BIG BROTHER BILL and the BAIRNS

Evening Star, Issue 22560, 30 January 1937, Page 8

BIG BROTHER BILL and the BAIRNS

THE FELLOW WHO WILL HOT PULL IS HOT WORTH A SEAT IH THE BOAT

Winners of competitions published on January 24 are as follow; —Under 10: Doris McNab, 27a Galloway street, Mornington, W,l. (There was a crooked man.) Over 10: Isobel Shepherd, 21 Park terrace, Dunedin, C.2. (The brown pelican is an inhabitant of Florida and Southern California.) Congratulations. Prizes will be posted.

A PLAGE FOR BIRD LOVERS The Pledge.—“ I promise to care for all wild bird#, especially New Zealand native birds, to feed them in winter, and to protect them at all times. I promise, also, to protect our native trees and bush, and at no time to assist in their damage or destruction, since they are the natural home of our native birds.” Name Full Postal Address

If you wish to join the Bird Club it is necessary to send Is in stamps or a postal note, and a badge and bird book will be sent to you. Address your letters to Big Brother Bill, care of 1 Evening Star,’ Stuart street, Dunedin, C.l. Be sure to mark your envelope “ Bird Club.”

THE COMPETITIONS

The under-tens are asked to find words beginning with a “ W ” in the rhyme presented by the Elf; the over-tens have a drawing competition. \ddress your answers to Big Brother Bill, O/o 1 Evening Star,’ Stuart street, Dunedin, 0.1. Be sure to mark all your envelopes “ Competition.”

MAKING FACES. (Over 10 years; prize Is 6d.) Here is a little drawing competition. The hat represents a policeman, sailor,

A “ W ” RHYME. (Under 10 years; prize Is.) The elf itself presents a little rhyme that is not complete. Where the figures appear in the rhyme they represent words having as many letters as the figure states. And each word begins with “ W.” Thus, the rhyme begins “WILL WENT out for a WALK.” Now see if you can complete the rhyme.

soldier, and schoolmaster. The prize will be given to the bairn who draws the ■ best face underneath the hats.

WHY THE BIRDS KEEP TOGETHER

A MYRIAD FLYING AS ONE i ' An everyday marvel in the flights of flocks of starlings has been explained by Mr Richard Perry, a famous birdwatcher. A flock when rising or settling moves with wonderful precision, all the birds turning or wheeling or winding in and out, doing so as if they were one instead of hundreds or thousands. They fly as if at spoken words of command, though no body of men however well drilled could imitate their precision. Other flocks of birds, gulls, swallows when migrating, wild geese, or sparrows, have the same gift. Why do they never clash ? How is it that they move as if by one ■ impulse directed) by a single mind? Mr Perry’s answer is that through millions of years they have learned) by the instinct which guides all their actions, from the moment they come out of the shell, to imitate one another. More especially does this happen when they are in numbers together. Each turns, curves, dips, irises, like its neighbour. There is another thing to be considered. How can they do it so unerringly when they are in rapid flight ? Mr Perry says that time does not mean the same thing to a bird as to a human being. To a bird a second may be split into 60 parts as a minute is to us. They can act 60 times as quickly. Be-

fore we do anything we have to think. A bird has no thinking to do; instinct tells it. Birds have lived on the earth millions qf years longer than man. He has reached a certain distance in his evolution, but Las far from finished l . The birds have pursued a different path of evolution, and have gone as near to perfection in it as possible. They have acquired a sense of direction far finer than man, and can act many times as quickly.

THE POSTIE'S BAG

78 Stafford street, Dunedin, C.2, December 20, 1936. Dear Big Brother Bill, —When I lived in the country I had a pet pigeon. He had grey and white feathers. Every day, I took him up to the top of a small hill close by. From there he would fly back to his shed, which had a small window and high perches for him to sit on. There was also a swing hanging from the roof, where he would sit and swing for hours. Each morning 1 filled his _ plate with grain and his bowl with water. Phil (that was his name) knew lots of tricks. One of these was to sit on his swing and pretend to be asleep when one went in. As soon as one opened the door he would be wide awake and fly out over one’s head. Sometimes it was a hard job to get him in again. On winter days I put him in a cage near the fire to keep warm. He enjoyed this very much. The cat sits and looks at him and purrs. _ Phil turns his back, as though saying: “ I am better than you.” One day the cat got angry and tipped the cage over. Phil squawked, and I had to come to the rescue. After that I never let them in the same room. Once when the wireless was on and Phil was in the room, he wondered' what it was and started doing a little jig on his perch. Always after that if I gave him a lump of sugar he would do a little dance. One sunny day I took him up to the top of the hill as usual, but instead of flying back to his shed he took a round-about way, but when I heard a shot and saw Phil drop to the ground I knew he had been shot. I was very sad when I went home, but when I was told that I could have another I was quite happy again. I will close now.—Your loving bairn, Rona Rawnsley. [Thank you for your letter, Rona Rawnsley. Your name is on the Honour Post, and you are the winner of the best letter prize. The bairns will be glad to read about Phil, the pigeon. - But what an unhappy ending to your tale, Rona. Phil deserved a better fate than being shot by some gun fiend. Brother Bill does not wonder that you felt sad. He would have felt very angry indeed. What became of your second pet when you came to live in the town? Write again soon.]

