NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2211, 16 July 1896, Page 38

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Questions for rejgly in-coming issue to be received not later than Monday Aight.

• New Chum, Fortrose. -The ' bright stuff inixod with the coal" you send us is simply common ■ iron pyrites -a very undesirable associate with coal if in any quantity. Coal such as the sample yousend us is of very little value, because it bo rapidly disintegrates when exposed to atmospheric influences. Pateauoa.— There was such a demand for the

papers containing the account of the wreck of the Wairarapa on the Great Barrier that' there w«o, nope loft. TlurtfAuio remark applies to ' papers published in tho other centre?,, so that ■we do not think j ou coitld'get v ps*pe,j, % contain* ing a description of' the sad occurrence- Jtoywhate.

J. P.— The best preparation for curing bird.skins is arsenical soap, rubbed well into the fie -by eida of the skin only. The following preparation is also recommended :->-Ar«enious acid 4oz, soap 4'oz, carbonate of potash 4Jr». camphor loz, water 3bz. Mix with a' gentle heat. When used form- a lather with any spirituous liquor and apply with a brush. C. Gk, Ukraine, and'Pup:— See Sporting. Goppßtt asks :— Could. you inform me ifc any of the

r copper in South Auttralia, such, aa- the | Burra Burra, have ceased working, and if so, ■ for what reason, ami also the length of time

[ they have been abut down ? Oan any reader I- supply.' the desired information 1 ■ ~ Wakfoed SQU£Ens.r-(l), D'r Jameson *nd his fellow raiders were released by President Krugor at the instance of Sit H. Robinson on the* understanding that they would be tried in England. The Uitlanders .tmd in Johannesburg were not' actively engaged in the raid. (2)F No, of course not. The wordß " her own bare feet" should have appeared within quota- ,' tion marks, as they do above. (3) She ciunot obtain a divorce on the ground of adultery alone. Cruelty has also to be shown. (4) Yes, | but its application in the. manner spoken, or I merely indicates that it is out-of-the-,way. (5) Topreveni scurvy multing from the use of salt me*t with an insufficiency of vegetables. (6)

Any bookseller will supply you with one if you state what you want. Ruttu. — (1) An alum mixture for watevprooflug clotU is made bydi-Bolving ilb alum in 2 quarts boiling water. Then pour it into2aals cold spring water. Let. tbe article remain in soak 2f-houvs, Then* dissolve Jib sugar of lead in two quarts.boilin? water, afterwards pouring the whole in 2gal cold spring water. Gently w ring ihe article, and place it in second solution six hour;. Take out, wring gently, and hang up to dry.. Another method is :— Dissolve in the proportion of loz beeswax to 1 pint of best linieed oil. over

a gentle fire. Mix lampblack to colour the mixture. Apply to the calico coat", after the 1 mixture is oM, with a piece of rag,, rubbing it wall, and afterwards hanging it up to dry. (2) The following description of tbe native wren is from Buller's "Birds of New Zealand ":— "Two kindß of nativ»-wrenfl) rock wvar, found only at a height of 30O0ff or over ; '{i) bush - wren. .Thebusfi wren has been called also the loag-leggad warbler. Adult male : Upper parts dark green, tinged with yellow, banding into ■ dark brown oiv forehead aud crown ; sides of head. black,, with' a" Broad superciliary streak of ' -white extending, beyond the ears, and then ' changitig'to yellow,' .side.*, thighs, and rump -bright greenish yellow j'foraneck/ breast, and abdomen cmerous grey, with ab^autifal gloss, sometimes- tinged with cobalt, and softening info greyish white on. the throat; lining ot wings pale yellow ; ,quills on their outer webs, aud the tail feathers olivacsouß green. Extreme length, 4in ; tail, lin ; more than half of it concealed by the soft coverts. Adult female : Upper parti amber brown tinged with yellowish green, Especially on the rump; crown shaded with. ' purplish- brown \ superciliary streak white ; throat; slde3 offihe neck, breast; and upper pat§* of abdomen delicate vinous brown \ sides of the body, flank*, and thighs dull lemon-yellow ;. inner fining.' of' wings -Younff male '• Plumage generally as in adult, but with the green tints of the upper parts paler, and the silky grey, of the breast tinged with purple; crown of the head and hind part of n«ck chocolate brown, blending into the olivaceous green of the upper parts ; superciliary streak broad and conspicuous " W. E., Outram.— Mr Adams, chief surveyor, supplies the following in answer to your query :— Taking the cross-section of- the Taierr at Outran* as 500 square feet at its ordinary level, there would flaw past, at the rats of one mile per hour, 41,009 cubic feet per. minute ; if two miles per hour, 88,000 cubic feet per minute, and so on. The rate, of fhw can be roughly found by throwing in a piece of wood and following it down stream for v mile, or fesa. I have sad some trouble" in 'getting, this infor- ■ ruation, as I do not think it has ever been obtained by an engineer, but the above will be near enough for-any practical purpose. Scotland.— (l) The proceedings to- set aside the > will may be. prosecuted by an agent duly ' authorised by pawer-of attorney, (2), The delay, in taking proceedings would be looked upon unfavourably, unlew the cause of the delay | coujd be, satisfactorily explained. ' ' Justice.:— You would not be lidble to pay damages if you did' not -use the more in any improper way. But we think that after what happened on the flrat and second'daysyou should not have . used" her «gain. Oamauu.— You will have to find tbe boundary line

