The automaton which we illustrate has a peculiarity of being actuated by a simple flow of sand. It is curious that it was made in the first half of the eighteenth century. The image, clad in Oriental costume of bright colors, is seated behind a little table which is located in front of what appears to be a brick and stone structure; it is made of pasteboard. All of the details are executed with great care. When the automaton is in motion it acts as a juggler. The arms rise alternately or in unison, and lift the cups, and at every motion expose upon the table first to the right a white ball, then to the left a red ball, which passes to the right and disappears. Then two white balls make their appearance on a new motion of the cups, and these are changed into red ones at the next motion. The house forms a receptacle for fine sand which falls upon the wheel, G, through the hopper, F. The sand flows in a continuous stream, and causes the wheel, G, to revolve with great rapidity. To this wheel are fixed six tappets which engage with the toothed wheel, J, and thus diminish the rapidity. The wheel itself communicates through the medium of teeth with the cylinder, H, which is thus given a slow motion, which causes the automaton to act as follows: Opposite the cylinder there are two series of levers of four each, the extremities of which we suppose to be marked A, B, C, D, and A′, B′, C′, D′. The two levers, D and D′, lift the arms, L L, and the extremity of each of the six others is placed under a small strip of cardboard. Each of these strips is hinged by one of its extremities to the table; the other end, on rising, places itself just beneath the small aperture in the table, E. If now we examine the cylinder, B, we shall see that it is provided with a series of cams, A, B, C, and A′, B′, C′, and opposite these, other and smaller ones, D and D′. Each cam, when the cylinder revolves, strikes in turn one of the levers. The larger cams lift the levers and consequently the hinged cards, with the balls of different colors, and keep them lifted for some time, and during this period the smaller cams act upon the levers of the arms that hold the cups. In this way the balls are in place when the arms rise, and do not disappear, in order to be replaced by others, until the arms have descended. The cams, A and A′, cause the red balls to act, and the white balls are raised by the cams, C and C′. As for the cams, B and B′, they act upon strips of cardboard that merely support obturators for the apertures in the table.
The mechanical toy shown in the accompanying illustration is one of the most original and ingenious things of its kind that have recently appeared. Within the base upon which the “artist” and his easel are placed, and immediately below the figure, is a small pinion which is operated by a worm at the end of the crankshaft which is seen projecting through the side of the base. The pinion, which rotates in a horizontal plane, is provided with a couple of pins upon which is placed one of the sets of removable cams which accompany the toy. The cams are double, being provided with two separate peripheral edges, and each edge is engaged by the short arm of a pair of levers, as shown in the engraving. The upper lever attaches at the end of its long arm to a vertical shaft which passes up through the body of the figure, and is pivotally attached to its right arm at the shoulder. By this means the rotation of the cam causes a vertical up and down movement of the arm and the drawing pencil which it carries. The lower cam operates a system of levers by which the arm is given a series of right and left movements. It is evident that by giving the proper relative contours to the two edges of the cam, the arm, with the pencil which it carries, may be made to trace any desired line upon the paper, either vertical or horizontal, by the action of the first or second cam; or diagonal or curved, by the joint operation of the two. Each of the double cams which are provided with the toy is cut so that its operation will cause the figure to draw some well-known object. The levers are kept in snug contact with the cams by a pair of spiral springs.
The easel is hinged to the base and is pressed against the pencil by means of a coil spring. It is provided with four projecting pins upon which the sheet of paper is held while the sketch artist is at work. The model from which our engraving was made produced an easily recognized likeness of the Emperor William of Germany (the device is “made in Germany”), and a drawing which bore a strong resemblance to the familiar barnyard fowl.
A good many years ago what was supposed to be a steam man was exhibited all over the country, but finally the “steam man” presumably died, as his remains were seen quite recently in one of the downtown New York junk stores. The steam man which we illustrate was invented by Prof. George Moore, who exhibited him very widely in the United States.
