NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1917, 17 August 1888, Page 20

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Dry Rot in Timber. — ' ' Lumber asks : — If a piece of green timber be painted or tarred on all sides, is the timber liable to decay in a few years through the sap being unable to exude (.h rough the pores of the wood and, therefore, being confined within the wood, causing the fibre to decay in what is termed dry rot. We think there can be no doubt that dry rot would speedily ensue under such conditions. The probability is that the efficacy of charring the foot of posts is due to a considerable extent to expelling sap, and not alone to preventing the ingress of moisture from the ground. Thlsis a subject on which many of our readers must have had experience from time to time, and we cordfally invite correspondence on the point. Inquirer, Blacks, asks : — Who was paymaster of the British| forcc3 at the Crimean war. ana is there any statistical rteord showing names of officers, &c, engaged therein ? The " Army List" of 1855 or 1856 would give the name of the Paymastergeneral, but we should scarcely think it could be seen in this colony. We have never heard of any list of nnmes of officers engaged in the Crimean war. " Hart's Army List," however, gives the services of each officer. J. M., Pukerau.— (l) The steerage fare from Dunedin to Napier is £4 single, £6 8s return. (2) Kaikora is 35 miles by rail irom Napier. (3) Feilding is situated in the Manawatu district, and is 107 miles from Wellington. It is the site of a special settlement and was named after Colonel Feilding. Muta. — Yes, certainly. "A Birthday Greeting" will appear in due course. M. O'M.— " Alice" will make inquiries and reply in Ladies' page in next issue. C. R., Dunedin. — To make dried rabbitskins fit for a rug, soften them by soaking, then remove all fatty matter with the back of a knife, and give them a warm bath for an hour. Mix equal parts of borax, saltpetre, and sulphate of soda — about half an ounce of each to each skin— with water sufficient to make a thin paste. Spread this with a brush over the fleshy sides, and double the fleshy sides in. After 24 hours wash the skins clean, and apply as before a mixture of two parts of sal soda, one partof borax, and four parts of hard white soap, melted slowly together without boiling ; fold and put in a warm place for 24 hours. After this dissolve in hot rain •water one part of saleratus, two patts of alum, and four parts of salt. The water should only be sufficient to saturate the skins. When cool enough to handle coak the skins for 12 hours, then wring out and hang to dry. Repeat the soaking and drying until they are sufficiently soft. Subscriber, Taieri Beach.— See above, or proceed as follows :— Lay the skin on a smooth board, the fur side undermost, and fasten it down with tacks. Wash it over first with a solution of salt ; then dissolve 2§oz of alum in a pint of warm water, and with a sponge dipped in this solution moisten the surface all over. Repeat this every now and then for three days. When the skin is quite dry take out the tacks, and rolling it loosely the long way, the fur inside, draw it quickly backwards and forwards through a large smooth ring until it is quite soft. Subiohiber. — There is no direct line of steamers or sailing vessels to Vancouver, though occa«lonal vessels are despatched thither. You would require to go to San Francisco by the mail steamer, thence by rail. The steerage fare to San Francisco is £23 15s ; saloon, £46. Tyro.— Bird stuffing i 3 too delicate an operation for auy hints we could give you within the limits of the space at command to ba of any service to you. 44 Practical Taxidermy,", a work obtainable at' Braithwaite's Book Arcade, gives detailed instructions ; price, including postage, 9s 6d. Dot, Winton.— (l) Deposit the specifications of the invention and the application for the patent at the nearest Supreme Court Office. (2) A fee of 10s is payable on the specification being deposited, and £2 on the letters patent being granted. On