yourself, wid you can easily do to by the description of the boundary given ia the deed of lea.c. Kuiu Bush. —You may' do so by taking proper proceedings. SußseaißEß.— lf the fence is in accordance with the requirements .of. the Fencing Acts you are entitle^ to claim interest fa' the future, but not for the past time. J. S. W.— You will have to pay Bix months' interest unless there is anything in the rnorfc- ) gags deed to the contrary. , ' C. B.— No ; the! deed or transfer can be sent to the seller and signed, It iff not necessary for ' him'to'come to Cunediu; „ , "Subscriber.— H cannot complain of B protecting ' his- ov/fi land', from the trespass of sheep.. B could' bring an action and recover damages for ' the treßpasae*. H can, by taking proper proceedings, compel B to pay half the cost of a boundary fence. iNQUTBEtt.— If the trees are entirely on A's land he would have a right of action against B for the injury done by the horses reaching over and pulling up the. trees. If the trees, or any part of ' themj extend! over tber boundary of A'&lcmd, A ; must. put. up with" the damage- caused by BY horses* W. G., Clinton— ln Minorca fowls the cock's j comb is large,, upright,. deeply serrated, bright red': the wattles. are long-, earlobes medium Bize, ' Vndfpuraiwfiite. The hen's comli ia bright' red, fine,- and 1 thin, falling- to one side of the 1 head-; earloOescl'ear white. Weight?— cocksSlb 'tb-fllb-, ■' hetta slti- to-611} 1 . TJprisht; sprightly carriage. Plumage, glbssy blitoitvri.tih-gr{)Bn.3hade; OWakas.— We Iraveruever heard' of a^ sawdusfc.and • tatf cricket pitch;. But both materials-being so cheap no harm.' could be done by giving ita-triaL ■ As ia & proper asphalt-pitch-, you would, require cocoanut matting oVer it. An 'asphalt pitteh j witH matting over it giyeß every Eatisfection, and-if gravel ia at hand you had much better employ that material- than sawdust. About . 30gal of tarshould- be. ample. Omgiclub in Dun. edinhas a beaten- ol»y; pitch -vrith. matting for , about 6ft at. eaoh end, and. it gives satisfaction. If you try the tar and. sawdust pltoh we should' •like to Snow tlie result - ■ ■ '

'T. 8.. Mataura.— (l) Some vacancies were dealt with a few weeks ago without the stipulation being insisted on, but we do not think thiß will occur again. (2) Yes, you require to pass an ; examination. (3) Write to Insp.ctor Pardy, . DunecUn. Duffer writes :— A' board of offisers hold regular monthly meeting 3. The secrefcniy, in writing, • up the minutes of an oidinary meeting, usea the expression, " The meeting then adjourned.'* Is the ex»re,t^ion correct 7 No ; tli ; expression should be, "The meeting was then adjourned." Subscriber, Georgetown.— The Salvation Army commenced operations in Invercargill about 13" years ago. J. S. E.— (l) The total revenue collected on fermented and spirituous" llquora in. IBW was £412,987. (2) The.beor duty for the- same year amounted to £60,092. (3) We have no means of finding out the number of men employed in the manufacture or beer in the colony.