8 Wales street, Bishopscourt, Dunedin, N.W.I. Dear Big Brother Bill, —It is a long time since I have written to you. 1 am 13 years old, and I am very keen on swimming. The weather is not very good for picnics, but last week we went for a walk towards Mount Grand. We did not get right to our destination, as it was too far for the younger members of the party. It was very hot, but we were rewarded by seeing the beautiful view when we reached the top. Wo could see practically all over Dunedin. The St. Clair beach looked very inviting and cool. After a while wo continued along and went down through the bush to Fraser’s Gulley, which is also a very beautiful spot. We did not reach rome until late in the evening, and we were all very tired after having walked fully seven miles. We have a black cat at home called Kit. He was brought to us from a place where there was a very young child who teased him a great deal. At first wo had a very hard task trying to tame him, but now he is getting over his frightened ways. He will not enter a room where there are a number or people. When he wants to go into the kitchen he either scratches the door or rattles the door handle. He is very cunning, too, as ho knows that rattling the door handle becomes very annoying and he is generally allowed inside.

I have not attempted a competition before, but this week I have sent it in, and hope to be successful.—l remain, yours sincerely, Joan Guthrie. [Thank you for your letter, Joan Guthrie. Your name is on the honour post for neat writing. Perhaps the weather will he better for swimming later in the summer. We have had very little sunshine this summer, Joan, but it may come later. You chose a lovely walk for your picnic day. Cats learn very quickly, and Kit appears to be a clever chap. He will soon be tamo living with folk who are kind. You may be able to teach him tricks, Joan. Then you will be more proud of him than ever. Write again soon.]

255 York Place, Dunedin, C.2., January 11. Dear Big Brother Bill,—l thought I would like to write to you, as I have not written to you for such a long time. Is it not a sad time just now with the epidemic? I went to Tomahawk for a week, and I enjoyed it very much. On two nights we went fishing while I was there. We left at 9.30, and we were home about midnight. When we finished fishing we would have a fish supper, and in the morning, we would have a fish breakfast in bed. I will be 13 on January 20, and I passed my proficiency examination. I hope to attend the Technical High School. I am entering the competition for the over tens, and I hope to be successful. As I have no more news I will close. — I remain, yours truly, Joyce Plaisteiv [Thank you for your letter, Joyce Plaistre. it is a sad time, but it is passing away, for which we are all very thankful. Brother Bill does not quite understand what you mean by “ breaking their necks off.” You must have been very clever fisher folk to catch enough for supper and breakfast, too. Usually when Brother Bill goes fishing he finds it necessary to come home by way of a fish shop. Then he is saved the shame of going home with an empty creel. Write again soon.]

