The Enchanted Card Frame
A mystifying card trick, in which the performer makes use of the enchanted card frame shown in detail in the illustration, is as follows: A pack of playing cards is given to one of the spectators, who selects a card, noting the number and suit. The card is then placed in an envelope and burned by the spectator. The performer takes the ashes and loads them into a pistol, which he aims at a small frame, shown as empty, and set upon a table a few feet distant. The frame is covered with a handkerchief, and the pistol is fired at the frame. On removing the handkerchief the selected and destroyed card appears in the frame, from which it is taken at the back.
| Fig. 3 | Fig. 2 | Fig. 1 |
| Fig. 4 | Fig. 5 |
A Pocket is Cut into the Frame, and Filled with Black Sand, Obscuring the Card When the Frame is Inverted
The trick is performed as follows: A forced deck is prepared having 24 like cards, and the backs of the cards are held to the spectators when a card is selected. The frame is made of a molding 2 in. wide, mitered at the corners, and of the size indicated, the opening being 6³⁄₈ by 7¹⁄₂ in. The general views of the frame in normal position and inverted are shown in Figs. 1 and 5. A pocket is cut in the lower edge of the frame at the back, as shown in detail in Fig. 2. A pane of glass is fitted into the frame, and on the three edges other than the one having a pocket, strips of cardboard, ¹⁄₈ in. thick, are glued, as a bearing for a second piece of glass, as shown in Fig. 4. The back of the frame is fitted with a cover of thin wood, and a hinged door is arranged in the center of the back, as shown in Fig. 3.
A mat of black cardboard is fitted into the frame to form a background behind the card, Fig. 1. The pocket at the bottom is filled with black sand—that used by sign painters is satisfactory—and the frame is ready to receive the card for the performance of the trick. One of the cards from the forced deck is placed in the frame. By inverting the latter the sand is caused to run between the glass partitions, concealing the card on the black mat behind it. In this condition it is exhibited to the spectators and then placed upon the table. A handkerchief is thrown over it. The pistol is one of the toy variety and a cap is fired in it. In picking up the frame the performer turns it over, while removing the handkerchief, so that the black sand runs back into the pocket in the frame.—Harry Marcelle, Honolulu, H. I.
Portable Fence for Baby’s Play Area
By L. N. ROBINSON
A child in the “toddler” stage should be provided with a safe place in which to play without disturbing the household routine of the busy mother too frequently. The folding wood-and-wire fence shown in the [illustration] meets this need in a practical and inexpensive manner. It may be used in the home or out of doors, the fence being especially useful in the latter case, since it protects the child, and likewise the lawn flowers, which a youngster, unguarded, may injure. The fence is 25 to 32 in. high, strong enough to support a grown person sitting on the edge of it, and incloses an area of about 4 by 6 ft. This is ample for the child, and the folded fence is thus not too bulky to be transported easily. The materials cost less than $3.50, including hardware for the making of the fence, as shown in the [working drawings]. The wood used for the main frames is ¹⁄₂ by 2 in., and they are covered with wire mesh, the edges of which are nailed under strips, on the outer side of the frames. Care should be taken to insure that none of the wire strands is exposed, thus endangering the child, or the clothes of passers-by. The frames are hinged together, as shown in the plan, and fold into compact form. Two long and four short frames are required. Cut the top and bottom rails of the long frames 6 ft. in length, and those of the shorter frames and the stiles 25 in. The corner joints are cross-lapped by cutting away one-half the thickness of each strip, as shown at A. The joints at the top and bottom of the center stile, or vertical piece, are made as shown at B, and the joints at the crossing of the center stiles and the cross braces, as at C. The braces only are notched to fit the stile. Each of the joints is fastened with flat-head screws, countersunk. The ends of the braces are cut to fit flush into the corners of the frames, and are nailed in place. This provides a flat nailing surface for the wire mesh and the strips that cover its edges.