NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1957, 23 May 1889, Page 20

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Constant Header.— (l) Under ordinary circvanstances land with one rabbit to the acre n considered infested, In special circumstance* one' rabbit to two or three acres Is sufficient justification to consider the land Infested. (J) The Inspector has' power to give the men n» puts on' private lands the dead carcwsM of the rabbits, this being part of their «• numeration, fixed upon in order to eticouragegOM work. B. 8, J.— No, he was never appointed rector of tt< High School, hia claim to the honour being I purely imaginary one. E. B. 0. B.— (1) The first and only time WeJltogtott met Napoleon in battle was at Waterloo. iV Communication being so slow they were rue* sarlly only partially under Napoleon's own pani« A. D. W.— We do not think you are liable, HOKONUi.-(l)The mortgageelean sue him, and iog< at the mortgagor's stook. (2) The mortgagor ctf 1 not remove subdividing fences before the expi* . tion of the mortgage. (3) We do not think « , illegitimate son 1b legally bound to support W mother. Bird Fancies.— Peacooks are to be had In Dunedlft Price, about £3 per pair. Mr' Bills, 160 Geortf street, would supply them for you. Eggs for ««* ting are procurable in December at a eoatoiw each. A month's notice would be required to g» either birds or eggs, Inquirer, Timaru.-(l) Six and a-half to 7 p«roer*' (2) Perpetual Trustees, Estate, and Agenoy (W pany, Hattray street; Trustees, Executora, W Agency Company, Liverpool street ; Duneoino"' ings Bank, High street. Tatties.— Adams'' furniture polish, procurable; » any grocer's in shilling bottles, will improve iW" 1 stderably, and remove almost all traces of ww scratches. It isapplled'with a pfece of flannel, «» afterwards rubbed vigorously with clean linen i**The following reoipe is recommended "7 0tt .^! not pleased with the polish :-Melt three or »or pieces of nandarach, each of the size of a wainw' add one pint of boiled oil, and boil together or one hour. While cooling add 1 drachm venleewj* pentine. and if too thick a little oil of t u «£ also. Apply this all over the furniture, and »]£ come hours rub it off. Hub the furniture <ttHJ without applying -fresh varnUh exceptabout odw in two months. Any stains or scratches msy w .covered with French polish. T. M.-(l) See Sporting. (2) The troy pounj <^ tains 12oz, eaoh ounce 20 penny weigm«» *r each pennyweight 24 grains j thus the P^^ taina 5769 grains, and is to the avoirdupow $W»> as 144 to 175, while the.troy ounce is to tne »*" dupois ounce as 192 to 175. „ Mining Associations on the .Coast.—" M i D j, r ' rt « Bathana, writes in reply to A. M'G. B.:-I "»■?' *% that there is a very strong minerfl a»s°c" Kumara, of which Mr Dungan is &?"**?'&! deputation of the executive committee ojj^ association recently waited on Mr H. AjJ^Sw! mining inspector, re aludge-channel. severnl miners' associations on the Coast, du\> v at Kumara is the strongest one. . J. T. G.. Palmerston,' writes : --Herewith I J«wg a' few cuttings of a currant bush wh «*/£l \m fered from the ravages of a kind of gn»b wWcn "JJ destroyed all the currant trees in a garden i ia district. ' It attacks old and young tiees ftUM. branches, after being attsoked, wither • ftwaj fall from the tree, and the mto hief *° c ' Der ef nothing is left but the, bare stump. Tbt iow« the garden informed me that he ««* »°"S jo pest about four years dope, and it has g" fe • amsIIM piece y6u wiß?? efche jBfS bb i (lt JT?h 0$ forward the accompsoyfng cuteingi triw *-

object of seeing if you knotf what the pert Is, ah'd tftber'e is ah? cufe for it.-^Phe.miete'tinybur .oarraat bushes is the "cUrrant echini" (-2Bgeria tlpuHforrais), which penetrated into the centre of the branches and consumes thefpith, fanning long passages downwards. The presence of the Trisect Is Indicated by the withering of the leaves of the branch attacked, Aa soon as this is observed the branche", should be out off and split up, and if the ?saterpHlar ifl discovered, all portions affected in 'a Similar manner Should be removed front the bußh and Mimed. SOandlbs.