In our illustration we show the section and general view of the steam man. In the body is the boiler, containing a very large heating surface which is supplied with a gasoline fire. Below the boiler is situated the engine. While this steam engine is not at all large, it runs at a very high speed and is of high power, the combination of boiler and engine giving about one-half horse-power. From the engine the exhaust pipe leads to the nose of the figure, whence the steam escapes when the machine is in motion. Through the head the smoke flue is carried, and the products of combustion escape from the top of the helmet. The steam gauge is placed by the side of the neck. The skirts of the armor open like doors, so as to give free access to the engine. The main body of the figure is made of heavy tin. By reducing gear the engine is made to drive the walking mechanism of the figure at reasonable speed.
In our sectional view we show the combination of levers by which the figure is made to walk. The engine imparts a swinging to the whole length of the leg from the hip; a second swinging motion, from the knee downward, is accomplished by a similar system of levers and connections; and, finally, a true ankle motion is given to the foot by the rod running down through the lower leg. The heels of the figure are armed with calks, or spurs, which catch on the surface on which it is walking and give it its power. As exhibited, the steam man is connected to the end of a horizontal bar about waist high, which is fastened to a vertical standard in the center of the track. Thus supported, the man walks round in a circle at quite a rapid rate of progress.
For the last eight years the inventor has been at work on a larger steam man which he hopes to have in operation sometime. The new one is designed for use on the open streets, and is to draw a wagon containing a band. In the upper figure we indicate the method of attachment to the wagon which has been adopted. By the long spring at the side of the figure an elastic connection is secured, so that the figure shall always have its weight supported by the ground. The present man, which is about six feet high, when in full operation, cannot, it is said, be held back by two men pulling against it. The larger man, built for heavier work, is expected to pull as many as ten musicians in his wagon. Our cuts show the general appearance of the figure, which is attired in armor like a knight of old, and which appears to be thoroughly operative. The action is quite natural, and the hip, knee, and ankle motion of the human leg have been very faithfully imitated. The figure moves at a brisk walk and can cover about four or five miles an hour.
The simple toy illustrated in the engraving has printed on the underside the rather high-sounding title, “X-Ray Machine. Wonder of the age!” But it is neither an X-ray machine nor a wonder. It is simply a reduced copy of an ancient trick. The two cylinders mounted on the base, with a space between them, are perforated axially and are supposed to represent coils. When the eye is applied to the end of one of these cylinders, objects may be clearly seen through them; and when a coin is slipped between the ends of the cylinders, as shown in the cut, it offers no obstruction to the light. Objects can apparently be seen through the coin. Fig. 2 affords an explanation. The hole in each cylinder is intercepted by a mirror arranged at an angle of forty-five degrees with the axis of the cylinder, and in the base are two mirrors arranged parallel with the first two, as shown. A hole extends downward from the central hole of each cylinder, so that light entering at one end of the machine is reflected downward at right angles by the first mirror, thence forward by the second mirror to the third, which throws it up to the fourth mirror, by which it is reflected to the eye. It will thus be seen that the light never passes entirely through the cylinders, and the observer does not see through, but around, the coin.
The old device which preceded this was on a much larger scale, and was generally used in connection with a brick, which, of course, had the same transparency as the coin.
A few years ago a familiar sight on Broadway was the toy vender who sells the little machine called the “Money Maker,” the machine consisting of a pair of rollers in one side of which are inserted plain sheets of paper of the size of a bank note, and as the rollers revolve, a bright new bill rolls out from the opposite side; then another blank sheet is inserted, and another bill rolls out, and so on. To the uninitiated this operation is a mystery, and to the unprincipled it is apparently the device long looked for. This machine is certainly as good as any device calculated to make something out of nothing, but in this, as in other things, what you get you must pay for.
