NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2201, 7 May 1896, Page 38

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Questions for reply in coming issue to be received not later than TUonduy night

Puzzled. — Jfr Beverly kindly replies f— A 17in pipe with a fall of Bft per mile will carry 3J heads of water, or 3J cubic feet, per sscond. If you can give it a fall of 10ft per mile by banking up at the entrance it will carry four heads. It makes' no diff+rence whether the pipe is, straight or curved, bat it should not have knees nr sharp bends. The entrance and outlet should be under water to get the futl benefit of the fall, which is the difference of vertical height between the surface of the water at the entrance and the surface at the outlet. I hardly understand your laet question. If a long box or flume 14in wide and having sft per mile fall carries one head, the depth of the water, in it will be about 6in, the main velooity of the water being about 21in per second. Napier.— Mr Beverly replies:— The mistake arose from your using the term batter instead of slopo. Batter means deviation from the vertical ; Blop« means deviation from the horizontal. The slope being 1 iv 2, the content is 3204 cubic yards. You' make a mistake in the lower prism ; 1-16 (126x18x3>=1134, not 1164. It can be found by another rule, thus :— Area at top + arra at bottom -f 4 times area at mid- depth =6 times the mean Rrea, and mean area -by depth is the cubic content: 50 x 30 = 1500, 38 xlB = 634. 4X44X 24 = 4224, Bum =64oß, 3-6 sum =3204 Alpine.— Mr Beverly replies :— Your pipe 363 ft loDg, lin wide, fall 90ft, and nozzle J-in wide, would give about 1-S4 h p. with a Pelton wheel. If the nozzle were Jin wfde the poweT would be about I'-lSh.p", and his would be the best size. The wheel might be 12ln to 16in diameter, with

cup» Jin wide. The discharge would be -with -J nozzle, 'I of a cubit foot per minute; -with i nozzle, 3-5 of a cubic foot per minute. Cannot say if the Pelton wheel patent has ex-

pired, or if the duty is removed from gum boots. Acquired Habits in Rodents.— D. M , Wetherstones, writes :— ln reply to "Q.M. I , I beg to Bay that in this district the settlers have to lift their potatoes earlier than they intended, because of the rabbits burrowing underneath the shawg and carrying the potatoes away. To show the of bunny I may mention that he wont take any scabby tubers or those with the least touch of scab on them. Whether they stow them away for winter use or not I don t know, for none of the settlers hereabout ever thought of such a thing. Now, however, that the suggestion ha* been maae they may awaken to the fact. R. M.— " Dinornis" replies :— Sea urchins are found on all rocky coasts and on mudtracts upon the ocean bed. Some species hide away in holes. Their Tiabits give & clue'to their habitat. They are vegetarians,' and, while many species feed upon live, growing seaweeds, other* scavenger the mud, and eat up dead and decaying sea-ware. Thry may often be picked from tock-pools 1 left^by the receding tide, but their proper abiding'places are from near lowwater mark to considerable depths. Most of those known to science are got by dredging ; either a pole dredga ii used, or they are raised from the bottom in numbers by means of an ordinary trawl net. In winter they recede to somewhat increased depths ; but, so far as I know, that is the only seasonal difference of habitat. D. M F —To prepare rabbitskine for rugs, take 4oz common salt and the same quantity of alum, pound the two well together, then rub it into the skin, sprinkle a little water over it, and roll it up tight. Let it lie for thiee days, then peg out to dry. When quite dry rub it , well with the hands, when it will become as soft as chamois leather. Law says :— "'ln your reply to 'Argument' in your Notes ft ad Queries column of the 23rd ultimo, you say there is no law to compel anyone to shut a gate erected across a public road. Thii seems to be a mistake ; see section 120 'Public Works Act 1894.' '—There is not any mistake in the reply mentioned, but there is an exception as to the oaees mentioned in that section. The section provides : <1) In eveiy caso in which a gate shall be or has been erected across a road under any of the four lust preceding secti*BS, a board with ttie words " Public Road " legibly painted Ihereon in letters of not lespthan 3in in height (hall be fixed upjn each side of such «ate and at all times maintained .thereon by the person cr body authorised to erect such gate, or at whose cost it shall have been agreed that such gate shall be erected and maintained. <2) The Minister or local authority, as the c*se may _ be, shall have power to m*ke bye-laws providing pen »ltiea for leaving any such gate open or tor damaging the same. (3) Every person damaging any such gate or any fence authorised -to be erected across any part of a public road shall be liable to the person or body authorised to erect such gate or fence, or at whose cost it shall have been agreed that such gate shall be erected and maintained, in like .manner, and any such gate or fence shall be deemed to be the property of such last-mentioned person. This provision only applies to gates or fences- .erected by 'permission of coma competent authority,. and not to those erected on public roads in general TOKONUI.— A parent who has a child Attending a school hftsa tight -to vota at the election of the school committee of that school. G. G.— (l) Your neighbour is liable to pay damage^

for the injury to the chimneys, but not to r«" pair the chimueys. (2) You can by law compel the removal ot the boarcta over your land if you take steps to do so within 20 years from the time of their erection. L V.— (l) The Agreement is good in law, but insufficiently stamped, and caunot be produced in evidence in a court of law until the proper stamp duty and,' if more than three months have elapsed from the date of signature, a fine of £5 has been paid (2) Not if the tenant is in possession under the lease, and the lessor Is the owner of the land or has power to grant the lease. Argument No. 2. -Sse answer to " Law " in this ; issue. Section 25 of the Fencing Act does not alter the matter. Shut That Gate —We do not agree at all with the opinions you expreu. Oar experience is that, apart from morals, the line of conduct you seem to approve does not pay. A. S. —(1) are sold the papers at so much per dozen, they takiiig all the respDn^ibility. (2) No, they have no other duties. (3) The Baine arrangement. J. A. N.— Of course he can, and it is occasionally done. T. H. Lockwood, Milton.— There are two kinds of native owl— one familiarly known as. the* moiepork, the othor the laughing owl. The niorepi>rk is described by Sir Walter Buller as about 12 inches long ; extent of wiu'gs, 25 inches. In the male the crown of the head and all "the upper parts are a dark brown ; forehead, neck, and upper parts of the breast a tawny yellow mixed with brown ; quills and tail feathers dark biown ; outer ed«e of the quills a tawny white ; toes yellow, wit.h daik hairs ; bill bltck, white on the ridee. The f male is slightly - smaller, and the markings of the plumage -leas distinct The laughing owl is a larger bird, its extreme length being 19 inches. Its plumage is of a lighter colour, the forehead, throat, and side* of the head being a greyish white ; sides of the nwk white, each feather having 3 central streak of bUck ; lower part of the fore ueck and the .breast dark brown. 51;wy_ of the feathers are-maiked with bars of white, others with white spot*.