Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

THE INEXHAUSTIBLE BOTTLE.--The same natural principle which prevents the ink from flowing into the bowl of the ladle until the upper hole is opened, is the basis of this old but still popular trick. The inexhaustible bottle, though in appearance an ordinary glass bottle, is in reality of tin, japanned black. Internally it is divided into three, four, or five separate compartments, ranged round a central space, and each tapering to a narrow-mouthed tube, which terminates about an inch within the neck of the bottle. A small pinhole is drilled through the outer surface of the bottle into each compartment, the holes being so placed that when the bottle is grasped by the hand in the ordinary way (see Fig. 205), each hole may be covered by one or other of the fingers or thumb. The central space is left empty, but the surrounding compartments are filled, by means of a funnel with a very tapering nozzle, with the wines or liquids expected to be most in demand, or to which it is intended to limit the spectators’ choice. A tray full of glasses, made specially of very thick glass, so as to contain in reality much less than they appear to do, completes the apparatus.