NOTES AND QUERIES

Otago Witness, Issue 1594, 10 June 1882, Page 17

NOTES AND QUERIES

Hcgh Macgresor, V.S., Waikouaiti, writes:— l have seen ft great deal in your columns during the past few weeks with reference to the ravages of the ■ white jjrub, and thinking my experience in getting quit of the pest may be of service to those afflicted, Lsend an account of the method I.adopted to you for publication. Six years ago I had a small patch 1 of land "so 'infested with 1 the p"eat that I could 1 ' neitherget grass nor an> thing else tb.grow upon it. ' Having studied the subject carefully, I, determined to try the effect of salt and kerosene. With that object in view I procured a load of sand, 6st salt, , and 4 gallons kerosene, mixed the, whole together, ' and put it into quarter of an acre of land. I have ' had the best' of crops from the land ever 6ince, and ' during the' whole of the'time, I have never seen a t grub. £JnBSCRiBER writes:— As a subscriber to your valuable journal, I want to know how it is that bazaars, . art unions, consultations, and all - games of chance 1 are' allowedfto he carried on in the m jds ( t of the city, cot Dunedin, .and no one arrested; "while us. up'Cbuntry people; if we have a consultation, are put' ' in lor it,, and: fined £10, £60,- or £100.; I j want to know the reason through your valuable journal— ISo far as .consultations are concerned; 'we have 'no ' l doubt that the Dunedin police would be only too ' gladto learna '■•wrinkle from our t whereby they would be able to have the promoters J fined M£lo; £50, or £100"; -we can only reoonjmend' ; our country friend, po ,take a leaf out, of their book jif • he 1 wishes to avoid the, inevitable flne. ( 'Wedo m ot . ttiink' thoße who indulge' In other 'games of chance 1 fare 'any-better than theW c country friendsj as the records of "the CityiPolloe Court will bear witness. - f Of dourse, the police cauld not beexpeoted tointer- '• fere With bazaars or ar,t unions in aid of religious or^, • charitable objectßj.and we do, not think' there is any 1 difference, in the conduct of the country and city ( j police in this respect.' H. J., Milton, asks : - What,,is $he best food for New j Zealand paroquets in captivity f 1— There ia, we be- . lieye, nothing better than canary seed. Tbcumsbu asks :-(l) The price ( of an. ordinary good field-glass? (2) Of an ordinary good revolver? ! 1 (B) 'Are- field-glass and opera-glass Bynonymous terms?— (l) From 50s to £5 108, according to con- ( struction. {%) Frony£2 10s to £4. (3) Scarcely ; the latter as a rule are not so powerful as the the former, and' are lees in size. Contractor wishes to know is the North Island a good place for contract ploughing, and what part would you recommend a man who follows contract ploughing to go to ?— We cannot say, but shall be ; happy to publish any information on the subject from anyone better informed. Student writes :— I am desirous of entering , upon a course of Latin studies, kindly inform me whose work or works are now considered the best

authority on the subject?— The works of Dr Smith are in general use, to be had at any booksellers. M, M. J. asks :— (l) For a recipe for making a plain currant pudding. (2.) Where could I procure saleratus? (3) Is it sold under any other name ?— (1) Well mix a large breakfastcupful of bread cru-nbs with a cupful of flour and one of finelychopped beef suet. Bring to a proper consistency by the addition of as much milk as is necessary, and add two eggs (well beaten), a cupful of sugar, a little lemon peel, quarter of a pound of currants, and half a pound of raisins. Add spice, if you ap< prove of it. Boil for four hours. The pudding is much richer if boiled in a basin, as otherwise the

