Imitation of Animal Tints.
To accomplish this metamorphosis, it is necessary to have earthen vases which have little edges or rims near their mouths, and should be of a size sufficiently large to hold suspended the bird or flower which you intend placing in them. You should likewise be provided with stoppers of cork, of a diameter equal to that of their mouths. To make an experiment upon some bird, it is necessary to commence by making a hole in the stopper, sufficiently large to contain the neck of the bird without strangling it. This done, you divide the diameter of the stopper into two equal parts so as to facilitate the placing of it around the neck without doing injury to the bird. The two parts being brought together, you place at the bottom of the vase an ounce of quicklime, and beneath that a quarter of an ounce of sal ammoniac. When you perceive the effervescence commence to take place, you promptly insert the stopper, to which the bird is attached, leaving the neck outside. The plumage of the body, exposed to this effervescent vapor, will become impregnated with the various colors produced by this chemical combination.
Melting a Coin.
Fix three pins in the table and lay the piece of money upon them; then place a heap of the flour of sulphur below the piece of money, and another above it, and set fire to them. When the flame is extinct, you will find on the upper part of the piece a thin plate of metal, which has been detached from it.
Explosive Gas.
Mix two drachms of the filings of iron with one ounce of concentrated spirit of vitriol in a strong bottle that holds about a quarter of a pint; stop it close, and in a few moments shake the bottle; then taking out the cork, put a lighted candle near its mouth which should be a little inclined, and you will soon observe an inflammation arise from the bottle, attended with a loud explosion.
To guard against the danger of the bottle bursting, the best way would be to bury it in the ground and apply the light to the mouth by means of a taper fastened to the end of a long stick.