377 Kaikorai Valley road. Dunedin, W.2., January 10, 1937. Dear Big Brother Bill,—This is the first time I have written to you. May I please join your happy .band of bairns? I am happy when I am with the animals at home. We have two cows, also ducks and hens. I am 12 years of age and in Standard VI. at school. I go to Mornington School. One day as I was going to school I saw a bird with a body the size of a skylark and a yellow head. Would you please tell me what kind it is? lam entering for this week’s competition, and hope to be successful. I must close now as there is nothing more to say.—l remain, Edwin Scnlaadt. [Thank you for your letter, Edwin Schladt. You are very welcome to the family. Your bird appears to have been a goldfinch. There are usually a good number about at this time of the year, feeding on the grass seeds. Brother Bill is glad to know that you are an animal lover. Write again soon.] Tuapeka West, Otago. January 11. Dear Big Brother Bill,—Now that the weather is warmer and drier it is a much more pleasant holiday in the cuontry, as we can play anywhere and the unfortunate town children have to stay in. lam entering for this week’s competition and hope I am successful. As the sun was shining on Saturday some friends and I went crabbing, We first went through grass paddocks and then into the gullies to follow the winding creek. As we walked along we could near the bellbirds and tuis singing on the trees. Having followed the creek, which wound round rocks and bushes, for an hour we reached the pool where the crabs lived. First we baited our lines with meat, and then lowered them into the water. We caught eight crabs and saw many minnows as well. Have you ever been crabbing, Big Brother BUI? Having had a good day’s sport we returned home. Well, I must close now, with kind regards to all the aunts and yourself.—l remain, yours truly, Gladys Williams. [Thank you for yoor letter, Gladys WiUiams. You are fortunate, living in the country. Brother Bill has not been crabbing, Gladys. What do you do with the crabs after catching them? Are they eatable? Brother Bill once went flounder spearing, but he became bogged in a mudhole, which was not quite as comical as it sounds. He thinks it is nicer and cleaner to buy fish from the fishmonger’s slab. Brother BUI thinks that the nicest part of your little picnic must have been the songs of the tuis and bellbirds. Write again soon.] Morrison street, Mosgiel. Dear Big Brother BUI, —May I become a member of your happy band? I am eight years old, and I am in Standard I. I am entering for this week’s competition for under tens.—l remain, yours truly, Dorothy Tippet. [Thank you for your letter, Dorothy Tippet. You are very, welcome to the family. You must write a longer letter next time. The family will be interested to hear of your hobbies and pets. Write again soon.]

KING CONKER

It was Saturday afternoon and the wind was blowing hard. This pleased the schoolboys, for it brought the horse-chestnuts hurtling to the ground. They hurried off to the woods to gather them up, so that they might play King Conker.

One small, shy boy, Billie by name, searched especially hard, and he was rewarded by finding the largest, hardest, and shiniest conker of them all. He brought his treasure home and borrowed a thin steel knitting needle from his mother. Having heated it, he very carefully bored a hole through the middle of his chestnut. He then threaded it on a piece of fine, strong string, and polished it lovingly. He longed for Monday morning, when he would be able to test its strength against those of the other boys. At school during the next week there were many games of King Conker ; but none could break the beautiful shining strong one belonging to Billie. On Friday morning, when he was ready for school, he suddenly missed his treasure.

“Mother! Mother!” he called. “ Have you seen my King Conker? I can’t find it anywhere.” His mother helped him to look, but it could not be found, and Billie had to go to school without it. On Saturday morning Billie took his dog Scamp and went to the woods to look for another fine chestnut. He brought home as many as he could carry, and that afternoon patiently threaded one after another and tried them out. It was no use. One after another cracked as he struck it. At last Billie lost patience, and, taking one chestnut, he called Scamp into the garden for a romp. He threw the chestnut across the lawn and the dog brought it back, wagging his tail furiously* Then Billie threw so hard that

the chestnut disappeared in the bushes at the end of the garden. Scamp disappeared, too, and after much scuffling finally came out with his mouth empty. “ Come on, Scamp! Find it! Find it!” urged Billie. Once more Scamp went into the bushes, and Billie, following, found him digging hard in the ground. In a moment he picked something up in his mouth, came to his master with his tail wagging, and laid it at his feet. It was a chestnut! And yes—it had a string through it. Wonderingly, Billie picked it up and immediately recognised his King Conker.

PRIKTING ON FRESH LEAVES!

A good many of you are sure to have cameras and know how to make prints of your negatives. But do you know that it is also possible to print one’s negatives on an ordinary leaf straight from the garden? This is how it is done: —

Leaves from a nasturtium are best suited for this process. The negative should be a weak one if possible—i.e., [under-exposed with contrasts and few details, a fairly big portrait being about the best thing. The technique is quite simple, the most important thing being to handle the leaf carefully when copying. Get up early one morning before the heat of the sun begins to make itself felt, and place the negative on the nasturtium leaf you have selected. Besides being a little smaller than the negative, the leaf must be of a fresh green colour—not hardened by the sun—and, of course, it must not be worm-eaten. Carefully place the leaf on a pad of cotton wool which rests on a piece of cardboard somewhat bigger than the leaf. Carefully wipe the dew off the leaf and put the negative on it. Then place a piece of clean glass of the same size as the cardboard underneath over the negative and clamp the different things together by means of ordinary clothes pins. Prop it all up by some sticks, taking care not to break the leaf-stalk as this would spoil everything. If copying is commenced just before sunrise you can reckon on its being finished by about two o’clock in the afternoon. Have an occasional look at it, turning the leaf a little so that the sun may continue to shine on it squarely as this will give

the best results. The whole arrangement can be clearly seen from the illustration.

