NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1893, 2 March 1888, Page 20

NOTES AND QUERIES.

J.— Plantago Jancealata (rib grass), formerly much recommended in mixtures ot grasses, especially in dry pastures. It has deservedly gone into less repute now, however. G. C, Aminaby.— Probablv the failure in transplanting your pine trees lias been due to leaving it over till too late in the season. In a warm climate like that of New South Wales transplanting at the end of autumn or early in winter would probably be attended with more successful results than leaving it over till spring, when the sun begins to gain power. The age at which young trees may be 6uccesstully transplanted varies according to tne species. In the case of treea of the class you refer to the operation is most successful when they are in their earlier stages ; but from that time till they are middle-aged, i£ due precautions arc taken, success should result. As a rule from two to three years oW is the best time, if they cau be as well taken care of in their permanent positions. Seeds for plants for hundreds of acros can be sown in a nursery and transplanted for several years in comparatively small space, and in this way can be much better taken care of than they would be if planted out in permanent positions. The soil should be well prepared by trenching and other means recommended for its improvement. Twenty Years' Subscriber.— Well-bred Houdan fowls are obtainable from Mr Bills, George street, at 40s per pair. S»uth Canterbury Farmer writes:— lf the insect that has been discovered in the Kangitikei district proves to be really the prolific and destructive fly that has been committing such ravages in the crops in Europe, it will not, probably, be very long before the whole colony is infested with it unl»6s rigorous steps are taken to stamp it out of existence on the limited area it is suppoEcd to occupy at present. It is rather unfair that we should get many of our worst pests from America— a country with which we do little trade, ana from which we receive nothing to counterbalance the evil she does xis by competing against us in the London wheat market, to say nothing of the " Colorado beetle," the "codlin moth," the "scaly blight," the "mealy bug," the " Califoruian thistle." ami laet. but by no means least, the terrible Hessian fly, which is supposed to have been imported from the Slates. Iv connection with the articles on the subject in the "Witness dut lng the past two weelis, it may be recommendfd tliAt those interested should obtain Mr Whitehead's pamphlet ou the " Hessian Fly," prepared for the ligrioultural department of England, and publishad by Hansard and Sou, Great. Queen street. London, W. 0.. at 2d; or Miss Omerod's pamphlet " The Hessian Fly iv Great Britain," published by Messrs Simpkin. Marshall, and Co., Stationers' Hall court, London, E.C., price 6d. In this connection I see that it i 3 stated that if tobacco be burnt near btanding wheat affected by the Hessian fly it will rapidly kill the pest. Sheepwash tobacco would no doubt answer the purpose admirably, and has the recommendation of being very cheap. If "muggy" weather is selected, a great deal of good might be effected by this means. Old Miner, Clufha.— The fare from Dunedin to Sydney is £12 saloon and £7 steerage. From Sydney to Maryborough b7 steamer is £4 10s saloon and £2 5s steerage, thence by rail to Gympie 11b od first-class and 7s 8d second. From Sydney to Normanlou the fare is £1* saloon aid }£10 Bteerage, and thence by Cobb and Co.'s coach to the Croydon £t 10s. Constant Keader.— You do not state what committee it is. There ib no fixed number—it depends upon the rules of the society or association. The absence of the two members, if they had received proper notice of the intended mfetfrig, would certainly not invalidate the proceedings.Box 20, P.0.-r-Ked spider is a roost difficult pest to treifc, on account of the eggs being so completely protected from the action of almost any of the agents nsetl. The object to be gained, so far as the eggs are concerned, is to apply some agent that

