Two or three years later Hartz did the trick, and as he could not palm a coin, he used a flat tin tube which held about six coins. This tube hung by a hook inside the right breast of his vest; the lower end just reached the bottom of the vest. By putting the tips of the fingers under the vest and pressing a lever, a coin dropped into the hand, and the performer was thus enabled, from time to time, to show a half-dollar and throw it into the hat. The other times he merely pretended to catch a coin, and put his closed empty hand over the mouth of the hat, and "made believe," as the children say, to drop the money in. Another mechanical arrangement that is used by some performers is strapped just above the wrist, inside the sleeve, and is so constructed that by extending the arm suddenly a coin is shot out by means of a spring to about the tips of the fingers, and the performer really catches it. Still another coin-holder is used, but the pump-handle movement necessary to release the coins is inartistic. There is one little wrinkle, however, in connection with this trick which is worth describing and worth using. It is a coin with a tiny hole drilled through it near its edge. A human hair or a bit of fine sewing silk is run through this hole and formed into a loop. In this way the coin is hung from the thumb. When the performer wishes to "catch" it, a slight jerk brings it to the front of the hand, where he seizes it; and as he puts it into the hat he lets it swing to the back of the hand, which can then be shown empty. A very good trick, somewhat akin to palming, is done with five half-dollars. In palming proper, a new coin with a sharp, milled edge is the best to use, as the milling helps to hold it in place, but for this trick well-worn pieces of money which have become quite smooth are necessary. [Illustration: FIG. 4.] [Illustration: FIG. 5.] [Illustration: FIG. 6.]