The explanation of the device is made simple by the enlarged cross section. To the two rollers journaled in the standards are attached the ends of a strip of black cloth which is wound around both rollers in opposite directions, so as to about evenly divide the cloth between the rollers. The gudgeons of the rollers are squared to receive an ordinary clock key, by means of which either may be turned. To prepare the machine for operation, the cloth is wound upon one of the rollers while it is partly unwound from the other; then the key is transferred to the gudgeon of the partly filled roller, and as it is turned, crisp new bank bills are fed into the machine and are wrapped with the black cloth upon the roller between the convolutions of the cloth; one bill after another is thus inserted until three, four, or more bills are hidden in the roll, and the rollers present about the same appearance as to size. This preparation, of course, takes place aside, and is not seen by the persons to whom the trick is to be shown. The key is shifted from the roller containing the bills (the upper one in the present case) to the lower one. Now, as the lower roller is turned so as to unwind the cloth from the upper roll, a piece of plain paper of the width and length of a bank note is inserted at the moment the first bill is about to emerge from the layers of cloth on the upper roll. The paper begins to be rolled upon the lower roll under the outer layer of cloth, so that while the paper appears to be simply rolled through between the rollers, coming out upon the opposite side a complete bill, it is in reality only hidden by the cloth on the lower roller. After the first bill is discharged from the rollers another piece of paper must be supplied in such a manner that it will begin to enter the machine as the next bill emerges, and so on.
The elasticity of torsion and tension, the storage of energy, centrifugal force, momentum, and friction are all concerned in the movement of the simple toy illustrated in Fig. 1; and yet, perhaps, not one in a thousand of the people who see the toy realizes the composite nature of its action. Barring the well-known return ball, nothing can be simpler than this toy, which consists of two wooden balls of the same diameter connected by a slender rubber band attached by staples, as shown in the lower figure.
To prepare the toy for operation, it is only necessary to twist the rubber band by holding one of the balls in the hand and rolling the other round in a circular path upon the floor by giving to the hand a gyratory motion. As soon as the band is twisted, the free ball is grasped in the hand, then both are released at once.
The untwisting of the rubber band causes the balls to roll in opposite directions in a circular path, and centrifugal force causes the balls to fly outward. By virtue of the acquired momentum, the balls continue to rotate after the rubber band is untwisted, so that the band is again twisted, but in the opposite direction. As soon as the resistance of the band overcomes the momentum of the balls, the rotation ceases for an instant, when the band again untwisting revolves the balls in the opposite direction, and the operation is repeated until the stored energy is exhausted.
In Fig. 2 is illustrated another ball in which the center of gravity is located near the periphery. The ball, which is hollow, is made of paper. To the inner surface of the ball is attached a weight which is secured in place by a piece of cloth glued over it. When this ball is thrown through the air with a whirling motion, it describes a curve like that indicated by dotted lines in the upper part of the engraving, so that it is difficult, if not impossible, to catch it. When the ball is rolled on a plane surface, it does not take a straightforward course, as would be expected from a well-balanced ball, but its course is very erratic, as indicated by dotted lines in the lower part of the figure.
An artificial rose, which is of paper, is traversed by a metallic tube that forms its stalk. One end of this tube extends slightly beyond the petals of the flower, and the other is prolonged in such a way that it can be held in the mouth, the flower being at a distance of about ten inches from the eyes.
If the tube be blown into regularly, and a small elder-pith ball, to which two artificial butterflies are affixed by slender wires, be placed over the flower, the ball, when well centered in the current of air, will remain suspended therein at an inch or so from the flower. As the current of air is invisible, the effect produced is very surprising, and the butterflies, incessantly in motion, appear to be engaged in rifling the flower of sweets, after the manner of living ones. It sometimes happens that the ball revolves in the current and carries along the butterflies, which thus describe a circle around an axis. It is unnecessary to say that the blowing must be done with great regularity.
The vulcanite electrophorus shown in our first engraving consists of a plate of vulcanite about one-third of an inch in thickness; one or more small pieces of tin foil about the size of a playing card are pasted on one side of the plate. The electrophorus is then placed on a table, and the surfaces are successively rubbed with the palm of the hand. If the plate is raised from the table and the tin foil is approached by the other hand, a spark is produced. A number of figures of elder pith complete the toy and show the phenomena of electrical attraction and repulsion in the most comical manner. The plate being excited, the small elder-pith figures are placed on the tin foil, and the plate is lifted from the table. The figures raise their arms, and the hair of the one in the center stands out like the bristles of a porcupine.
