NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2252, 29 April 1897, Page 38

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Questions for rc/ilii in cowing isjue to he received not later than Mom>av tiiqht. W.H.S.— (I) l?y some "li'W J is said to be « corruption of '"clausum" iv " clansum pascha 1 ' — JSaster closed; others refenit to "laude's," the first woid of tlie " spiiuenre " for the day. T"iobably the name " Low Sunday" indicates simply the lovves!: or final part of the Master festival, of which it is the octave. (2) The botanical narte ot the timber known in commerce as the New South Wale 3 cedar ia Codre'i.l Australia, or ivd cedar of Australia Clinto.n. —Mr Ti'ivcrlv kindly repli<»« : -Tho discharge of thd Wi»i.iu ha^ not beun moisureil, bur, judging from the extent of the basins, the Moiyaeux should discharge about tlir^p times a=i much water as the Waian. The Waitaki nnd the Buller are both larger than the W.iiau. There aie at least 30 rivers in the world exceeding the Jlolyneux in volume— l 2in Ai-i.i. 12 iti America, five in Africa, three iv Europe, besides the large rivers iv Now Guinea and Borneo, and perhaps Madagascar. Our knowledge of the dischmge of the lavgi* i ivers of thu world h very imperfect, only about a dozen having- been gauged. Inquirer, Spar Bush. — Before. It is an effort of .Nature, and requires no adventitious aid. S — Mef-rs Kcid and Gray, Princes street, arc purchasers ot aluminum, and would no doubt Mi}»ply you with any information in their power. Shell —To clean shell-"., make lye by boiling strong athe-* ; allow it to settle ; pour the lye over the shells and boil them for six or seven hourr, or longer if they are large ; then soak and wash often in fresh water. To colour shells : Dissolve a little lac dye in a solution of chloride of tin : and having made the shells thoroughly clean, dip them in this preparation until they are the desired colour. The dye should be first boiled, and theu allowed to stand to settle. To polish shells, in cleaning them use nnuiatic acid, with strength according to the description of shell. Rub them up well after well washing them with chamois leather. Pearl or very thickly-coated shells have to be first ground down. Pi. M.— (l) Mr Win. Gay has published two or three small works. We fancy they are obtainable at the Dunedin bock-sellers.' If not, send to the author for them His address is Muudy stivet, Bendigo, Vicio ia (2) Mr David M'Kee Wright has also published one little work. It is obtainable at Messrs Fergusson ami Mitchell's, Princes street. (3) " Wych JClm " has published a cloth-bound volume at 3s (id, obtainable at .T. Horabur^h's, George street. P. S , Mataura.— The saloon passage from Dunedin to Fremantle.it £12, steerjge £7 ; from Freuiantle to Perth Is (id and Is respectively ; and from Pertli to Gcolgardie £2 103 aud £1 10-, bringiu'^ up the fares to, Bay, saloon £14 lls b'd, steerage £S lls. An Old Subscriber.— The Maori for View Hill is Tiropuke. Inquirer.— We think not, but will give a more definite reply next week. Subscriber— (l) Apply for a form at the post ofli';e. (2) A primed form 13 required. (3) The best evidence pi o.-urable regarding age will bo required. A ceitificate of birth if it can begot ; if it cannot, then any other evidence either cf yourself or other persons. (4) The form when filled up mu.-t be lodged with the >lerk of the court, who will give you any further information necessary. If, however, your time is of. any value, and yon do not des>ire to follow up the matter for amusement, you may as well let it alone. We do not believe the Government to have any moie serious intention of providing old ag2 pensions than it has of intnDducipg .1 law providing thnt all person? who attain fJa years of age shall be poleaxed. The whole thing is a miserable political scheme to catch the crowd. Why should a new terror be added to death— namely, that of losing a pension? Berwick.— Yes, if he has a bottle license. Constant Reader. —(1) We do not know of any way in which money can be recovered from a person who has no means. (2) A teacher has no legal control over his pupils when once they ate out of the school and its precincts. Native, Gore.— The present is a very good time to transplant native trees or shiubs. G. N. R. — The last official estimate of the number of persons em nloyed in working the railways of the United Kingdom was made in ISS9, and amounted to 3SI.G2G Athlete.— Too much exercise can certainly be taken ; with immoderate exercise the muscles become overtaxed ; the muscular fibie-i may be • overstrained, the nervous energy exceeded, and the temper 4.Ull o of tho body may fall below the normal, thereby inereaiius> liability to such diseases as rheumatism and muscular inflammation. A course of physical training should always be a progressive one, otherwise it is calculated to do more harm than good. The Truck.— Yes, will find a place for them. W. H. S. It. wiiteß in repiy to W. A. Cheltenham":—ln addition to the nuggets mentionei in Of ago Witness of the 22nd: 18C8 (September) Mr Jb'ox fouad. a nugget at

Moonlight, Grey River, which weighed 7Soz 1 38dwt. , _A nugget of 220z 17ilwt was found by a Maori 23 miles up the Grey Rivtr in April 18(i5. A nuzget of 9.0z fkhvt was fouud on the no'th --ide of the Duller River near Lyell iv .Hecembui- ISHS A nugget of sSc>7, lldwt was found at Ranger Creek, Greymoutb, in December IS7O. The largtit nugget ever found on the Nevis was discovered by James JVl'Donald, but only weighed 20oz. i "A nugg-'t, the largest ever found in Southland, was unearthed on July 17, ISBS. at Longwood, by Harry Ward ; it weighed Vov, sdwt 15sr. The largest found iv Southland prior to that weighed Lloz, found in 1878. And 'Bally 1 Campbell about tho same time picked ' up one weighing lloz " —Western Star. | ISS7 ( Vlay) au Soz nugget unearthed at the < Shotover. A ]2}o/ inicget waR found by George Skeen near Waitaluina in ISOt. "A lump of solid gold weighing nearly 15oz ' wftM fouuii between Liwreuce and Waipiri, and j a 13' /, midget was found in the Arrow River iv I ISH4"' -Vincent Pyke. Anxious to Know. — The contract price for the inundation- of the Dunedin lailway fetation was about Xl2.j!>. j