NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1583, 25 March 1882, Page 17

NOTES AND QUERIES.

G W G« Peninsula, .writes t—Last winter I had several acres of old meadow land (originally heavy bush with clay subsoil)brokenup and sown' with oats. Now I wish to sow It down in grass again. What are the most suitable kinds of seed, with approximate cost?— The following is a really good mixture: Perennial ryegrass, li bushels; cocksfoot, 21b; timothy, 41b ; red clover, IMb ; alsyke, ljlb ; cowgrass, ljlb ; white clover, lib. This per acre would be a full seeding, and cost, according to the quantity you would be obliged to purchase, from 13s to 17s. A pasture laid down in this way would* give immediate and heavy returns, and. for this reason we always advise liberal seeding of the grasses. Thinsown pastures require at least a couple of years to furnish a close heavy sole of grass. Thresher.— A correspondent writes: In answer to a query which appeared in the Witness of the 4th vast in referenco to the best' method of preventing steam boilers from getting foul, I beg to state that Anti-Lithon Boiler Composition has been used by Guthrie and Larnach's Company for some years past with excellent rosults. I believe the composi- . tion is supplied by the Company. Constant Ebadeb's problem cannot be solved from the data, given. One of the angles, or one of the diagonals, must be given as well as the, four sides. AdeijAidban writes :— The following extract from a speech delivered by Lord Brougham on the 29th January, 1828, will probably be' read with, interest as showing how even the cleverest of men may be out in their reckoning in predicting coming' changes in the opinions and habits of the world, for neither the past since the date of the speech nor the future, as viewed at present at all events, seem to indicate tho consummation of his Lordship's ideas : —"Let the soldier be abroad if he will, he can do nothing in this age. There is another personage, a personage less imposing, in the eyes off sbmefperhaps insignificant. The Schoolmaster is's abroad, and I trust to him, armed with his primer, against the soldier in full military array." Juvbnis, Hyde, writes: -I send per book post a sample of a substance found in this neighbourhood, and having a resemblance to washing soda. (1) Can you tell me what it is ? (2) Can you tell me whether a darkey's spring hat and tripk wig c«i be had in Dunedin, and what they cost ?-(l) The substance is gypsum, or selenite. If occurring in. quantity, may be useful for making plaster-of-paris, and also for agricultural purposes as manure. (2) The hat used is an ordinary felt one. Mr Beissel retails the wigs at 25s each, and Mr Coverlid has one for hire at 6s par week. Farmer, Clutha Valley, writes :— Some of us fanners here have the old Nicholson and T. Robinson and Co.'s reaping machines. The rod which drives the knives continually breaks, or the eye of the knives will break off. These reapers being superseded by tho BamloU's and Reid and Gray's, no duplicate parts are to be had. Could you or any of your farming readers give full instructions which would be beneficial to us in the matter?— As a rule, the reason of the breakage of the connecting-rod in any machine is working with too much play on either or botn ends of the connecting-rod. Tho connectingrod and knife-bars, as soon as the former acquires a little play, should be taken to the nearest smithy and made a proper working fit for each other, as prevention is better than cure. If the connectingred has been broken more than once, cut out all the iron between tho ends and weld in a new piece, n« the continual knocking tho rod gets by reason of slack bearings dcstioya the fibre of tho iron. If the connecting-rod was made redhot and allowed to cool slowly it would answer tho samo purpose. The machines referred to have very heavy knife-bard, which accelerates the breaking of the rod under the above circumstances very much. MoFFair.—lt is certainly not the case in Dunedin, and we do not know of any reason why it should tie bo in Jnvercargill,