goodness is washed out of it. (2) Most grocers sell Ft. If your local grocer has not got it, obtain it from a chemist. (3) Not that we know of. T.— " Collins' Dictionary of Synomj'ns," price Is 6d, is a useful work. To be had of any bookseller. Subscriber, Balclutha, writes -.—Kindly inform me, through your- next impression, whether the aver- ' age par acre for wheat and oats is greater for Canterbury than Otago, and approximately the ' difference for each,— The complete statistics are not . yet to 'hand'; but so far as they have been published the advantage in on the Otago side, and not that of Canterbury. The complete statistics will be published as soon as they are received. Wm. J. L., Dunedin, writes :— When binding ran 'apprentice ,to a trade is it usual for the employer to pay the cost of the indentures, or the parents of the lad ?— Jt t is usual for the apprentice's parents ! to pay the expense. Pderua writes:— ln clause 10, Otago Roads Ordinance, it is enacted that one-third of the members 1 assigned to each district shall go out of office every year, and tbat the members who shall so go out of ' office shall always be the members who have been the longest in office without re-election. In the event of an extraordinary vacancy taking place, a member appointed by the Board to fill the vacancy of course needa to bo olected by the district. Does this election for an extraordinary vacancy pr vent the retirement of any member holding office more than three years without re-election, as specified in the 10th clause of the Act? -We are not quite clear as to the moaning of the question, but we think the answer you require is this : that in the case you mention two members will have to be elected at tho

same time. Constant Subscriber, West Taieri, asks :~lf a man gets married to a widow woman, having no family, does he become heir to her properoy, or could she leave it to her friends after the present husband paying off all the debts she had to pay when they got married, or does he require to get the deeds of the place altered in his own name?— The husband

should got the land conveyed to himself. Constant Hbader, Grasamoro, writes:— Somo time ago I left my awag in the chavgo of a landlord ; his hotel was burned, my swag also ; his furniture wa3 insured. He refused to pay me my loss, which I value at £3. Can I recover by sue ng him in Coutt for my loss ?— We are of opinion that the innkeeper iinot liable. AiiPHA, Southland, writes:- 1 enclose n, Barapkgof mineral, and will be obliged if jou can tell me wnat it is, and if of any commercial value ; it iB to bo procured in considerable quantities, anil its coluuc, wh'.ch Jb that cf indijro, /Irot attiucbed roy utteution. — Tno mineral ifi no-callo I blue iion eaifcb, a vp-iievy cf onanite, or phosphate of il'oa. ltrh&3nocom« mem?,l valuo.

'ProG&bsb writes:-! notice that persona 'have, In the Witness, at different times, given great praise to the' Gilpin Sulky and Gang ploughs and G. Ladow's dix-" harrows. I would like to know what sort of a seed-bed tho ploughs make when the furrow is made 3 feet wide. I caw a trial of G. Ladow's harrows on some ground which was broken 3 incheß in May and June last year. The groundlwas cross-ploughed in April this year at a depth of 5 inches, and sowed ' down in'wheat. A splendid seed-bed was made, But the Ladow's could not cover the seed. They would -bring to the surface little clods from, nnderneath and leave grain on the top, while the other harrows smoothed the ground as level as a bowlinggreen. However, the Ladows have not as yet been tried on ground several years under cultivation. In this case they had an eight-stone-woight driver, who perhaps .might have been too light.— Wo submitted your query to the gentleman who, over the signature of " Agricola," gave some interesting particulars of the Ladow harrow on Mr Wayne's estate sometime ago, and he writes as follows in reply thereto :— " 1 may pay that I have no personal experience as to the suitability of these American implements in working land, but I am told by all who have used them that they are invaluable as regards producing good crops. I have also been assured that the seed-bed which the ploughs make is not to be outdone by any form of plough in certain kinds of land. Free, bharp, and open soil is 'where they produce the best results. Some assert that they will do on any kind of soil, but I am half inclined to think that on our clay lands they would not be 'just the cheese.' Re the ! width of the furrow, I may say thai) 'Progress' is •out,' tho maximum width being two feet, not three as Btated. There must have been Bomething wrong with the harrows if. they did not coyer the seed, because I was shown ovor a field of oats where experiments wore made with the Ladow and ordinary harrows, and the braird lof the former was much more healthy and luxuriant than the latter, and the owner had on several occasions sown grass-seed on stubble, and put the harrows over it with most satisfactory results. The weight of the driver would not matter, as there are boxes which can be filled with sand or other material to make weight. I may add that the Ladows are in much more favour than tho ploughs for all classes of land, and can see no reason why they cannot cover the seed." J, B.— We have a correspondent in the district from which you write, and he will no doubt deal with the matter in duo course. Buildbe.— We should say yes in both coses. Your question, however, came to hand too late for us to give a definite reply till next week. Several questions are unavoidably hold over till noxt week,