To make the flowers grow in an instant, pour water into the jar at one side of the wide mouth. The cork will float and carry the wire with the flowers attached upward, causing the flowers to grow, apparently, in a few seconds' time. Do not pour in too much water to raise the flowers so far that the wire will be seen.
Contributed by A. S. Macdonald, Oakland, Calif.
Water and Wine Trick
This is an interesting trick based on the chemical properties of acids and alkalies. The materials needed are: One glass pitcher, filled with water, four glass tumblers, an acid, an alkali and some phenolphthalein solution which can be obtained from your local druggist. Before the performance, add a few drops of the phenolphthalein to the water in the pitcher and rub a small quantity of the alkali solution on the sides of two of the tumblers and repeat, only using as large a quantity of the acid as will escape notice on the remaining tumblers. Set the tumblers so you will know which is which and proceed as follows: Take hold of a prepared tumbler with the left hand and pour from the pitcher, held in the right hand, some of the liquid. The liquid turned into the glass will become red like wine. Set this full tumbler aside and take the pitcher in the left hand and pour some of the liquid in one of the tumblers containing the acid as it is held in the right hand. There will be no change in color. Repeat both parts in the same order then begin to pour the liquids contained in the tumblers back into the pitcher in the order reversed and the excess of acid will neutralize the alkali and cause it to lose its color and in the end the pitcher will contain a colorless liquid.
Contributed by Kenneth Weeks, Bridgeton, N.J.
Cheap Nails are Expensive
The life of iron shingle nails is about 6 years. An iron nail cannot be used again in putting on a new roof. Solid zinc nails last forever and can be used as often as necessary. As zinc is much lighter than iron, the cost of zinc nails is only about 2-1/2 times that of iron nails.