CUTTING THE APPLE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17182, 27 October 1923, Page 7 (Supplement)

CUTTING THE APPLE.

INDIAN MAGIC AND MYSTERY. Tourists passing through India canpiot overlook many of the so-called (Startling effects in conjuring presented i«ru- , fakirs so Plentiful in the Orient, phis land of mystery is credited with manv problems or so-called unexplainI able feats that have never been duplicated in America or Europe. Conjurers, however, who have studied of East Indian magicians express disappointment, inasmuch as thev | State that their methods of mysticism are limited, and their truly impressive .tricks are few and far between. Our • magicians have found but little difficulty generally in duplicating the effects employed by these wizards, and the famous Hindu basket trick, turban trick, duck trick, and ball-on-string trick have been disregarded from manv up-to-date programmes of present-dav magicians. Still, as originally stated, there are few' mysteries presented in this land of enchantment that are still generally unsolved and have not been reproduced bv European countries. The effect described is one that is often referred to as one of the most daring and unbelievable feats of Oriental magic, and has not been presented other than in the land of the Yogi, due to the fart that its secret is so little known. The effect upon the spectator is as follows:-—The Hindu magician passes a large razor-edged sword or Oriental knife for inspection. It is found to be quite intact and its sharpness is demonstrated by slicing bits of paper. The conjurer's assistant, a rather indifferent seeming individual, whose body is bared from the waist up, is introduced to the audience. The at tendant kneels to the ground and utters a short* prayer to the spirit of the East. A plate of apples is now passed for thorough inspection and one of the fruit selected and freely inspected. It is found intact and ap parently free prom preparation. The. fruit is placed upon the bare neck of the attendant. The fakir utters a few

words :n ceremony and with a quick, sharp action brings ..the sharp edge of trie knife down upon the surface of the aople, dividing it in two parts which drop to the floor. The attendant's neck, of course, is unharmed, much to the amazement of the onlookers. My readers will, of course, be. led to believe that this is the work of a skilled performer who by years of practice is able to accomplish this seeminglv impossible and unbelievable feat.. It is this belief that, has probably kept many of our aggressive magicians from duplicating tms experiment. No so. however; merely a trick is responsible for the effect. ’ A needle of good steel has been passed through the apple. In fact, all of the apples which have been passed for inspection have been treated in a similar wav, so it matters not, which one is selected, the result will still be the same. The razor edged section does not extend throughout the entire blade of the knife, ac a section of the edge nearest the handle is slightly dulled. Tt is this part of the blade that comes down and divides the apple, and, of course, is naturally prevented from passing further into the fruit than desires, at is stops mechanically when it strikes the needle. A certain amount of practice, of course, is necessary to prevent the performer from striking alongside the fruit, but even in this event results would not be. serious, inasmuch as the dullness of the blade and lack of sufficient force in bringing down the knife would prevent any serious accident. The fruit is permitted to remain in the sun as a rule for a short period of time prior to the performance, which has a tendency of softening the apple considerably. _ thereby making the success of dividing the fruit with ease more posi-