ROTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2106, 5 July 1894, Page 27

ROTES AND QUERIES.

Owaka.— A contract to cut bush is now within the. provisions of the Contractors and Workmens Lien Act. But the men to whom wages are due can sue in the Magistrate's Court and attach any moneys payable to the contractor either by the owner of the land or any other person who may owe money to the contractor. Fairplay. — The provision for a half holiday is only for shop assistants. No provision has yet been made for surveyors' men. Hakateramea.— lt depends upon the conditions of the recognisance, which may be <1) to keep the peace towards the complainant ; (2) to keep the peace towards her Majesty the Queen and all her liege subjects ; (3) to keep the peace towards her Majesty and all her liege people and especially towards the complainant. If the security is given in respect of the first; only, a breach of the peace committed in respect of any other person than the complainant would not render the sureties liable. In the second and third cases it would. Dog Fancier.— Mr L. A. Mariacher, George street, informs us that he possesses a bull dog and bull bitch with a pedigree of about 10 or 15 generations. With reference to bull terriers he writes :—": — " A bull terrier is not a distinct breed in one sense. There is no doubt about it, as they originate or are composed of a strain of the bull dog, terrier, and an occasional introduction of a greyhound. R., Oamaru.-^(1) The botanical name of the shrub is Olearia virgata. There are live or six named varieties of this plant all more or less running into each other. The settlers' name for it is wire-plant. The native name we do not know. It has no connection with the manukas or Lcptosperma. (2) See Sporting. (3) The writer of "Old New Zealand (Pakeha-Maori) was the late Judge Manning. Gardener. — (1, 2, 3) The plum stock — those generally employed for either plums, peaches, or apricots— are the hardy and almost wild varieties, called the muscle (from the form of the fruit), and the white pear plum. Although the natural adaptation for the peach is the almond, the sort preferred is the Amandier doux a cogue dure, the hard-shelled sweet almond. Both the variety of the fruit, the situation, and the nature of the soil have to be taken into account,

both for the plum, peach, and apricot. (4) The pear stock is unquestionably the most natural stock for the pear. On it the trees possess the greatest vigour and attain the greatest age, although on some soils the quince stock is better adapted for the purpose. (5) Any seedsman will supply them to you. S. R., Orepuki. — (1) Not that we know of. (2) You would require to indenture yourself to an

electrical engineer. W. N. G.— Plaster top "stems with cowdung, blood, or any suummuw- with a pungent odour which will not injure the bark. Vishnu. — (1) It would depend upon the situation of the nursery. If in an exposed situation on a hillside they might do better, but if in a site selected for its geniality probably not so well. (2) It is claimed that a tree transplanted should face the same direction as that in which it grew, as both roots and branches are more vigorous on the side facing the sun, and if turned round these sustain a more severe check than they would

otherwise get. J. G., Hedgehope.— <l) We cannot say. (2) The respective discharge of three of the largest is— Molyneux, according to Sir James Hector, 1,088,736 cubic feet per minute— according to Mr Balfour 1,690,000 f t; Buller, 990,879 f t; Waikato, 830,168 ft. (3) So far as we can judge from the sheep returns Dalgety and Co., who have 105,156 sheep on Morven _Hills and Ardgour. Mr J. M. Williams, Waipiro, Paparai, and Matakuia (H. 8.), follows with 103,294. For a single station, Messrs Ross and Glendining, Becks, with

70,384. Kaitangata asks :— lf I purchase an article for £2 and sell same for £6, dp I make 300 per cent. or 100 per cent, three times ? We fail to see any difference. You might just as well take the 300 per cent, in a lump as in three separate

hundreds. Tapanui asks :— Will a common No. 3 pump draw water out of a well 32ft deep ? The pump will not work at more than 28ft to 29ft, and not well at that. This class of pump should not be fitted

