NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2181, 19 December 1895, Page 41

NOTES AND QUERIES.

. , Questions for reply in coming issue to be received not later than Monday night.

A. M., Roslyn.— lt is very improbable that your violin is a true Strad., as the European markets are flooded with copies, and to good are the imitation* in some cases that only an expert can express a reliable opinion as to the genuine1 ness or otherwise" of the instrument. True Strads. are sold at from £200 to £500. but one was sold at Stuttgart a few years ago for £2050. * You should take your instrument to Siguor Squarise or Mr Paiker, of South Dunedin, either of whom would be able to give you an We* of Hs value. V. T.— The nineteenth century ia not complete till the end of 1900, but generally speaking the . twentieth century will be regarded as comniencing with the beginning of that ytar. T- S. — The plant you forward is an orchidese— an epiphyte, which tued to be very plentiful in the bush here, growiog on old pine treen, but, together with the old pine and broadleaf tiees, is now getting cleared out. PEAS.-iThe felight on the pea is too" dmrt iip to say for cfcrtairi what it is. ." To dust the plants with dry piwdered lime would be of benefit, . and the sooner that is done the batter. A'Yucca- Flowering At Ravknsboorne.— There is to b« seen in fine flowar at pres-eot, in Mr Thomas Rosa's gai den, Ravensbcurne, a plant of I Yucca irlorioea, with a flower stem over 20ft high. A small piece of the flower stem was broken off by the late rough weather, but it is j Htill well worthy of a tin pto Ravensbourne to see, i • as it m not often we have the opportunity of . observing such a plant in flower in this part of the world. Constant Reader.— Yea,, you can. ■. Subscriber.— You do not say whether the thistles are on cultivated or pasture land, and -. .as tha. method of dealing with them is distinct a general answer/ withfti the acopa of this cblunm would be of little service. We shall, . however, in next week's Farm columns, reprint the instructions issued by the Agricultural de- < partment some three years ago in Leaflet No. 4. Victoria Q. O. B.— The Royal Mint in Melbourne is situated at the corner of Latrobe and William sti eets. Old West Coastkr asks :— (1) How far is it from Preservation Inlet to the River Kaiapoi (-ituated near Martin's Bay) by laDd, also" ny tea. (2) Wh»-n whs the schooner Esteran wrecked on Martin's Bay bar. Sbe - failed from Dunedin. (3) Is it -known if any prospectors have ever been in the neighbourhood of the Kaiapoi river ? Replies are invited. Esau.— (l) As a general rule it may be saul'that a good system of shorthand writing is seldom . learned by persons advanced in year*. With a?e the hand loses its flexibility, and very often there is a disinclination to master details ; but individual capacities and perseverance differ so much, that otoly a personal knowledge would justify advice being given on such a subject to you. • (2) A few lessons enable a student to master the preliminaries, but long and persevering • work is necessary to become proficient iq the art. In spite of the wonderful records ono hears of every other day of the tapid acquirement of shorthand, Sir I. Pitman himself gives a v<ry correct estimate when he states the time as six months for corresponding btvle at average upeed, aod two years for reporting.

WHITHER CHiB/F. ,

The barometer, wind, and rainfall are taken at j 8 a.m. Readings of barometer taken at Opoho are not corrected to "sea leval." The following abstract of the weather at . Dunedin for November is kindly supplied by Mr H. Bkey :— Mean barometer, 29722 in. Mean elastic force of vapour, 0 276 in. .Mean temperature in shade, 51deg 2aec. Mean solar Tadiation, 106deg. Mean terrestrial radiation, 38deg. Mean daily velocity of wind, 197 miles. Mean amount of cloud (from 1 to 10), 6. Total rainfall, s'6S2in. Number of days on which rain fell, 19. !

R r— Mon |T\;ea 29 41 Wed •29-34 |Thu 29 29 Fri 2920 I Sat I 29-25 Sun 600g s.\v. in. •64 'Barometer 29-40 Max. ther. Codg 64dg c'lui Pi 8 59dg a r Kig Wind ... E. in.; •33 N.> «• s w. U-. E Rainfall... in. in. iv. •02 in. in. — I - I I -.1