NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1867, 2 September 1887, Page 20

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Amateur. — (1) A little experience is necessary for the successful breeding of ferrets. When tho time arrives the mule and female should be coupled, or probably the doe will die. The period of gestation is 45 days. The young may be fed in a very similar manner to kittens— milk, bread and milk (the bread being firat soaked in waVm water)', and small pieces of meat as -they get older. Uhey should be kept in a snug, warm box t with a sleeping place partitioned off, being very su* cci t *!»'•• to cold. Meat should be given in small quantities, and sparingly, the wing of a sparrow or its equivalent being sufficient at one time for a full-grown ferret. (2) It would not be worth your while to do so. One Interested.— The exterminator may be procured direct from Messrs Stenhouse and Smith, Blenhiem. If you write to the firm they will forward you descriptive circulars with a diagram of the machine. Mr Charles E. Hutcheson writes to say that he is of opinion that '• before New Zealand can prosper the chief and worst cause of the depression must be cutout root and •branch. I mean the cancer of strong drink. Our bankrupts must be more firmly dealt with, and above all Christian men mus^be placed at the head of affairs." The low prices of produce are apparently in Mr Hutcheson's opinion an entirely secondary consideration. A prolonged tour among deferred-payment settlers — the great majority of whom probably never see " strung drink " in any shape or formmight possibly considerably broaden our correspondent's views. That drink is the cause of a dpal of the miiery in the back slums of our cities there can be no reasonable doubt, but to state that it is tne " chief and worst cause of the depression " is 6imply absurd. / Sam.— (l) You have no right to do so, and if you do you are responsible for the consequences. Advertising or distance from the road makes no difference. Farmer.— Glad to receive it ; will appear next week. Constant Reader.— Davies' " Metaliferous Minerals and Gold Mining" ; price 15s 6d, including postage, at Braithwaite'a Book Arcade. Subscriber. Invercargill,— (l) No doubt the extensive use of labour-saving machinery, resulting in over production, is one of the causes of the present universal depression, and the subject has, during the past year or two, engaged conslaVable attention both at Home and abroad. (2) We believe so, but have not the report at hand at present, N.L.B.— (Mangels.)— The .writer of the article you refer to had the opportunity of observing the system pursued at the Glsssnevin Model Farm in the cultivation of this root crop, and there learned its value as a large producer of a variety of food ' for farm' stock. The seed was invariably moistened or damped from 12 to 24 hours before sowing, and to promote the, vegetation, was when moist spread out in a place where the temperature was com, paratlvely high, and when dry, was fit for sowing -

