BIG BROTHER BILL and the BAIRNS

Evening Star, Issue 23817, 22 February 1941, Page 16

BIG BROTHER BILL and the BAIRNS

LIKE THE SUN DIAL I RECORD ONLY THE SUNNY HOURS The winner of the competition published Friday, February 14, was Eileen M' Arthur, 'f Chamberlain street, Maori Hill, Dunedin, N.W.I. Congratulations. Prize will be posted. THE POSTIE'S DAG W arrington. Dear Big Brother Bill, —May I join your happy family? I am 12 years of age, and in Form 11. at school. I read your page every Friday night, and find it very interesting. During the school holidays I spent a fortnight, in January, at Portobello, and one Friday my aunty, cousin, and I spent the day at Harrington Point. The weather was lovely, and I had a very enjoyable swim in the calm waters of the Ipvrbour. Well, in the afternoon we saw a large ship, and then the North Star leave Dunedin harbour. Not long after that we had to catch the bus back to Portobello. Nearly every day you see some boat leaving or entering Dunedin. Also from near my aunty’s house you can see Larnacl) Castle, situated away up on the hill. Have you ever been to Harrington Point, Brother Bill? Would

you please tell me if there is anything else I have to do before I become a bairn?—l remain, yours sincerely, ISgaio Shearer. [Thank you for your letter, Ngaio Shearer. Your name is on. the honour post, and you are winner of the best letter prize. Welcome to the bairns’ cWb. We are glad to hare you as a member. The year-end holidays are now <mded, Ngaio, but yours will have lots happy memories. Brother Bill has bfeeo. to Harrington Point many times, apd likes it very much. On a fine day, ■wplh. a warm sun, it is one of the nicest gfeces on the harbour side. It was •*ph splendidly warm weather during ■tpe holidays, a dip in the sea must hg/ve been just as delightful as your letter suggests. Write again soon.] Otokia. Bear Big Brother Bill, —This is my filib letter to you. I was going to wjSte before, but I kept putting it off ahd off till to-night. I am 12 years <Sd, and in Standard V. at Otokia %hool. My school teacher’s name is Mr Baird. He is married and has a Ifttle girl, whose name is Gwenda. I went to Oamaru for the holidays. I stayed at my auntie’s. T go in for a swim with my teacher every fine day. Well, Brother Bill, I will close now, hoping to see my name in your page

next Friday.—l remain, yours truly, Ella Wilson. [Thank you for your letter, Ella Wilson. Your name is on the Honour Post for neat writing. Welcome to the ■bairns’ club. Brother Bill need not ask whether you had a good time at Oamaru. It is said to be “ the place where the sunshine comes from,” and, if that is so, since wc had such lovely holiday sunshine in Dunedin, the place where it came from must have been delightful. Where do you swim at Otokia —in the river? One would have to bo a good swimmer, surely, to enjoy a safe swim

there? Perhaps you are. Write again soon.] 1C Muir street. Green Island. S.W. 2. Dear Big Brother Bill, —May I join your happy band of bairns? I read your page every Friday evening, and enjoy it immensely. I am 12 years of age, and go to Green Island School. 1 am entering for this week’s competition, and hope to he successful.—Yours sincerely, Lexie "Wilson. [Thank you for your letter, Lexic Wilson. Welcome to the bairns’ club. Brother Bill is glad to know you enjoy the columns. He will look forward to a longer letter next time. "Write soon.]

HOW COTTON WAS FIRST USED All the fine clothes worn by our eighteenth eentnry ancestors were-sewn with silk thread. Linen thread was made in Britain, but it was coarse stuff used mainly by saddlers and bootmakers. The French wars broke out; there was no more silk, and a substitute had to be found. The finders were two Scottish brothers, Patrick and Andrew Clark, who lived in Paisley, and made linen thread. They decided that cotton must take the place of silk, and in 1812 they placed small skeins of cotton thread on the market. One day it occurred to James Clark that it would be a. good idea to save customers the trouble of having to roll their cotton into balls. He got a joiner to make some bobbins or reels. He charged a halfpenny extra for the reel, which was refunded if the reel was returned. The idea caught on at once, and the present output of cotton reels is more than 250 millions yearly. To make them 15,000 tons of timber is required. As for the cotton which is wound upon them, one firm alone turns out about 95 million miles of of sewing cot-