— " Country Resident " asks :— Oan you inform me the best process to whiten common fat in home candle-making f The only method we can suggest is to clarify the fat by boiling it in water, and allowing it to cool in the utensil in whloh it has boiled. Alt impurities sink to the bottom of the water. The following remarks on this subject may be of interest to you, though of course it is soarcely possible to carry this mode Into effect in home manufacture:— All oils or fats are composed of one or more fatty acids combined with a base, called glycerine. The fatty acids constitute the combustible and more solid portion of the compound. Both acid and ba»e arc very weak, and it is a general law in chemistry that a Btrong base, under favourable conditions, will separate a weaker one from its acid by combining with the acid and taking the place of the weak base ; and & I strong acid will ia like manner displace a weaker one. Lime is a strong base, and being cheap is used to separate' the glycerine from the fatty acid of tallow, palm-oil, &c. This It does when the melted fat is stirred for some hours with a mixture of lime and water. The lime forms a hard, insoluble soap, by combining with the fatty acid, and the glycerine remains in solution with the water. This lime-soap is then broken to powder, and the weak fatty acid separated by means of sulphuric acid, which combines with the lime, forming ' sulphate of lime. The whole being heated, the fatty acid floats on the top, is skimmed off, and tbe candles made from it. These are called composite candles ; they give a purer light than ordinary tallow, from being freed from the glycerine, which not only softens the fat, but diminishes its combustibility. R. W.— (l) The Hallway department covers all go;>ds liable to damage by rain, &c. In the case of grain loaded at country sttations the custom is for the farmers to put the covers on. The stationmaster will always assist. If the department kept porters at every station to cover waggons it would probably cauae an increase iv the charges, which would have to be paid by the farmers. It is therefore 7 to their interest to do this themselves. (8) Yes. Ikvingiblb G.M. Company. —The reply of the manager of this company to Mr Moresby's letter arrived too late for this issue ; it will appear next week. "HoxßSTllmmt," Winton.— To clean grebe skins dissolve ioz white soap, cut small, in four pints of water, rather hot, in a basin. Make the solution Into a lather by beating with birch rods or wires. Rub the feathers well with the hands for five or six minutes. After the soaping wash in clean water as hot as the hand can bear, and allow them to dry. Legal, Riverton.— The'agreement is binding on both parties, but it should be registered against the land, or if the land is under the Land Transfer Act a caveat should be lodged by the purchaser* A solicitor should be consulted. Legal, Roxburgh.— Any age. Hatbpaybr asks: What are the proper Bteps to take in forming a road board ? Is any stated number of ratepayers required? If so, <how many ? A petition must be presented to the -county council, signed by two-thirds of the ratepayers of the existing road district, and the petition must define the new boundaries. The petition <has to be publicly notified a month before presentation to the council. If you mean business, consult a lawyer, otherwise your proceedings are sure • to be abortive. Mac— You can recover on the cheque. S. M., Sandy mount.— The noise you complain of is either caused byjan open condition of the eustachian tube or by an affection of the substance of the brain, which if not attended to may prove serious. Our b«st advice to j'ou is to consult Dr H. Lindo Ferguson, of Dunedin, without further delay. We could not presume to advise without examination. Winton asks :— Oan you inform me of the best method of using blue gum leaves as an inhalenbfor -cold in the head and chest?— Put ahandful of fresh .leaves into a kettle half full of boiling water, and let the steam fill the room ; close all the doors and windows beforehand, and keep the kettle boiling •on the fire tor au hour, or until the leaves have been exhausted of their strength. ,'Por a cold in the head and throat it is sometimes preferable to pour the boiling water on the fresh leaves in a jug or narrow-necked vessel, and inhale the steam directly for about 10 minutes each time.