Our second engraving shows some electrical bottle imps. A glass vessel is mounted on a hollow base containing an electro-magnet provided with battery connections. One or two small figures surmounted by a hollow glass bulb have a small piece of wire attached to the feet and are placed in the vessel. The air in the hollow glass bulb will draw them up to the surface of the water, as shown in the engraving, but as soon as the current is turned on, the figures will be drawn irresistibly to the bottom of the vessel; as soon as the current is interrupted the figures will rise rapidly.
The magic fishes shown in our third engraving depend upon a similar trick. The electro-magnet is replaced by a small electro-motor which rotates from right to left, or from left to right, and causes a corresponding movement in the fishes, as the shaft carries a magnet which, of course, attracts the fishes and causes them to make a circular course around the small fish tank.
Whatever may be the opinion that is held as to horse races and their moral influence, it is none the less certain that they offer an irresistible attraction to a large number of persons, and that this growing passion prevails equally in all degrees of the social scale. Bold innovators have seen a vein to be exploited in the racing mania, and the game of the miniature horse race, an always popular pastime at bathing resorts, is only one of the more happy forms given to true races with a view of prolonging the excitement of betting, of the unexpected, and of chance, at times when genuine racing could be done only with difficulty and would attract too small a number of persons. The electric race course that we are now going to present to our readers occupies a place just between genuine races and the miniature horse race. It is, in fact, a happy alliance of genuine races, the game just mentioned, hobby horses, and electricity. Taken as a whole, it consists of a certain number of hobby horses, half natural size, each moving over a circular track, under the influence of an individual motor, and receiving the current of a single generator, but in an independent manner; thus securing a perfect autonomy to each courser, qualified, moreover, by the surveillance of the electrician who acts as a sort of despotic monarch over them. The horses are ridden by children and even by grown persons, and it is in this that they resemble hobby horses, although the possibility of imparting different speeds to them permits of their being passed by competitors and of passing the latter in turn, thus increasing the excitement of the riders. Bets may be made, of which the chances are just as certain as those of the play of odd and even upon the numbers of the hacks traversing the boulevards of Paris.
M. Salle’s race course constitutes an interesting application of the carriage and of the distribution of motive power by continuous currents. The installation erected in Nice (shown in Fig. 1) comprises a twelve-horse-power gas engine that actuates a Rechniewsky dynamo with double winding, which sends the current into six electric motors.
About the motor and dynamo there is nothing peculiar. An electric motor is arranged behind each horse (Fig. 2). When the circuit of the dynamo is closed, all the horses start at once and take on relative speeds that are so much the greater in proportion as the circle upon which they are placed has a greater radius. The speed of each horse, moreover, can be regulated at will by means of a rheostat interposed in its particular circuit. An interrupter permits of stopping any horse whatever without stopping the movement of all the others. All the motions are controlled from the post of the electrician, who, standing upon a lateral stage, overlooks the entire track, and can watch and regulate what takes place upon it, for upon a horizontally arranged board he has all the maneuvering pieces necessary for the play. These pieces are, in the first place, a main commutator that cuts the circuit from all the horses at once; then six individual commutators for each of the horses, six rheostats interposed in the respective circuits of the six motors and permitting of regulating the angular speeds of each horse, and finally an exciting rheostat of the dynamo machine that permits of varying the speeds of all the motors at once, in the same ratio.
It is therefore possible, by maneuvering these different pieces, to regulate the general or particular gait of each horse, and to stop any one of the horses almost instantly if an obstacle falls upon the track, or if one of the riders becomes suddenly indisposed.
The driving of the motive wheel by the motor is done by direct contact. To this effect the large wheel is provided with a rubber tire, against which the pulley of the motor bears. The friction thus obtained is sufficient to carry along the vehicle, which, with the rider, weighs a little less than six hundred and fifty pounds. The mean speed is thirteen feet per second, but the horses placed at the circumference can obtain a speed of sixteen or eighteen feet, a velocity that it is not prudent to exceed, or even reach, on account of the difficulty the rider would have in holding himself in equilibrium, and the feeling of dizziness that he might experience.