ton of different sizes and colours. This is more than enough to reach from the earth to the sun. Supposing this thread was joined together and one end fastened to an aeroplane, which started travelling at TOO miles an hour —if the plane continued to 11 yat that speed without a stop for 100 years it would, still he unreeling the unexhausted thread. WME YOUR OWN SMELLING SALTS Von must have a bottle of smelling salts in your lirst-aid outfit, and it is quite easy to make this at home. All you need is a small screw-top bottle, some ordinary table salt, ammonia, and eau-de-Cologne. Half fill the bottle with the salt, then add clear ammonia—drop by drop, sufficient to saturate the sau thoroughly, hut being careful not to add more than the salt will absorb. Now add a few drops of eau-de-Cologne to give the mixture a pleasant scent. Screw up the bottle tightly at once to prevent the strength evaporating, and your smelting salts is ready for use. If you prefer it you can use a good brand of lavender water in place ol eau-de-Cologne. CATHEDRAL AT GLOUCESTER Parts of the famous east window ol Gloucester Cathedral are being moved to sate them from possible destruction in air raids. Believed to he the largest stained glass window in Ihe world, it measures 721 t high by ill-fit wide. It is so big that when it was built the, shape of the cathedral had to be altered to accommodate it. Originally the choir of the cathedral was semi-circular, but two ha.v.s had to he taken away and the walls sloped outwards so that the windows could he put in. Given to the cathedral by Thomas, hirst Lord Bradestone, a Knight Banneret and Governor of Berkeley Castle, the window is a memorial to the Gloucestershire barons and knights who fought at Crecy and Calais in IS4H-17. Removal was found to he the only practical way in which the window eoukl be preserved. To give adequate sandbag protection would have necessitated 1.0110,(11)0 sandbags. Fight panels of stained glass arc being taken out and placed in safety. These panels consist of what are considered the host piece.-, in (lie window and the most characteristic. Kxeept when the window was re-leaded in (he lasi century the glass lias not been moved since the window was first built in l.'ldt). .Another treasure in tlie cathedral. the tomb of Kdward 11., has been given sandbag protection. Over 6U tons oi sand wove used, and the ihmr had to he propped up from the crypt beneath in order to take the weight.

HOW TO MAKE A STEREOSCOPE A photograph of a beautiful countryscene charms one at first sight, but presently there is a sense of something lacking; one realises that the representation is true and precise, but flat. On the other hand, a stereoscopic picture of the same scene, viewed through a good stereoscope, at once appears in its natural solidity and rotundity. For a shilling or two any boy can make an instrument of this kind, and the necessary materials can easily be obtained. A glance at the diagram will give you a good idea of the instrument and the mode of construction. As to whether you use fancy wood of any kind or keep to plain deal, which could he stained and varnished, is a point which may bo decided by the amount of poeiket money you possess. Mahogany or a light wood looks nice, but pine will do very well and is easy to work with. The making of the stand is not a difficult job. 1 should advise you to use fairly thick wood, because, unless the upright can be fastened with long thin screws, as shown on Fig. 7, you will be compelled to use four brackets. Brass brackets, if well made and not too big and clumsy, look rather well, but every little item of this kind will add to the expense, and the method of screwing shown is simple and neat. Of course, the base of the stand looks better if slightly bevelled, as shown, but just round off the corners very slightly if you cannot get the bevelling level and uniform. With a stereoscope the effect of solidity is obtained by using two half lenses or prisms, and I do not advise you to try any kind of makeshift, for

fine lenses can be oblained quite cheaply from any really good opl iciaii. If yon lind that your mode of lifting them is somewhat crude, it is easy to hide the clumsy work by means of the device shown on Fig. U. which I will describe presently. It is important that the rack lor carrying the slides should he adjustable for focusing. A thumb screw device could be lifted, but such things add to the cost of the instrument, and two brass sereweyes look well and will answer your purpose it lifted as shown. But, first of all, let us deal with the eye-pieces and the hood. Sketch 4 shows the board upon which the candor or rack works; the arm is rather longer than is absolutely necessary, but. as the rack is adjustable. 1 need not bind you down a.s to length. It is important that you get a nice piece of wood for the eye-piece section, shown on sketch (Fig. 5). It is also most important that this should bo made of a wood that is not inclined to split, and that the square openings shmild he cut out very carefully with a fret saw. The hood could be made of aluminium, but in that ease it would be necessary to have the outer edge turned over or you would scratch your forehead; therefore, on the whole it would he best to use thin—very thin—veneer wood (ironmongers often keep this') or very thick Bristol hoard, which, if stained or varnished with

