THE CONJURER'S ORANGE-TREE.

Though Robert Houdin was the unprompted originator of this surprising and beautiful trick, there seems little doubt that a similar piece of mechanism was known in earler times, even in the Dark Ages.

An orange-tree in a tub is placed on the table. A filbert, a walnut, an egg, a lemon, and an orange are juggled with, and finally the filbert is passed into the

walnut, the latter-into the egg, and so on, till the orange has apparently swallowed them all up. After this exhibition of its amazingly absorbent powers, few are surprised when a borrowed handkerchief and ring are also passed into it. For an incantation, spirits of wine is poured over the orange, and ignited, and this is set before the orange-tree. At once the leaves are agitated, buds expand into blossoms, and these, in turn, become real oranges—indeed, two or three are plucked and given to the juveniles in the company, to remember the conjurer by. The last orange is threatened with the wand, and hastens to unfold in halves, showing a white object crumpled up within; it is the handkerchief, which is seized at two corners by two birds, which fly with it so as to unfold it and discover the borrowed ring in the centre of it.

Explanation.—The trunk of the orange-tree contains or conceals a rod, which acts upon several branch rods. Their respective actions is to thrust forward through the foliage the buds, the blossoms, and the oranges, in regular order. The last orange is an imitation, hollow and containing the borrowed ring and handkerchief, which are placed in it by your assistant. This orange-shell opens in half on a hinge. The birds are mounted each on thin wires, and a string makes their wings flutter naturally: as the handkerchief is taken from them the wires are withdrawn under cover of it.

Note.—Another version of this striking illusion is given in the following pages.

For the diagrams explanatory of this machinery, see "The Secret Out."

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