To prepare a luminous Bottle.
Put a piece of phosphorus, the size of a pea, into a phial, add boiling oil until the bottle is a third full. The phial must then be carefully corked; and when it is to be used it should be unstopped, to admit the atmospheric air; the upper part of the phial will be luminous, and if care be taken to keep it in general well closed, it will preserve this illuminative power for six months.
An excellent feat to win a wager.
Lay any person a bet that you will stick a knife in a beam of the ceiling, and place a halfpenny underneath, so that by striking the beam the handle of the knife will fall on the halfpenny. To perform this feat you have only to fill a glass with water, and dip the handle in it while it is suspended; then observe where the water that is on the handle drops on the floor, place the halfpenny on the spot where it fell, and it will be sure to be immediately under it.
How to make Squibs and Serpents.
First, make the cases, of about six inches in length, by rolling slips of stout cartridge paper three times round a roller, and pasting the last fold; tying it near the bottom as tight as possible, and making it air-tight at the end by sealing-wax. Then take of gunpowder half a pound, one ounce of charcoal, one ounce of brimstone, and half an ounce of steel filings; grind them with a muller, or pound them in a mortar. The cases being dry and ready, first put a thimble-full of powder, and ram it hard down with a ruler; then fill the case to the top with the aforesaid mixture, ramming it hard down in the course of filling it two or three times; when this is done, point it with touch-paper, which should be pasted on that part which touches the case, otherwise it is liable to drop off.
To produce an Electric Spark from a piece of Brown Paper.
Thoroughly dry before the fire a quarter of a sheet of stoutish brown paper, place it on your thigh, holding it at the edge with one hand, while with the cuff of the sleeve on the other, you must rub it smartly backwards and forwards ten or fifteen times, if the knuckle be then placed near the paper it will emit a brilliant spark, accompanied with a snapping noise; the prongs of a fork similarly placed, will produce three distinct streams of light. The experiment must of course be performed in the dark, and the trowsers and coat be of woollen cloth.
Magic Squares.
A magic square consists of numbers so disposed that in whatever way you may add the numbers, which the square contains, they will give the same amount, whether it be vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.