NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2210, 9 July 1896, Page 38

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Questions for reply incoming issue to le received not later than Monday night.

P. M.— Mr Beverly kindly replies:— The difference

of elevation between two stations, A and B, which are near one another may be' measured by one aneroid ; when the stations are dititant, two are required, and the two must be in accord with one another and with a standard mercurial

barometer. Suppose A and B a mile or two apart, A being lower than B : A may be at sea level,- and, ' Bat the top of a h.ll. You choose a day "when there is little' fluctuation in tho barometer, a . cloudy day preferred ; note the readings -of the aneroid and thermometer iv 'the shade at^l ; next you go to B and do the same ; then come back to A and repeat the observations; if the observations at A differ take their means.

Then the height of B above A ia found by this i formula : h = — (48900 + 113 t), in which his 8

the difference of height in feet, d the difference and 8 the sum of the barometer readings at A • and B, and I tho mean .of tha thermometer, Fahr., readings at the t;vo stations. Example : Suppose at A barometer 21)'70, thermometer sb" ; at B barometer 27'S8, thet mometer 54* ; a< A again barometer 29 7J, thermometer 64*,^.the mean at A is barometer 2973, thermometer 00". Than we have d = 2973 --2,TSB = 185, * = ', 2973 -f- 27 ; 88'= 57-61,- 1 = 6 fy^ =57| and 113< = 6441, which, added to4B9oi>, gives sh3Jl, and BSa *H} % = 1777ft— the difference of height.

The number 55341 is twice the height of a homogeneous atmosphere ia feet at the mean temperatuie 57";. it varies with the temperature, but not with the j.-rjssure. Wlwn A aud B are' distant, two observers are required, und the observations - should be nearly eimuitaneous, at pre-arranged hour?, and if convenient a number of observations should be taken at each

statiou. Remedy.— The fact of your nervousness incieas- ., ing instead of diminishing with practice would appear to indicate thai you are run down, aud need a change. Nothing you could take in the way of v stimulant would ba likely to improve matters, and we should .strongly advise you not to begin to rely upon " a couple of whiskies " to pull you thiough. There is no probability of a doctor laughing at you, as any man worth . consulting woula recognise the necessity of adopting remedial measures Do not hesitate

to get the best advice at Hand. T. TP. M.— tl). The authorities we have at hand do • not give the prevailing rates of wages at Johannesburg. Prior to the raid thry were high, hut as the cost of living was in proportion, - the advantage, if any, was uot great. Siuce the raid everything has been at a standstill, ho that your prospect of gptting work at your , trade would be nil at present. (2) We have ; . jtut given, a.way a batch, and hava uot one left. Should an early mail bring any more,, we shall do aB you wish. 'J. C, Oteramika.— The pig Uiould bo t) hang in a clean airy place for 24 hours. Is is ' then cut up into hams, hands, spare-iibs, loins, and belly pieces. Xhs xpaiv-ribs and loins arc generally used for roasting fresh. The other portions are rubbed over with coarse salt and a little saltpetre, and laid on a table flesh uppernibit, so as to drain off any blood. The system of dry-salting is to be recommended, as by this Bystem the bacon is not so'flabby aj is tho c*3e when steeped m brine. To make good hacon by the dry process, equal quantities of best Liver-

pool salt and brown sugar are used, with Joz of Baltpctre to euch pouud of the mixture. This should be thoroughly rubbed into the pork every second day, and the position of ' the meat chauecd at each rubbing— th»t is, put the top portions at the bottom, and vice versa. The required for finishing the bacon' will depend luou.the siz* of thetpig and the state of tho weather. The salt goss into the meat more quickly in we,t than in dry weather. The place for curing should be cool, with a free circulation of air. Ventilation is equally necessary for live cifeatureß and dead meat. From three to four weeks will be required for the curing of a good-sized pig. Katipo, Hyde.— Mr Fieldwick, Octagon, kindly supplies us with the following answers to your questions :— (1) Marian's lenses are not. procurable in Dunn iv (2) Auy leas is rapid enough to work with Ihr Thorn tou - Pickard shutter. The result depends upon the light and subject and distance from that mbject. (3) ThorntonPickard souttt-rs are sold at about 15 per cent, on the Eagli&h prices. (4) Better write to a dealer, tt&te what you want to do, nnd ask for price of what'fhey can supply. (6) Yes. B. R.— A can sue Bon the agreement ; that' Bia uot the owner of or iateteated ia the land does