Occasionally, if there was a hurry, the seed vm r dried sufficiently for sowing by a mixture o! aßhes. During some 15 years the writer culy, vated mangels to the average extent of 16 to 2g acres annually, and the knowledge and expenenc» of the value of the crop, has suggested th« repeated articles on the subject. Properly speak ing, the words ',' well moistened " for 12 houn should have been used instead of "steeping." ft 0 doubt there are seeds .which would be injured by even slight moisture, but 'there are many subject connected with agriculture on which "Stephen 1 ! Book of the Farm is no recognised authority. i Q fact on most subjects the book at time of publics, tion was regarded as patch-work, and is now obsolete. W.O.— (" Gorse as food fprmilking cows In winter.') The value of bruised gorse as food for stock w'ai first brought to the Knowledge of the British Sublic by the experience of the cavalry regimenti uring the Peninsular-war. It was recorded that whea no other food was available, the troopers cot furze for the' horses, and when the material^, chopped fine the animals maintained their condition for weeks although in constant work. i n thn "Complete Grazier" it is stated that an experiment was made with gorse mixed with choppy hay and straw and grainß. The furze formed the principal portion of the food, " and increased the quantity and improved the quality of the milk." To the writer's knowledge working horses were fed on farms in the North of Ireland on bruised gorae as [ a large proportion of the night food many yean ago andthe general supposition was that it preserved the health and maintained their condition. About 1845 the Rev. Mr Townshend advocated the utili. Bation of fcoree properly crushed as food for stock and in Ireland and many districts in England and Scotland its value is well understood. It must however, be stated that gorse should never be grown for the purpose of stock food on land of even average quality. Wastes, sloping sidings and hedges are the places for the plant, and then to be of any use for stock the young shoots mutt be trimmed at the proper time and thoroughly ■ bruised so as to crush the sharp spikelets. We have made inquiries here and have ascertained that there are no gorse-bruising machines in l)in> edin, bxt you may probably obtain one in Christ, church. W. S. S. aske :— What is the average chemical composition of refuse from boiling-down establishment] — that Js.therefuse from tlieateam cauldrons?— The refuse from boiling-down establishments and from steam cauldrons varies so much in quality that no average of the chemical composition of the constituents can be well determined. In both processes the primary object is to obtain the fat from the material subjected. Carcasses of sheep of various qualities, heads of cattle, scraps, ic.ic, are boiled or steamed, the fluid fat is drawn off, and the residue.is regarded, to use the words of a boilerdown, as "a conglomeration of muck." Every, thing, excepting the teeth of cattle, is fused, and the quality of the refute from a chemical point of view altogether depends on the proportions of bone and muscle in the original material. Then again, as will be perceived from an article in our columns this week, much depends on the treatment even of bones- whether in milling for bone-mealor for solution for superphospate. It may be added that from inquiries made we have ascertained that some of the "boiling-down and cauldron proprietors " in the vicinity of Dunedin sell the refuse at £l per load, and it is unquestionably an excellent manure, and to fanners in the vicinity cheap at the price. To those at a distance, who would have to pay two cartages and railway freights, we have again to counsel the necessity ior a guaranteed analysis of the bulk purchased. Canterbury. — 1560 bales of rabbitskins were exported fiom Otagoand Southland during the six months ending July 31, 1887. Of this number Dunedin exported 1400 bales, and Invercargill 160 bales. H. S.— A person has no right to keep a whisky still for private use. Aeronaut, St, Bathans.— (l) A metre is equal to 39jin. (2) 'Jhe air becomes too rariiied for breathing. Rabbitkr —Diseased dogs. (1) Administer the following dose for twodays cousecutively s fivegraiuj calomel and one grain tartar emetic— the medicine to ba given early in the moriiing, and on an empty stomach. Confine the dogs, but supply them with plenty of water to drink, and their food should be oatmeal and wheatmeal gruel, After tho second day give each dog, twice a day, as much quinine as will cover a sixpence. (3) Hub well into the lumps an emollient ointment, composed of hartshorn and oil. Clean and whitewash the kennel. (3) " Stuneheoge on the Dog" is recognised as the best treatise, and you may procure it at Braithwaite's Book Arcade, Princei Btreet, Dunedin. The price, including postage,

10b. Clinton. — Horse with skin disease. In the first place ascertain if it is mange, which you will know if there are itching tendencies, veßiclei, and thickening of the skin. In any case put the animal on soft food, and administer the alterative dose recommended for the horse belonging to " Subscriber, Gore." At the same time prepaie and well rub in an ointment composed in the following proportions : — One ounce flour of sulphur and an equal quantity of train oil. The swelling in front of the hock may be incipient "blood spavin," and should be tieated for that ailment by painting with tincture of iodine, or by rubbing in strong mecurial ointment, or by blister. Ib may, however, be only an enlarge from a bruise and probably will subside. If not, use the tinoture, the ointment, or the blister. Subscriber, Gore. — The vermin on the pony wai of course the origiaal cause of the irritation anil skin disease. If, on examination of the an raal, you find the lice absent, give the following alterative dose, which, however, is in the proportions used for a full-grown horse .— levigated antimony, two drachms ; nitre, three drachms; and sulphur, four drachms. The medicine may b»j given In a mash after the pony has been kept without food for, say, 24 hours. It you h ive aujr green stuff give no other food for a few days alttr physicking, and if the pony is a favourite a run fur a month on the spring grass will send up a fine and blooming coat of hair. '• Keating's iniect destroyer " is of little use in destroying vermin on horses or cattle : what you mean by dog so»p we fail to understand, the kerosene solution rosy have helped to produce the patches because, v you are aware, the oil floats on the water, and,

therefore, was not evenly distributed. Readkr, Maheno.— Nearly all the sulphuria acid used in New Zealand is manufactured here," the Drug Company's works, Burnside, and atworiu in Auckland. It is chiefly used in the nianufwture of aerated water and superphosphites of lime or dissolved bones. Dou^tleßß the New Zealand Drug Company will be able to give you further information on the subject if you write to them. G. W.— A separation, but whether mutual or noti» doubtful. Mrs Langtry is said to have become a naturalised Bubjecb in the United States win a view to obtaining a divorce.