paper varnish, looks rather well and is easy to bend. Veneer wood can be bent by steaming it. Small bevel-headed brass screws should be used for fastening the hood; drill the boles with a fretwork drill and use thin screws. The partition between the eye-pieces should he painted black and glued in position, ft is important that you should note the small end piece set at right angles to the partition. Now we come to the adjustable rack. The shape is clearly shown on Fig. 1, and a side view of the whole apparatus is given .above the largo view showing the completed stereoscope. 'the mefor holding the slides is just a good thick piece of wood, with two end pieces of sheet aluminium, screwed to it as shown. This part of the work is quite simple; but exercise care. I should again remind you that for model making a few odd pieces of scrap aluminium, obtainable for a few pence at any good ironmongers, are invaluable. As the mode of clamping the rack to the board, so that it is readily adjustable, is important, J have dealt with it on three sketches —namely, 1,3, and 4. A rough method of fixing the rack is shown on Fig. 1, but a piece of aluminium—thin —screwed under tho block (b) and bent as shown on Fig. 8 is perhaps the better plan of the two. Note the two screweyes (s s), by moans of which tho rack can bo readily clumped in any position. As you may find it difficult to fit tho eye-piece section to the top board, which must not be too thick or it will lookclumsy, fit a thickish length of iin wood underneath the forward end only. This is shown on Fig. 10. It will be noted that in this way you make a butted end or block, io which screws will hold very firmly, and the extra

depth " ill keep Ihe cyo-picce section from tilling. I’lease hear in mind that in making this instrument thin screws must be used; if you do not ask for very thin screws the ironmonger will he sure to give you thick ones, because (here is but little demand for long, thin screws. Of course, the lenses arc the most important part of the whole apparatus, and it is well to see that you get the proper kind. If you clearly explain your requirements to a good optician he will advise you. There is one little fitting which must be lixed now before you go any farther, namely, the hinge marked on Fi,r. 1. This arrangement is shown again on Feg. 7. (A) is a strip of thickish aluminium (thin metal doubled will do) and (s) a screw-eye (brass). You will have two hinges of this kind, one at each end of the central upright, and by screwing up the eyes very tightly after each adjustment you can fix the top board at any angle, (On Fig. 1 the top of the stereoscope is .shown level, but the Hue it would take when tilted is shown bv a dotted line.) The lenses could be fixed by moans of screws placed at tin* side of thorn, or they could be glued in position if care is' taken not to smear the glass. In either case your arrangement will look a little crude, probably, and you may wish to hide the “ fixings ” al-

together. This can be done as shown on Fig. 9. Another oval section, cut as you did the first, must be made, but for" this thin veneer wood can be used. It is to be placed behind the lenses to hide the fixing arrangements, and it may, if you like, just touch them, but must on no .account be screwed so as to press down tightly. Some slips of cork (c c on the sketch) can be let in between those partitions to keep them apart; the joints will not show when the hood is in position. Of course, the wood to which the lenses are fastened should be thicker than the back strip, because the hood is to be screwed to it. I give a picture of an old type of stereoscope in the drawing (Fig. 6). This kind was much in use in the ’seventies, but it docs not follow that it is'a bad type because it is old. Many of these are still in use. Stereoscopic slides can be bought quite cheaply almost anywhere, and some photographic papers publish views of this kind occasionally. With a few of these you can spend many happy hours; stereoscopic photography has really brought true the motto which I saw painted up in a cinema theatre—- “ the world before your eyes.” INVENTION OF THE SEWING IMOHIHE The first sewing machine was invented by an Englishman, Thomas Saint, who in 1790 received a patent for a machine for sewing leather. In 1829 Bartheloiny Thimonnier, a poor French tailor, entirely ignorant of the principles of mechanics, produced a machine which made the chain stitch. Two years later 80 wore being used to make uniforms for French troops, but all Here destroyed by tailors, who feared the loss of their trade. Tbimnionier,however, patented bis machine in England in 1819. The first to produce a successfully operating and practical sewing machine Has Isaac Merrit Singer, in 1850. and from the ’fifties of the last century onwards the sowing machine has been well established many (inns producing different types.