FROM THE NURSERY WINDOW.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19412, 21 August 1926, Page 4 (Supplement)

FROM THE NURSERY WINDOW.

When I got to bed at night They draw the curtains oh, so tight, And when the morning comes again I can't tell if there's sun or rain. And so I think my window seems Just like a box of chocolate creams. I run and pull the curtafths till I see what's on the window-sill. It's always such a great surprise To find what's waiting in the skies. And I wako early just to see The things the day has brought for me.

FINGER PRINTS AND SEX, A German doctor claims to have discovered that the capillary lines shown in finger-prints not only serve to distinguish any individual from all other persons, but have great biological significance. He finds in them indication of age, sex, and mental peculiarities, and he states that the fingers of weak-minded persons all contain ten loops. A VERY MINUTE FISH. The record for minuteness in its class is held by a tiny fish shown at the meeting of the American Society of Zoologists at New Haven by Dr. E. W. Gudger, of the American Museum of Natural History. The midget is exactly 30 millimetres, or less than one and a-quarter inches, in length, and belongs to the semi-parasitic genus Remora. The fish in this group are para-, sitic only to the extent that they " nop a ride" on larger fishes, attaching themselves by a sort of vacuum disc that grows on the tops of their heads. ANOTHER WIRELESS WONDER. Seeing just where a wireless message is coming from has been made possible by a brilliant invention of the radio research station near Slough, England. Two frame aerials are mounted at right angles to each other, and the received signals are made to operate a cathode ray beam which causes a bright spot to appear on a fluorescent screen. This spot instantly takes up a position on the screen showing the direction from which the wireless "signals are coming. Frame aerials fitted into the wings of aeroplanes are also being used to enable the pilot to find his bearings before alighting at an aerodrome.

in sowing, as almost any. person can scatter seeds, either broadcast or in rows, with varying results. The art lies not only in sowing the seed, but in the successful raising and growing of the plants. GERMINATION OF SEEDS. To be successful, the most important and essential requirements for the germination of seeds are moisturo, air, and heat, and, unless these are present in fairly well-balanced proportions, seeds will not germinate freely. If, for instance, the seeds are sown too early, or in unfavourable situations, or soil, of buried too deeply, failure is almost sure to result. Different seeds naturally vary in hardiness, some requiring more heat than others to effect germination. SOIL AND SEEDLINGS. In the raising of seedlings, one of the most impoi'tant matters is to have the soil thoroughly well worked, and broken up, until a nice, fine tilth is obtained. When the soil is in this condition, the depth of sowing may be easily regulated by the size and variety of the seeds to be sown. DEPTH TO SOW SEEDS. Very fine seeds require but very light covering, and will not germinate if buried too deeply. Such seed, when sown upon rough, unbroken soil, often fail, as heavy rains bury many of the seeds too deep in the soil. With larger seeds there is certainly not* the same amount of risk, but even with these the soil should be well broken up, so that the drills can be drawn to an even depth, and more regularity of growth obtained.