ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23332, 26 October 1937, Page 8

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS

Questions will not be answered unless accompanied by the name and address of correspondents, “ Meccano,” Warepa.—Prior to Miss Jean Batten’s successful attempt (reported this morning) on the Australia to England aviation record it was held by Mr H. F. Broadbent. who flew from Darwin to Lympe in six days 10 hours 55 minutes. Mr Broadbent concluded his successful flight on May 3 of this year. Miss Batten has now reduced the record by 14 hours 10 minutes. Interested,” Warepa.—The history of the origin of the ball game which we know as football is buried in the centuries. An inflated ball was played with by the Romans and the Greeks used a ball in one of their games. Surviving many prohibitive measures the game of football became popular in the athletic revival of the nineteenth century. The reason why the Rugby ball is of oval shape is doubtless because it has been found most suitable for that class of game, while tire round ball gives the expert Soccer player opportunity to exercise the skill associated with that game—particularly in connection with dribbling. “ Interested,” Roxburgh.—There are various methods of getting rid of tree stumps but we are not familiar with that in which saltpetre, with or without water, is used as an aid to burning them out. Stumps can be burned out with chemicals, the process being to bore a hole with a two-inch auger and pour in a mixture of nitric acid and sulphuric acid, plugging the hole with a wooden plug dipped in paraffin The operation is attended with danger from explosion and cannot be recommended. A course largely followed is to dig a trench round th hole, fill in with dry wood, and, when this is well alight, cover with turf and leave for a lengthy period. On the first day a few vents should be open, and then the fire should be completely covered. Obviously this plan is specially suited to a very dry climate. A soft wood stump may be removed by boring a large hole, say one inch, in a downward direction to a depth of 16 Inches to 20 inches. Fill the hole with kerosene, and. as th; oil penetrates the wood, fill the hole again. After each filling, cover the hole with a wood plug. In a month or two, apply fire to the oil in the hole, and the stump will be entirely consumed.