not matter. P. ML.—Y ou can bring an action foe the wages at any time within six years from the date on which the wage 3 became payable, but the fact that you have waited so long will be very much against your chance of recovering. Kapok a.— (1) There is nothing in the Education •Act which requires ' that meetings'- of school committees be opeu to the public, nnd we there-

fore think the cbaknian baa power to refuse a- 1 mission. (2) A. man who is lessee of a house but does not reside in it is not qualified to vote at tho election of a school committee by being such a lessee, and if he did vote his doing so would make the election void if it coiild he

- shown that his vote affected the result of the election. (3) The words yon mention are certainly defamatory, and any person publishing them would be liable to heavy damages unlea* he could justify them on the ground of their being true, or made use of them only on a privileged occasion. To defame any person in his calling is a very serious matter. (4) Not if the absence can be satisfactorily explained. (5) The chairman of a school committee receiving a petition praying for the removal of a teacher would act properly in showing such teacher the petition. It is ODe of the strongest principles of law that no man must be condemned without being informed of what ha is accused and allowed an opportunity of defending bimaelf. (6) The chairman must call a meeting on the request of two members of the committee. -He is not bound to do so on the request of persons who are not on the committee. The best course ia to. complain to the Education Board. G. W., Greymouth —We are not in possession of the Admiralty charts, aud would advue you to apply to the Marine department, Wellington. Tnty will be able to give you all information. Dairy.— Messrs A. and T. Burt, Stuart street, can supply you with a complete separator plant for a butter factory. J. K. writes :— Cau you tell me if it is a very unusual thing for a white mouse to have black eyes ? So far scs I can recollect all white mice kept in. my boyhood had ratt eyes. My son had one given him." a few days ago, a pure white moube, with eyes like sloes. We are very much interested to kuow if this is out of tha common. Piobably it is a crosß, as all pure albino* have either pink or blue eyes. Bookbinder —The glue will not crack if you make it weak enough. You have been using it too strong in your bookbinding experiments. W. K. B.— We are afraid not. Your beat plan wul be to leave a deposit with a bookseller and get him to order it for you. Knowledge writes: -I luve some honsycoinij limestone which T wi<h to burn. A neighbour of mine has had two failures in burnius the stove. Is it possible to have tho fire too hot? %8&. gSiQS to ÜBO wood ta huxait. latfjCA't

could you explain how to burn honeycomb limestone with satisfactory results ? Will someone having practical experience of this kind of limestone burning kindly reply. Ahaura.— The' cost of putting down an asphalt • tennis court depends in a great measure ou tho nature of the ground, but local considerations— such as rate of labour in the p.irtl: ular district, cost of tar, tcieonings, &c— must also be taken into account. To assist you in your calculations we may -nay that 28 gallons of tar make a cubio yard of asphalt. Laid 4in thick this will cover 9 square, y^rds or 81 square feet. Asphalting in Dunedin costs about Is 3d per Bquaro yard. A tennis court should bo 78ft long and 2"ft wide for the single game, and 36ft wia,e. for

the double game. E. S., South Dunedin.— The handsome green lizard you forward is indigenous to the colony. Itis a specimen of the Now Zealand tree lizard (Naultinus). Tatbr P.— (l) New varieties of the potato are raised from the seed in the potato apple, a careful selection of the seedling tubera being made and cultivated. (2) The method- adopted in procuring new varieties of oats or wheat Is to ferUHse particularplants with pollen .from other allied varieties which it is thought may result in an improvement. The seed *esulting from this process of fertilisation is saved "and experimented with, tbe Beod in turn being? ~Baved from the plants giving the best results, and so \ on. Buooksdale.— Admiral Cochrane, Earl of Dundona'd, died at Kensington on October 31, 1860, in his 85th year, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. J. R. 8., Rangitata.— We shall deal with the matter in " The Week " in next issue.