NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1763, 5 September 1885, Page 17

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Inquisitive, Milburn, writes -.—I wish to send a telegram to Glasgow, but before doing so I would like to have some idea as to how long I would have to wait for a reply, supposing it was received and replied to immediately. — It depends entirely as to the amount of work on the lines passing throngh the various countries through which the telegraph runs. Two days is a fair average time to allow for an answer, although Mr Lubecki informs us that he has often seen replies received within 2-1 hours. A. A.— Mr Beverly replies to your question :— The readiest way to lay off rectangular lines on hilly ground is the cross staff, which anyone can improvise, who cau handle a saw. Get a block of block of wood not less than four inches in diameter, and make two saw cuts in the end about two inches deep at right angles, or nearly so. Make a h»le in the other end with a centre-bit or auger to fit on the top of a staff, which is to be stuck in the ground. To use the staff, plant it in ' the ground close to the fence at the point where the desired perpendicular joins it, and adjust one of the slits in a, line with the fence by looking through the slit. Then look through the other slit, and insert a peg in the line of sight at any convenient distance. Turn the staff a quarter round, and adjust the other slit to the fence. Look through the cross slit again, and insert another peg in the line of sight at the same distance as the former. A line from the staff passing midway between the two pegs will be at right angles to the fence. If the ground is very irregular, care must be taken to have both the slits in a vertical position when in use. This can be tested by looking through them at the cord of a plummet held steady in the line of sight. Fen'Ckr wishes to know if thore is such a thing as a wire-strainer sold in Dunedin, weight not exceeding 9lb. I have one, but it is far too heavy and clumsy.— Yes ; Fulton's Improved Patent Portable Wire-strainer, weight 3|lb each ; price 255, at Arthur Briscoe and Co.'s, Princes stPeet. Milburx. — The eclipse will commence a few minutes before 7 in the morning, and end about quarter to 9. S. M. S., Kurow.— Anyone 18 years of age or upwards can purchase (and under the deferred-pay-ment clauses ot the Land Act 1877. L. G.— Dclaney and Co.'s Scientific Prcbs Patent Agency, No.' 252 Market street, San Francisco, would'take you out a patent for your invention in America, and would also give you all the iufonnat ion you require. iNSECT-TKOum.Kn. — Our Gardou cnulribulor will

deal v ith your questions next. wopk. FARJIEH. — (1) The duty chargeable on grain entering the port of Melbourne is 2s per 1001b. (2) The wharfage at Melbourne is 5s per ton of 22101b. (3) The freight from Bluff to Melbourne per steamer is Is 3d per bag. WABEPA.-»It is lawful for second cousins to marry. A Constant Subscriber asks :— (1) What stamp is needed in granting a receipt for £300 ? (2) What stamp is needed for an agreement involving £300 ? — (1) A penny stamp. (2) One shilling. Miner. — (1) Not if she is aware that he is still alive. (2) Yes, if he had been heard of during the seven years, so that the wife knew that he was not dead. It is not the mere absence of one of the parties for seven years that entitles the other to marry, but the presumption of death. Farmer writes : — The forms sent to farmers by Property Tax assessors contain columns under the heading, " Money owing by me secured on mortgage." The first page of the form states that the farmer is entitled to deduct what he owes under that heading. Whether lam entitled to do so or not is a question which I refer to you, and will be grateful for an answer. My case is this : I purchased land this year, the last payment for which is to be made at the end of three yearß from the date of sale. Only the first instalment is paid. Can I therefore enter these debts in the columns mentioned, as though I were an ordinary mortgagor ? The instalments are to be paid on dates varying from six months to a year, and bear interest.—You cannot enter it in that column, but you should place the amount of unpaid purchasemoney amongst your ordinary debts. G. M. II 4 .— Your lines are exceedingly faulty in construction, and are certainly not fit for publication without considerable alteration. M. G., Seatonvillc, asks the breadth of the Czar of Russia yiicht built by Messrs Elder and Co. in 1878 or 1879. — We are not aware, but if you have access to a file of the Illustrated London News for those years you would probably find it given in a description of the vessel in connection with an illustration. Ratepayer, Maniotato, dr.iws attention to the bad state of the roads in Maiiiototo County, and mentions several instances in which he alleges they might be improved by altering the grades or slightly deviating the routes taken by the roads. He also doubts the utility of the now bridge at Lower Kyeburn, stating that even empty waggons do not cross it. and stating that it is likely to remain " a monument of Maiiiototo folly." He concludes :— " U is higb. time rateu&vers were kraking aftfir tnfeir own interests, anfl ree that the

County Council do not spend public money so lavishly on their officers in high salaries. One councillor went in for retrenchment, but found no support. Lei the warning of the ratepayers be of no uncertain sound, and those who will not re-l.i-enoh when the election day comes round turn them out. lor the ratepayers' are masters of the situation."