 
family we know of, the gifts 
are hidden in out-of-the-way 
places, and there is a grand 
game of “ Hide and Seek ” 
on Christmas morning ; and 
great fun when the articles 
(which are labeled) are dis¬ 
covered, and delivered to 
the rightful owners. 
The Treasure-Loaf, is a 
novel Christmas-box for the 
mother of the family. To 
make this, take a loaf of 
bread well browned, and 
with a sharp knife make a 
deep incision and work the 
knife round until you can 
lift off the lower piece en¬ 
tire. Scrape out all the soft 
part within, only leaving the 
crust. Wrap the gift in pa¬ 
per, lay it in the hollow 
and replace the removed 
portion, which must be se¬ 
cured in place with flour 
paste. Then set the loaf 
in a hot oven for a few 
moments to brown the under-side, and when taken 
out rub the joined places with sand paper ; no one 
will suspect from the appearance of the loaf that 
it has been opened, until €he present is discovered. 
The litle ones will appreciate the Christmas 
snowball. Constiuct a framework of whalebones, 
in two-halves, a yard and a half in circumference. 
There should be four or five strips for each half, 
joined together at both ends and bulging in the 
centre, to give a circular shape ; cover these with 
paper and then gum on white wool or cotton. 
Fill the ball with the gifts, and fasten it together 
lightly, so that it will readily fall apart. It will 
cause great merriment when this “Santa 
Claus” snowball comes rolling in on Christmas 
morning, and afterwards falls into many pieces. 
An Old Puzzle Improved. 
The task of making a plug that will exactly fit 
both a round hole and a square one, is by no means 
a new puzzle. The addition here made to it is quite 
new. A thin piece of board has a circular and a 
square hole, and a third in the form of a letter T, 
or an incomplete cross. The puzzle is, to so shape 
one piece of wood, that it will neatly fill all the 
openings. In order that the task may be accom¬ 
plished, the three holes should bear a proper pro¬ 
portion to one another. The sides of the square 
hole should be of the same length as the diameter 
of the circle. The top part of the letter T should 
be the length of one side of the square, and from 
the upper side of the cross-piece to the Tower end 
of the upright should be the same length. The 
shape of the block, or plug, may be found after 
a few trials. If given this plug ready made, many 
persons will be puzzled to make it fit all the holes. 
The Eock Kangaroo. 
The books often speak of the Kangaroo, as if 
there were but one. There is in Australia, besides 
the Great Kangaroo, another, named from its hab¬ 
its, Rock Kangaroo, and the Tree Kangaroo in 
New Guinea. The engraving represents the Rock 
Kangaroo, whick is only about half the size of the 
common kind. It has a brush of long hairs at the 
the rock kangaroo. 
end of its tail, on which account the Australians 
often call it the Brush-tailed Kangaroo. The 
general color of the animal is a purplish-gray, the 
chin and underside of the throat are white, with 
