ASK THE WITCH DOCTOR

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 258, 31 October 1931, Page 2 (Supplement)

ASK THE WITCH DOCTOR

Pan. asks: ('») What is Miss Helen Keller's address?. (4)) How is blotting' paper mode?* —(a) Write ; to; Miss Helen Keller c/o Messrs. Hoac}cr arid stoughton, publishers, . London, England. (I)) Blotting paper "is made in almost-the same way as ordinary, paper. It is paper, pulp, which receives no glazing'.

Aero asks Tor t-lie address ol' any model areo ciub near Otaliuhu, and tlie entry l'ee — The Auckland Model Aero Club hold their meetings every. Saturday afternoon at One Tree Hill at, 2,30. .If. you, go along, there you will be able to join on the ground. The fee for the-balance or this season, which ends next February, is 2/0.

Inquirer would;like to know: (a) How far out from the mouth of the river Amazon cjtn freshwater be obtained? (b) llow long does one have to sign on wh'cn one Joins the navy?—(a) Fresh water from the Amazon-lias been obtained by ships as far as 200:>miles from the shore, (b) A seaman joining the Royal Navy-is Usually required to sign on for 12 years.

Starlight asks: (a) What is Janet Gaynor's address? (b) Who was the author of the nursery rhymes? —(a) Write to the Pictureman, «c/o "Star'.' Olllce, Shortland Street, Auckland, who will answer your question in the Saturday supplement, (b) The names of. those who made up our nursery * rhymes are lost in the mists or antiquity. . •

Geography asks : (a) The names of the eiylit -biggest islands in ,the-world?., (b) The names of the two countries Which have the largest population.—(a) This question has been answered in a paragraph elsewhere in the Budget: (b) -China with an- estimated.total population of 485,508,838 and India with a population of approximately 353,000,000 are the two countries which have the largest populations.

Scotch Lad wants to know: (a) ,What tapioca is made from? ; (b) -What to do to a chicken . that ■is not thriving - , ana whose wings are drooping - and rough.— (a) Tapioca is a food substance yielded by the tuber of a tropical plant. It is poisonous in .its raw state, but is purified by roasting.-, (b>. It seems that the chicken is suffering from, some internal disorder. It is. difficult to say: what can be done for the bird without actually seeing it, but from the "symptoms you have described I would suggest that you feed the bird upon soft food, such as bread and milk, and chopped hard bojied egg and biscuit. Each day a little .permanganate- of potash. (Condy's crystals) should be dissolved in Its' drinking-water,- whilst a pinch of gjauber salts .in the drinking water once each week is also advisable. You should see that the bird has plenty of grit .available, I would not recommend tho use or either sulphur or baking soda. ' If there is a mucus about the beak of the chicken it rna.v be the sign or a cold, and in this case a.little kerosene on top of the drinking water will prove beneficial.

Bonzo -wonders: (a) If it'is possible to obtain an Australian teddy- bear, and what the cost would be. (b) What is tjio best way to press flowers.— (a) I believe that Australian teddy bears (koalas) are but rarely imported into New Zealand. Special permission from the Minister, of Internal Affairs would be necessary before one, could be landed here." ,(b) Flowers are usually pressed between sheets of blotting: paper, held between the JeaA'es of a book upon which a weight ,is placed.

B.J.C. says: "in a garden one day I saw a bush with leaves, and flowers exactly the same-as a red kowhai, except that the flowers were white, and would like to know it' there is a white lcowhai."—Although clianthus is called kowhai by, some people, it is really quite a separate plant. The red clianthus (Puniceus rosea)' very much resembles the red kowhai, although, the leaf is,different. A white clianthus (Puniceus Alba) is very probably the plant to which you refer.

Fishy wants to know tlic best places around Auckland ror siiark fishing, the best halt to use; which fins arc saleable, to, whom and the price given for, them? — Sharks are fairly plentiful oil' the beacon at Kangitoto, whilst two other places where they may also be caught are off Kauri Point, and in the inlet- at Birkdale. Mullet is probably the best bait that can be used for .shark flslung, and .kahawhai is also good, Generally speaking, however, shark will bite for almost any,, bait. Although shark llns might be sold in China for about 5/ a, pound merchants in New Zealand are hot willing to pay any great price for them. A responsible officer of a wholesale llsh company advises that nothing can be made by., selling, shark fins here.

Kotare wants to know: (a) -If Colonel Lawrence is still living, and if so, where? (h) If an Australian boomerang, 2ft long made of Jamah wood, is of any value?— (a) Colonel Lawrence is still alive, and is at present' in the ranks of the Tt.A.F. in England. There he is known as Aircrartsman; Shaw, and quite' recently was called to give evidence concerning an air crash of a plane in which he was travelling, (b) An ordinary boomerang could not be described'as valuable.: Should the curio have any special features about it, such as being carved in some peculiar manner, its worth might be considerably ■ increased. . .

Inquirer wants, to know: (a) If. the kowhai is a native tree? (h) the names of some bird sanctuaries in New Zealand,-— (a) The kowhai is a native of Hew Zealand. (b) Throughout New Zealand there are many plots of land set aside as bird sanctuaries. Among the sanctnaries in the Auckland prpvince are the Little Barrier Island, the Mount Eden Upmairi, and a plot of land cjt Pukekaws, and also another plot at To Awaniutu. St. John's. Lake is another bird sanctuary. Should you want, information concerning bird sanctuaries for any particular purpose, the Acclimatisation Society, Southern Cross Buildings, Chancery Street, Auckland, have a list or all the sanctuaries in New Zealand, and would undoubtedly, allow, you to peruse it upon application at the office.