What happens to the leaf during this processa Well, when the leaf is exposed to the sun, a very familiar substance, starch, is formed in the tissue of the leaf in conjunction with the substance giving the leaf its green colour—viz., cholorophyll. This starch being only formed in the parts of the leaf directly exposed to the sun, it will only bo formed where the negative is transparent, or in other words, where the dark parts of the finished picture will be. Now the starch is not immediately visible, so the picture must be “ developed ” when the leaf has been exposed long enough. Buy a little iodine dissolved in potassium iodide at a chemist’s. Before it can be used this liquid must be diluted with water until its colour resembles that of strong tea. Then cut the leaf from its stalk and leave it in the solution for a couple of minutes, whereupon the picture will appear clearly and, let us hope, sharply defined. It not, the leaf has not been sufficiently exposed, and the experiment will have to repeated the next day. The reason for the picture appearing at all after the iodine bath is that the starch in the leaf is coloured a very dark blue, almost black in fact, by the iodine solution.

Would it not be a good idea to have pictures of your best friends on bookmarks made from such leaves? The pictures will not disappear even if the leaves are dried and pressed in a book between a few layers of blotting paper.

RADIO PROPAGANDA

INTERNATIONAL GOODWILL It is perhaps too, early to form an accurate opinion of the value of wireless in its non-commercial aspects of building up international goodwill. That phase of its development is comparatively new, although there are international broadcasting systems that have been in existence for a decade (says N. M. Godd ; ard, in the Sydney ‘ Morning Herald ’). At the present time development in this direction is being accelerated, and most of the nations of Europe and the East have more or less elaborate systems by means of which their viewpoint is being put to the world at large. In some cases their news and information services are apparently impartial, in others they are frequently skilfully “ coloured,” while some offer no apology and pour out blatant propaganda. In the majority of cases langauges other than the national language • are used. The Italian service, in a single day, recently gave out news in Italian, English, Chinese, Arabic, German, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. The British service is the only one of importance that so far uses only the one language. The report of the UUswater Committee that recently reviewed British broadcasting, recommended that “ in the interest of British prestige and influence in world affairs,” the appropriate use of languages other than English should be encouraged in the transmissions from Daventry. The suggestion was not favourably received in England, one of the arguments raised against it being that since Great Britain had taken a leading part in an effort to obtain agreement between the

countries of Europe to suppress the broadcasting of propaganda by one country to the inhabitants of another, it Would'not be consistent to use foreign languages in its own short wave transmissions. The use of a foreign tongue could be construed as a desire to indulge in propaganda, a matter which had been and still is troubling the medium wave services of Europe. The ‘ Wireless World ’ (London) now considers that because the proposed anti-propaganda agreement cannot be achieved, the situation is parallel to that of disarmament, in which_ Great Britain set a good example, which she has now been forced to abandon because of the failure of other nations to assist. The paper asks the country to consider whether broadcasting should not be considered as part of the national defence, and used to counteract the actions of foreign broadcasting stations against British intersets. As an alternative it is suggested that offending stations should bo systematically jammed during the unfriendly broadcasts by transmitting on the same wave length. The situation is not a pleasant one, and the fact that a paper of the standing of the ‘ Wireless World ’ sees fit to make the suggestions outlined above indicates that it is a serious matter. It is perhaps inevitable that it should arise when man’s remarkable facility for abusing his greatest gifts is remembered. What has often been described as broadcasting’s greatest use—viz., the bringing of nations together, seems as far off as ever. It is in this tangle that Australia proposes to become involved, judging by a message from Canberra recently, in which it was said that the establish-

xnent of an official international statioil was being considered., It would seem that the Government and the Broad* casting Commission, which is also re* ported to be favourable to the idea, would be well advised to keep out of it. Apart from the ethical aspect of the case, the practical side is likely to be difficult. Short wave stations are in* creasing their powers and new units are making their appearances in all parts of the world. Every station has a world-wide service, because of the* properties of short waves, and the space in the various bands set aside for these tranmissions is limited. _ Already there are interference difficulties, and at the beginning of this year several of the more clear-headed countries of Europe held a conference for the purpose of discussing frequency allocations. Prob* ably if there is sufficient agreement a plan of allocation will be drawn up at the World Communications Conference, to be held in Cairo in 1938. It is pos* sibly the matter of obtaining a foot* hold in the bands preparatory to the meeting that has led to the rush of new. stations. A sutable allocation will be a difficult undertaking unless by _ that time the nations become more friendly in broadcasting questions. If they are not, alio* cation seems to be only a formal matter, as no authority, the League of Nations included, can compel a country, to adhere to an assigned frequency.