The vehicle upon which each horse is mounted merits special mention, because of the arrangements made to prevent upsetting. Each of the four wheels has a different diameter. Their two axles converge toward the center of the circular track upon which each horse moves, and the axis inclines toward the center.
Each pair of wheels, therefore, constitutes a true rolling cone, whose apex passes through the central point of the track situated upon the horizontal rolling plane. The inequality of the wheels naturally makes it necessary to employ but a single driving wheel, and to mount the four wheels loose upon the axles. Owing to these arrangements no tendency to derailment has shown itself, even with speeds of from sixteen to twenty-two feet per second upon curves of thirteen feet radius.
Two small rollers placed upon the track tend to prevent an upsetting under the action of a lateral thrust or a strong impulsion. The track consists of a single tram rail, with which engage the two external wheels. This rail serves as a guide and suffices to prevent derailment. The current is led to each motor by two rollers moving over two circular metallic bands in direct communication with the poles of the dynamo, through the intermedium of the maneuvering board, thus permitting of varying the speed of each of the horses, and even of stopping the latter by interrupting the circuit.
The toy shown in the subjoined figure, taken from “La Nature,” although far from new, is, nevertheless, ingenious, and cleverly modernized by the constructor. This is the way to make the oracle speak; we will afterward give the secret of its accurate answers. We write upon twelve prepared cards a series of questions relating to history, geography, science, customs, etc. One of the company takes one of these cards at random and reads one of the questions: then the card is placed under the magician’s feet, in a groove made to receive it. Immediately the oracle turns on its axis, and after some oscillations becomes fixed in a certain position, its magic wand pointing to one of the numbers by which it is surrounded. On referring to the corresponding number on a list, we read an admirably exact and accurate answer.
We may see that by varying at will the cards of questions and answers we may obtain from the oracle an indefinite number of replies. Nothing could be simpler than the process by which this result is obtained. The base of the toy, into which the cards slip, bears a vertical pivot on which rests the body of the magician, whose robe conceals a vertical U-shaped magnet, having its two poles near the base, as shown in Fig. 2.
In each of the cards there is another magnet concealed, a straight rod, occupying a different position for each of the twelve cards. We see that, in virtue of the well-known laws of the attraction of magnets for each other, each time that a card is placed with its magnet in the base, the figure will turn round this axis and effect a series of oscillations round its own axis until the poles of the U-shaped magnet holder under its robe are opposite the contrary poles of the straight rod hidden in the card. If the base has been correctly marked previously, the divining rod will indicate the corresponding number of the answer. Any boy with a little genius and a few tools can make an oracle similar to our engraving.
We present an illustration of one of the toys of the year. It consists of a nickel-plated box some three inches in diameter. In the center of the top projects the end of a spindle, and at one side is a lever. To operate the toy this side projecting piece is pulled out, and one of the triangular pieces of tin, to which paper figures are attached, is placed in contact with the spindle in the top of the box. The dancers then begin a lively waltz on the top of the box. The secret of operation is not at first apparent, though it is evident that magnetism has something to do with it. On opening the box the mystery is solved. The spindle is of magnetized steel and extends through the top of the box, forming a slight projection. It turns freely and carries a pinion and a metal disk. The pinion is actuated by the projecting side piece through the medium of a toothed sector. Motion is transmitted to the triangular piece of tin carrying the dancers by the magnetized spindle, causing a horizontal movement, and giving it a movement around its own axis. Curved wires and a spiral, one side of which is colored, are also provided, and they all move around the pin at a lively rate, producing novel effects.
