204 



Popular Science Monthly 



»sr 





seeds over it. In the steam-heated rooms 

 his crops grew in double quick time. But 

 the janitor stopped him. 



"In England one big firm has manu- 

 factured umbrellas of a soft, absorbent ma- 

 terial, so that seeds may be planted on 

 them. Thus people walking along in the 

 rain with their umbrellas covered with 

 short, edible grass, present a refreshing 

 appearance as of moving fields of living 

 green, or floating emerald isles." The 

 professor says this — not the editor of 

 Popular Science Monthly. Is he jesting 

 or is he merely practical? 



Professor Jeggles is on his way to 



the Fiji Islands to study the 



flora and fauna there. He 



did not leave his address. 



Above : Grass growing 

 on the wall paper of a 

 New York city apart- 

 ment. At right: How 

 the salad is grown on 

 a rug on the housetop 



Growing Mustard and Water 

 Cress on Blankets 



PROFESSOR JASPER JEGGLES, an 

 English botanist, advocates some quick 

 methods of salad raising. "Mustard and 

 cress," he says, "can be grown anywhere. 

 All that is required is an old blanket hung 

 over a line and well soaked with water. 

 Sprinkle the mustard 

 seed on one half of 

 the blanket and the 

 cress on the other and 

 in two weeks time you 

 will have a crop ready 

 for the table." 



In addition to grow- 

 ing salads on his blan- 

 kets and flannels, Pro- 

 fessor Jeggles is report- 

 ed to have engaged in 

 near-mortal combat 

 with the janitor of the 

 apartment house in 

 which he lived. The 

 professor was given to 

 planting seeds on his 

 wallpaper. He damp- 

 ened the walls until 

 the paper was pulpy 

 and then sprinkled the 



With a finish that makes them wash- 

 able, the walls of the nursery may 

 be used like ordinary blackboards 



Children May Write 

 On These Walls With- 

 out Fear of Punish- 

 ment 



WHY would children 

 rather write on im- 

 maculate walls than on writ- 

 ing paper? Because, first, their 

 mothers caution them not to do it, and, 

 second, because the walls are whiter and 

 the writing looks better on them than it 

 does on paper. But the time has come 

 when the mother need fear for the white 

 nursery walls no longer. They can, in- 

 deed, be changed from a source of irrita- 

 tion to educational purposes by means of 

 a finish which makes them washable. In 

 other words, all pencil, 

 crayon and pen marks 

 may be washed away. 

 Consequently, the 

 wall surface is as good 

 a place for drawing 

 pictures or working 

 examples as the ordi- 

 dinary blackboard. 



Although the finish 

 is intended primarily 

 for the walls of the 

 nursery, it may be used 

 in the kitchen, living 

 room, or other part of 

 the house where chil- 

 dren are wont to try 

 out their artistic ability 

 on the walls. The fin- 

 ish may be in any one 

 of a number of differ- 

 ent shades. 