Cocoanut, Gore, writes:— A discussion lately arose ] here aa to the average height and weight of European mon aud women, and as no conclusion could be arrived at, it was resolved to ask your opinion on the matter.— We have not the desired information at hand, but tho following, from " Chambers Information for the People," may be of interest :— " Tho following is a table drawn up by Professor Forbes to exhibit the relative heights, at different ages, of the students attending his class during a series of years, and belonging respectively to England, Scotland, and Ireland. The Belgian measurements wore probably derived from other sources. Tho number of individuals subjectedHo examination was very considerable, so many as 80 Scotch and 30 English being occasionally moasurcd at once. Heights— Full dimensions with Shoos. Age. English. Scotch. Irish. Belgians. | Inches. Inches. Inches. Inches. 16 64-4' 647 — 618 10 66-5 C 6-8 — 64-2 17 675 67-9 — CG'l 18 681 68-5 687 67-2 19 68-6 68-9 69-4 677 • ' 20 . 68,7 69-1 69-8 C7'9 21 68-8 <j9'2 700 W0 • 22 689 692 701 681 23 68-9 69-3 70-2 68-2 24 68-9 693 702 ,682 25 ' 6§9 693 702 683 » This table places the Irishman uppermost, in the Bcale of stature, the Scotsman Becond, the Englishman next, and the Belgian lowest. The comparison seems to be fair as regards the parties taken, for, if there were any peculiarity in their condition as students, it must have been common to all. As a comparison of national heights, therefore, the table perhaps exhibits conclusions pretty generally applicable. Tho weights at the age of 26 were : English, 1511b ; Scotch, 162'61b ; Irish, 1551b ; Bel- , gians, 1601b. A Bbginnbr.— <l) The following is the method usually adopted in pickling red cabbage :— Slice it into a colander, sprinkle each layer with salt; letitdrain two days ; then put it into a jar, with boiling vinegar enough to cover it, and put In a few slices of beetroot. Those who like the flavour of spice, boil some peppercorns, mustard seed, or other spice whole with the vinegar. (2) The seeds will grow if planted now. They will appear above the surface in about a month. J. L, Cromwell, asks the latitude of the following places :— Melbourne, Auckland, Cape of Good Hope, Capetown.— 37° 47', 36° 51', 34° 28', and 33° 54' south j latitude respectively. Inquirer, Clarksville, asks :— (1) Can I obtain a copy of " The Loudon Commercial Directory " in Dun-

edin ? (2) Where and at what price 7— Messrs Wise and Co. have the 1876 edition. (2) £1 Is. Inquirer, Invercargill.— The amount of pyrites to the ton of quartz varies with the different lodes, and we do not know of any information being collected in reference to the matter. We are not aware of any means being adopted in Otago to save the pyrites. If such be the case, perhaps some of our readers

will supply us with the information. Bendigo Miner asks :— (1) Was Mr J. Batbgate ever Minister of Justice for the Colony of New Zealand 1 and, if so (2), did Mr Bathgate, when Minister of Justice, recommend or appoint himself to be magistrate in Dunedin ?-(l) Yes. (2) The absertion that Mr Bathgate, while Minister of Justice, recommended himself for appointment to the vacant Resident Magistracy of Dunedin, was denied by that gentleman on several occasions during the recent election contest. Mr Bathgate alleges that he only accepted the position after considerable pressure

had been brought to bear upon him by the other

members of the Ministry. A. H., Porbobello, writes :— Being desirous of acquiring letters of naturalisation, and not knowing how to proceed in the matter, I venture to entertain the hope that you may be pleased to allow me the indulgence of asking your advice concerning it.— Apply to the Under-secretary, Wellington, for a form of memorial ; fill up the memorial as there: in directed, and verify it by .a declaration made before a J.P., and send it to the Under-secre-tary. You will then receive a form of the oath of allegiance, to be sworn to before a' J.P., and on payment of the fees letters of naturalisation will be

issued to you. AdkiiAidb A. asks what she should rub her hands with

to make, them white.— Wear gloves as often as : possible, and wash the hands night and' morning in •vfr '<tf and tc

oatmeal ana water. „i , • • , i W. 8., B&agks, asks what number of runs (if any) Mr G. P. Grace scored in the cricket match All England v. Australia, played on Kennington Oval, England, during the visit of the last Australian Eleven.— Mr Grace made & duck's egg on the' occasion in question. , ' ' *•• . Scotchman, Invereargill, writes :— I heard a' minister in the course of his sermon on Sunday evening, while speaking on the subject of intemperance, make a statement in something like the following words :— "The poet Burns, in speaking of himself, said that if there was a cask of whisky placed in one corner of a room, and a loaded gun in another corner, which he knew was to be fired at him if he touched the whisky, yet he could not resist the

temptation." As an admirer o! Burns, I shall be obliged if any of the readers of Notes and Queries will kindly inform me if there is any authority for the statement ; if so; is it reliable 1 ; , J. T. and A. B. O. next week. ,; ;,