The very curious engraving which we reproduce herewith (Fig. 1) shows once again that, as regards manners and the details of life, there is nothing new under the sun. Every one has seen in the show windows of toy-dealers a plaything called the “wrestlers,” and which consists of two little weighted and jointed figures that are set in motion by a taut string. At every tension of the latter these two little figures move about, go through the motions of wrestling, and sometimes fall on top of one another, much to the amusement of the spectator. Now, it is seven hundred years ago that Herrade de Lansberg, abbess of Hohenbourg, in a sort of encyclopædic compilation entitled “Hortus Deliciarum,” drew the little combatants that are reproduced in Fig. 1. This valuable MS., which was destroyed by Prussian shells in 1870, has been happily saved from absolute annihilation by the copies of M. De Bastard, that are at present preserved in the Cabinet of Prints of the National Museum. This book is a sort of abstract, in figures, of Alsatian life in the twelfth century, and games have not been forgotten therein. Herrade de Lansberg’s little combatants are clad after the manner of the warriors of those times, just as in our toy—the wrestlers—the figures preserve the traditional costume of wrestlers at fairs. The two little warriors wear a helmet with nasal; and a coat of mail, a buckler, and a sword complete their equipment. Their feet, which were probably weighted with lead, kept the puppets in a vertical position, and upon maneuvering the strings an imitation of a sword contest was obtained.
It is probable that this toy was not a recent invention in the time of Herrade, and that the abbess of Hohenbourg only put into her drawings a costume that was already ancient.
On any pleasant day may be found on lower Broadway and other down-town thoroughfares venders who sell almost anything in the way of novelties. Among these may be seen culinary implements, toilet articles, cheap microscopes, magnifying glasses, and various toys. Nothing takes better in the way of articles for this kind of trade than some new toy. Whether a toy will probably have a good run can be determined by these venders in a very short time. If it takes well, crowds gather around him, and he does a thriving business, making money for himself as well as for the inventor. If, however, the article is not wanted, the vender very soon finds it out, and looks for other wares.
Some of the toys are scientific, others are not. We give two examples of scientific toys which have sold very well. They are similar in character, and illustrate what shifting the center of gravity can do. They are both acrobats. The one shown in Fig. 1, and designated “McGinty,” and sometimes “Little Tommy,” consists of a paper figure attached to a tube closed at both ends and inserted in paper disks which are bent down on the tube, forming semicircular end pieces on which the device may roll. A drop of mercury placed in the tube completes the toy. When placed on a slightly inclined plane, with the tube parallel with the surface, the mercury rolls to the lower end of the tube, causing that end to preponderate. The lighter end, actuated by gravity, then moves forward until it strikes the inclined surface, when the mercury again rolls to the lower end and causes another half revolution, and so on. This toy moves down the incline with a slow and stately movement.
The toy shown in Fig. 2 is made upon the principle just described, but the round ends of the figure furnish the rolling surfaces, and a bullet is used for the weight instead of a globule of mercury, the body being simply a straight paper tube with convex ends.
The accompanying engravings represent an object sold in the London bazars. It is made of tin, is painted red, and is called “Christopher Columbus’s Egg,” because those who do not know how it is constructed cannot make it stand up on the projecting part situated at the base. This egg, which it is impossible to open, is hollow, and contains a leaden ball which causes it to fall over on its side, unless it (the ball) is in the longer axis.
The sections in Figs. 2 and 3 explain the construction, and show how the ball is brought into the desired position to cause equilibrium.
Corresponding to the point where the halves of the egg are soldered together, there is internally a partition that has the form of a channel, of semicircular section, which runs around the tube, T. The ball, B, when the egg is held vertically, is capable of revolving around this tube, T, and as long as it remains in the channel will cause the egg to fall every time the operator endeavors to make it stand on its base, c. The egg can stand upright only on condition that the ball be made to pass from the upper to the lower compartment, in which case it will take the position, B′′′, at the base of the egg. This result is reached as follows: The central tube contains, just beneath its upper extremity, an aperture, B′′, that forms a communication between the two compartments, and that is sufficiently large to allow the ball to pass through. Two small guides start from the side of the egg, and follow the contours of the partition up to the orifice in the central tube. On a line with the orifice, and on the outside of the egg, there is a small and scarcely visible point, o. If the egg be sufficiently inclined toward this latter, as in Fig. 3, the ball will take the position, B′, at the beginning of the guides leading to the orifice, B′′. If at this moment the egg be gently turned back in the opposite direction, the ball, being kept in the plane formed by the point, o, and the egg’s axis, will run along the guides and drop through the orifice into the lower compartment. When the egg is righted, the ball will take the position, B′′′, at its base, and the egg will then stand upright. By turning the egg upside down, the ball may be made to enter the upper compartment again, and things will then be as before.