will remain as long as possible in contact with the mass of eggs and gradually work upon them and also destroy the young as they are hatched out. For this purpose the whale oil soap and sulphur mixture is generally regarded as a good remedy, while Gishuret'e compound (obtainable at seedsmen's shops) is also efficacious. J. T., Kurow.— Mr Mills, gunsmith, Stafford street, has breech-loading carbines in stock, and makes loading tools. Prices vary from £4 to about £7. Asonymous.— Your Hues do not poesess sufficient merit to warrant their publication. A. R.— Tes. Some More Ballakat Experiences. —J. S., Henwick road, Blenheim, after confirming the statement that licenses were issued for the current calendar month only, irrespective of the date they were applied ior, says : — 1 landed in December 1852, aud started digging early in 1853, and had a license from that time till it was abolished, which was some short time alter tbe Eureka stockade affair, l'here was an alteration of licenses about I that time, which was £l for one month, or £2 for three months; but it did not last six months, for my second three months license had not expired when the miner's fight came in instead. I went to all the principal " rushes " that took place iv Victoria — Ballarafc, Bendigo, Mount Korong, Tarrengower, Maryborough, and other places— in those days with varied success, having like " T. H. M." had many opportunities of seeing those at the tubs and cradle making their mouth ! the receptacle of something more valuable than Barrett's twist; find of seeing many liceuse hunts by the commissioner, with his sword dangling by hii side, and the mounted troopers armed to the teeth, with a considerable body of foot police, armed with guns and bayonets, whose duty ft was to demand a sight of the license from everyone. Any persou who could not produce his license had to fall into the ranks and march to the camp, to be fined the usual penalty (£5) or make amends for having offended against the law. In theee license hunts the " traps " always tried to catch the digger by surprise, and always, if they could, would emerge from behind some eminence or something that chut them from view. Sometimes when the alarm of "Joe " was sounded there was no time for retreat before the troopers were on the offenders. Many expedients wore tried to evaae the license, but not always successfully. On one occasion a mate of mine, named Jack, who had no license for the last month, was busy puddling dump, very rich washdirt in a t üb— v, aterbeing a very scarce commodity— the contents of the ! ; tub being a mass of liquid inud.Jßefore he knew where he was, the traps were so close ou him that there was no time for him to hide in a drive, and to run was to makeßiire of his being caught by the troopers who had surrounded us. So Jack put a bold face on it mid stood his ground. He thrust both his arms up to his elbows in the tub. "Have you got your license, mate ?" demanded tho policeman. Jack ( raising his arms from the tub, half an inch of mud nil over them) replied, "Yes; will you put your hand in my trouser pocket and take it out?" at the tamo time sidling over dangerously near to tho blue shirt, belt, and shining steel bayonet. " O nevermind, that will do, it's all right," rejoined the policeman, and left him. But there were tofc many among them so easily satisfied. 1 have had to Bhow mine twice in as many minutes, tho second trooper probably asking your name to see that you wero not personating some other person, I remen.ber some cases in point in connection with the commissioner on Tarrengower —Mr Pridham, a gentleman whoso obituary notice I saw a short time since iv the "Witness, and whom Thatcher, in one of hia ditties, sang of as " The genuine corduroy." He was very iond of license hunting. It was said he liked it better thau fox hunting. At some of the rushes there 1 have seen him have the diggers gathered and placed in line so that he could walk along while they held up their licenses for his inspection, afterwards giving them a lecture on the privileges attached to being la\v-abidiug,aud the benefits tbe licenses conformed on them. I could give many instances of license hunt 6on Ballaiatand Maryborough (fa)mpson ranges) in the days of Commissioners Templeton aud Daly. The latter afterwards was chairman of the Ballarat local court, which was an eleclive body with legislative as well as judicial powers to regr.late mining after the 308 license was abolished. The present Premier of Victoria, Mr D. Gillies, a digger, was for many yeats a member of it. My reason ior writing at all is that having spent 20 years on tho Victorian and New Zealand goldfields, I naturally feel an interest in what concerns either of them. When these stirring and eventful times are spoken of, it awakens remembrances that may have lain dormant in the memory for years. Facts related of the early days now read more like a romance than sober truth. Rheumatism and Sciatica.— Mr Donald NicholJ son, in sending what he describes as " a simple and effectual remedy for rheumatism and sciatica," writes :—" 1 have been in misery for the last eight years with rheumatism and sciatica, and a steady application of the decoction given below has cured me, and also killed the blight on my fruit trees. The decoction is made thus : Take of the leave and branches of the eucalyptus (or gum tree) and chop them five with a chopper. Boil in as much water as will cover yourself up to your loins. Ihi decoction must be as strong as possible, afterwards put in as much rock salt as the water will dissolve. Then put in j .b carbolic acid, lqt kerofene, and bathe yourself in the decotion every night as hot as you can bear it. After you have used the decoction several times savn it in a barrel, and use it on your fruit trees as a cure for blight. You will be surprised at tho result. Publish your success through the Witness for the good of others." M.— We have made inquiries, but have not so far been able to find out whether meteorological observations were first instituted in Britain or America. Our improssion is that they wero first started in Anienea. Perhaps some of our readers can supply tho information. One Interested. — Dr Vieth's pamphlet is not procurable in Dunedin, but any bookseller W 'H get it for you if you leave a small deposit on account. Gore and Catlin's Eivek. — Too late ; arrived just as we were going to press.