the deposit of the specifications the, inventor is protected for 12 months, and the application for patent is to be proceeded with within that time. (3) No. (4) We think not. - ' * J. 8., Balclutha. — The cement commonly used for fastening the' tops on kerosene lamps is plaster of Paris, which is porous, quickly penetrated by the kerosene, and soon destroyed. Another cement which has not this defect is made by boiling 3 parts of resin, and lof caustic soda in sof water. This composition forms a soap, which, when mixed with half its weight of plaster of Paris, sets firmly in about three-quarters of an hour. It is said to be of great adhesive power, not permeable by kerosene, a low conductor of heat, and but superficially attacked by hot water. Inquiber, Kakimui. — We have made inquiries at all the grain agencies in town and at other places likely to be_ able to supply the information you desire, but unsuccessfully. Gunny bags, all cay, are only occasionally used for onions here, and are not kept in stock. None of the parties ever heard of a "gunny bog manufacturer in Melbourne." The latest number of the Melbourne Directory in the Athepseum is 1881, aud iv it there is no mention of manufacturers of the articles' in question. The parties consulted, and who ought to know, say that gunny bags, as well as nearly nil other kinds, are imported from Calcutta. Because of cheap labour they can be sold at a very low price. Ignoramus writes:— l wish to mount and varnish a sheet painted in aniline colours. When last I did this the colours ran when the size was laid on and almost spoiled my work. Can you inform me if there are any means of "fixing* the colour so that the size may be applied without detriment) to the picture. We are afraid not, this being the great drawback to the use of aniline colours. However, we publish your query in the hope that some one who has experimented in the direction of fixing the colours may relate his experience. The following is a useful varnish for this work : — Dissolve loz of the best isinglass in about a pint of water, by simmering it over the iire ; strain it through fine muslin, and keep it fox use. Try the size on a piece of paper moderately warm ; if it glistens, it is too thick, add more water ; if it soaks into the paper, it is too thin, add or diminish the isinglass till it merely dulls the surface ; then give the paper two or three coats, letting it dry between each, being careful (particularly In the first coat) to bear very lightly on the brush, which should [foe a flat tin camel-hair. The size should flow freely from the brush, otherwise the paper, if a drawing, may be damaged. Then take the best mastic varnish, and with it give at least three coats. A. A.— (l) The return fare from the Bluff to Melbourne is as follows :— Saloon, £13 ; steerage, £7 ; available for three months from date of issue. (2) The following is recommended lor the removal of dandruff :— "loz powdered borax, half a teaspooniul unslacked lime, and a teaspoonful of spirits of ammonia. Put into a quart bottle and fill up with water. After 12 hours apply a tablespoonfnl to the roots of the hair with a small piece of fine sponge, and then wash off with tepid water. Repeat every evening until the dandruff disappears. To prevent a relapse this should be repeated once a week afterwards. Fhiix (Longing).— Will you please send your name and address. We have a letter from a correspondent for you. Opossoms.— South Biverton is getting stocked with opossoms. They are spreading everywhere. I (Riverton correspondent of the Southland News) ' believe the late Captain Hankinson and someone else turned them out Borne years ago, -We shall soon be able to get a night's good shooting at ■ them — that is if they are not proclaimed as game. This has been done with the pukaki or swamp turkey, and this bird— ask any farmer if he is not almost as destructive to him as the rabbit is to the squatter. Still they wish to preserve them. W. E. writes :— A and B have unfenced ■ sections adjoining. A wishes to fence at one* ; B cannot be consulted in the macter as he is absent from the colony., Would you kindly state what would be a legal notice. Serve the notice on his agent, if he has one ; if not, you must publish the notice three • consecutive times in a new spaper circulating in the district. A. 8., Oamaru. — You have no claim. A. A.— Not unless he gets fjudgment against the debtor. Subsobibkr, Clinton. — The questions strike us as very peculiar. The answers are : (1) Of course. (2) Yes. S. W. S,, Waihola.— (l) Road Boards are bound bythe act to take security from any officer entrusted with money, and we are inclined to think they might be held responsible if they neglect to do so, but the question is a difficult one., (2) It is the board's duty. Dentist.— A few drops of tincture of myrrh brushed on the gums nif ht and morning will harden them sufficiently to prevent the teeth feeling loose. You should be careful with regard to what medicine you may have, as some have the effect of loosening the teeth.