With a little practice and skill, it is not even necessary to look for the position of the point, o, and thus run the risk of showing the uninitiated how the trick is done. On giving the egg a slight angular motion, the hand will feel the passage of the ball over the slight projection formed by the guides; the ball will naturally seat itself upon the latter, and the double motion above mentioned will accomplish the desired result. Effected in this way, and the hand being covered with a handkerchief, the mode of operating will not be perceived by the uninitiated spectator.
The simple toy illustrated in the annexed engraving is very illusive in action. When the upper block is grasped by the edges, as shown in Fig. 1, and turned so as to lift the second block in the series to the same height, the upper end of the second block falls into an inverted position, and appears to pass downward on the other members of the series, first upon one side of the ladder and then upon the other, until it reaches the bottom. This effect is only apparent, as the second block in reality only falls back to its original position in the series, but in the operation it becomes reversed; what was before the lower end becoming the upper end, the front having exchanged places with the back. This change of position of the second member brings it parallel with the third block, which is then released, and the third member drops over on the fourth, when the fifth block is released, and so on throughout the entire series.
In Fig. 2 are shown the three upper blocks of the series, 1, 2, and 3, and their connecting tapes, the blocks being represented as transparent and separated from each other a short distance to show the arrangement of the connections. Block 1 has attached to it three tapes, a, b, b. The tape, a, is attached to the face of the block at the center, at the upper end, and extends over the rounded end of this block and under the rounded end of block 2. The tapes, b, b, are attached to the face of block 1, extending downward, under the lower end of this block, and upward, over the upper end of block 2. The tape, a, which is attached to the center of the upper face of block 2, extends over the end of this block, downward underneath the block, and over the upper end of block 3, where it is secured. This arrangement of tapes is observed throughout the entire series.
In Fig. 2, block 2 is represented as falling away from block 1. When block 2 reaches block 3, the tape, a, will be parallel with the face of block 3, and the latter will be free to fall in a right-handed direction, in the same manner as block 2 is falling in a left-handed direction. When block 3 is parallel with block 4, the fourth block will fall over in the left-handed direction.
The blocks, which are of pine, are each of 35⁄8 inches long, 23⁄8 inches wide, and 1⁄4 inch thick. The tapes, which are each 43⁄4 inches long and 3⁄16 wide, are fastened at the ends to the blocks by means of glue and by a small tack driven through each end of the tape, as shown.
The annexed engraving represents an amusing toy recently sold on the streets of New York. It is not particularly scientific, but it shows how a device having little novelty finds sale in places traversed by the multitude.
It consists of the figure of a Japanese in sitting posture, representing the “Mikado.” In his right hand he holds a Japanese umbrella, and in his left a fan. The umbrella is provided with a little reel at the top. The stick of the umbrella in this case is formed of a tube which is held by the hand of the Mikado, and a spindle attached to the umbrella top and passing through the tube, with its lower end resting upon a beveled wheel journaled within the figure. The beveled wheel carries a crank pin working in a slotted arm that extends through the side of the figure and grasps a fan, as shown in Fig. 2. When a cord is wound around the reel at the top of the umbrella, and drawn off after the manner of top spinning, the umbrella spins, giving a rotary motion to the beveled wheel, and the crank pin projecting from the wheel imparts an oscillating motion to the arm carrying the fan. The umbrella, being slightly out of balance, gives a vibratory motion to the figure, which causes it to rock slightly and turn upon its support.