more than 20ft from water. W. J., Weston.—" History of Ireland," by W. Hassencamp, M.D., two volumes, demy octavo, published at 21s, and obtainable at Mr Horsburgh's, George street. W. I. — "The Complete Grazier," new edition, revised by Fream, published about two years ago, contains most complete and reliable information down to recent times on all subjects relative to the breeding, management, and diseases of farm live stock. The editiou preceding (the twelfth), published in 1877, nas been tor some time regarded as antiquated, and hence the necessity for its revision in these days of rapid change and progress. The new edition is copiously illustrated, but it is costly, its published price being 31s 6d. It is doubtful if copies are obtainable here, so you will have to order it through a bookseller. It is regarded by Home agricultural journals as a standard work of reference, so you will be well repaid the outlay. "The Live Stock of the Farm," by Pringle, is also a useful work, and sold at a moderate price, but it is in no department comparable to "The Complete Grazier." Pringle's work you will also Cave to order through a bookseller. Flock. — Sheep scares, or " panics " as they have been termed lately, have been of frequent occurrence in the Home country, and have been more noticeable among folded flocks while extending over considerable tracts of country. On the night of December 4, 1893, a remarkable panic among sheep occurrcd_ in the northern and middle parts of Oxfordshire, extending into adjoining parts of the counties of Warwick, Gloucester, and Berks. Individual farmers on finding next morning that their sheep (almost all sheep in that part of the country are folded on turnips at that time of the year) had bi'oken out in the night, and observing that the condition of the hurdles, aff well as of the sheep themselves, pointed to the fact that the animals hadbeenseverely frightened, naturally concluded that they had been worried by dogs ; some, finding that the sheep exhibited no marks of being worried, concluded that they had only been frightened—perhaps by a "dog, perhaps by a fox ; other farmers applied to the police. The result of inquiries made by the police and by farmers privately was to elicit the fact th at unless all the dogs and all the foxes in the district had with concerted action simultaneously attacked hundreds of flocks on the same night this attempt to account for the panic would have to be abandoned. Eventually all the flockowners attributed the fright to some atmospheric or meteoric cause or to an earthquake. This conclusion was generally accepted, as sheep are notoriously timid and nervous animals, and are not only highly susceptible of coming changes in the weather, but are apt to exhibit fright at purely imaginary dangers, or at all events at causes of supposed dangers which, whatever portentous shapes they may assume to the eyes of sheep, are not apparent to human, beings. On nights of thick darkness, sheep frights are most likely to occur, and especially if there are sudden illuminations by narrow lightning streaks. E. L. — (1) There are no stud flocks of Oxford Down sheep in Otago, but there may be a few of the breed kept in Canterbury, or, more likely still, in the North Island. 1 here is no class provided for them in the programmes of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society's shows, though why this should be so as regards a breed of sheep which combines uniformity of character, hardiness of constitution with large frames, aptitude to fatten, and mutton of superior quality is inexplicable. (2) Sires of the Suffolk Punch breed were impo.ted mauy years ago both to Otago and Canterbury, but at the same time few, if any, mares. The Clydesdales were the rage, and, whether good, bad, or indifferent, Bold for high prices and to the exclusion of the meritorious Suffolk. In Tasmania the Suffolk has been held in high estimation during the past 40 years and over. J, Henderson.— Thero is a considerable difference required in the treatment of permanent grasses that are kept for grazing purposes oaly and those that aro occasionally out for hay. For Instance, in rich, old, pastures of IrftstMslitrtj that «« nevor

mown no manure whatever is applied beyond a dressing of a few hundredweight of common salt per acre about once in each seven years, in order, it is said, to sweeten the herbage. The cattle, however, are supplied with cake and hay during the winter, so in this way fertilisers are supplied bj r the ' droppings." Nitrate of soda applied as a dressing greatly benefits the "grasses'" but not the clover, the more luxuriant growth of the former smothering the latter, as the following botanical results of four experiments at ltothamstead show :—

Other Grasses. Clovers. Plants. Manures per Acre. Per Per Per

cent. cent. cent. Without manure 6899 774 23*27 Superphosphate (3Jcwfc alone) 7016 494 2490 Nitrate of soda (2751b alone) 7656 o'Bs 2259 Mixed minerals and nitrate of soda, 2751b... 8174 522 1304 The results show an increase in the quantity of "grassy" herbage under each condition of manuring, the largest amount being with the mixed minerals and nitrate of soda. The clover family is least represented with nitrate of soda alone ; in fact, they do not reach 1 per cent, of the herbage. Some very complete experiments on new and old pastures were carried out by Mr J. Sutton near Reading, and as the subject is of importance to graziers generally we quote the results of the manurial tests — one of a set of six experiments. Manures Cost of Old New Per Acre Manures. Pasture. Pasture, s. d. Tons Cwt. Tons Cwt. Without manure 0 0 2 1J 3 4| Superphosphate, 3cwt; kainit, 2cwt 15 9 3 0* 4 6J Nitrate of soda ljcwt ... 16 3 2 13 3 19| Superphosphate, 3c\vt ; kainit, 2cwt; and nitrate of soda, liewt ... 28 9 2 16i 4 5J The produce given is the average total weight of hay in 1886 and 1887. Mr Sutton says in regard to these results ; " It is especially interesting to note the great changes which were manifest during the autumn in the quality of the herbage through the application of the various manures, particularly the fact that nitrate of soda, whether applied with or without kainit, had the effect of causing such luxuriance of grasses as almost killed out the clovers ; also that the unmanurecl plots appeared to be most healthy and varied in the character of the herbage during the alternato period. In the plots manured with kainit and superphosphate alone, the clovers almost smothorea the grasses, hence the larger yield of hay on this plot." Seaman. — Write to the Minister for Marine, Wei. lington, and you will bo supplied with all necessary instructions.