NOTES AND QUERiES.

Otago Witness, Volume 25, Issue 2321, 25 August 1898, Page 46

NOTES AND QUERiES.

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

Constant Reader, Naseby. — You do not givo sufficient particulais to enable us io answer decisively. Was the information laid by the police or by a private person, and was ilie offence an indictable one, or was the case dealt with summaiily? Were you a witness for tho piosecution or for defence? There

arc different allowances to witnesses under

different circuni&tdnces. A Reader. — It is necessary to pass a very sevcie examination as to your qualification. Write to the seciclary, Mr C. D. Morpsth,

Wellington, who will furnish you with all the

information you require. Hannibal. — The Fabian Society consists ot socialists. It aims at the reorganisation of society by the emancipation of land and industrial capital from individual and clr.iis ownerships, and the vesting of them in the community for tho general benefit. The society works for the extinction of private property in land, and tho consequent individual appropriation, in the form of lent, of the price paid for permission to U3i the earth, as well as for the advantages of superior soils and sites. The bccialists also work for the trans-

for to the community of the administration of such industrial capital as can conveniently •be. managed socially ; and they say if these measures be carried exit, rent and interact -will be added to the reward of labour, the idle class now living on tho labour of others wll neco3sarily disappear, and practical equality of opportunity will bo maintained by the spontaneous action of economic forces with much less interference with personal liberty

than the present system obtains. Lux.— Somewhat obscurely written, but on _ examination evidently intended for " guest." Farmer, Merton, sends the following as a hint to the secretary A. and P. Society:— Would it do to hold a meeting in the Agricultural Hall on the last day of the sho-.v, something in the nature of a Sinner or 3moke and a general all round talk afterwards? I think it would draw- a lot of farmers if they could exchange opinions after the show, and thus gain a lot of useful information. It need not be an evening dress affair, but just a plain dinner for practical farmers. — Wo think the suggestion is worthy of consideration. Rabbit Traps. — The same correspondent further addresses the secretary : —lf you, jyir

Secretary, could get all the makers of patent rabbit trans to show them at your great show, and have* them all on the one stand, or so near to each other that they could bo seen without having to hunt all over the show, so much the better, as one-half of the country labourers are rabbiters now. I am sure a

great number would come to see the traps that have never been hi Duiiediu before. I don't think one out of ten fanners knows what is tho amount of the annual subscription. Amateur. — Will be replied to by "Agricola

in duo course. Tyro, B.C. — Mr Beverly kindly replies: —

(1) A race that -will cany four heads of water ■with a fall of 10ft per mile will require 2.8 square feet cross section. Hay, E7in mean width and 15in deep. (2) "With 200 ft pressure and 2&iu nozzle, the power developed ' 'on' a pelton wheel is about 105-h.p. "With 400 ft pressure and lMn nozzle, the power is about 76-h.p., difference 29-li.p. The difference will be less in a hydraulic lift, because in that case about half the power is spent agitating the water in the lift pipe, so that 15-h.p. will be about the difference. If the pressure pipe is wide enough, the power varies as the square root ol tne cube of the fall, and as the square of the diameter of the nozzle. Camera. — In order to prevent indiarubber materials from hardening and cracking, they are steeped in a bath of melted paratnn ior a few seconds or several minutes, in accordance with the size of the articles, and then dried in a room heated to about 212deg F. (lOOdog C). Dunedinits. — We do not know how Wairuna came to get its name, but possibb' the rneaaings of the two constituent paits may assist you to an elucidation of the mystery. Wai means water, or any liquid; Kuna is the name of a water plant, and also of the dock. It further means to tie or draw together, to • steer, to reduce, and to pare down. C G-. W. — The next leap year takes placo ;n; n 19<M, 1900 being one of the three years missed to equalise matters. &alt. — Agricultural salt is not obtainable in Dunedin at present. The usual price is 55s per ton. You might get it in Invercargill from the New Zealand Loan Company. (2) Thank you for the suggestion. We are, however, afraid it woud run into, too much space. Spuing. — (1) The George Canning arrived on November 28, 1857. (2) Next week. Old Subscriber, Clifton. — We are afraid there is very little chance of the International Fine Arl Publishing- Company's Art Union coming off, as the Christchurch police have interfered on the ground of the proposed art union being unauthorised. This was not the art union connected with the Bunedin Exhibition, which came off as stated in. our issue of August 4. Botanical. — (1) Aracana irnbricata, or monkey puzzle. (2) Abies excelsa, Norway spruoe. Subscriber. — We have no means of finding oxit when early immigrant vessels arrived at Lyitelton. Can anyone say when the Hydastea arrived at that port with immigrants from Plymouth? Polish. — (1) The stain used for wood is a dilute aqueous solution of glue tinted with ono part red lead or Venetian red, and two parts yellow lead, chrome, or ochre for mahogany colour; equal parts of burnt umber and brown ochre for wainscott oak; Venetian red tinted with lamp black for the shades of rosewood; mirnt \miber modified with yellow ochre for walnut, and so on. It should be applied warm with flannel. Jt is better to coat twice or three times with ! a weak stain rather than only once- with a strong one. (2) In polishing, different woods! [ require different tieatment, and it would be | useless our trying to give you any instruc-

iions in the small space at command. Your best plan is to purchase a copy of Spoil's Workshop Reoeipts, book I, in which you will find botli subjects treated at considerable length. It may be had at either Braithwaite's or Hursburgh's, price 6s 6d. First Toko Ploughing Match. — Mr T. S. Milne, Mataura, sends the following additional information: — First ploughing matcii in Otago was held at Tokomairiro on the 18th April, 1856, the prize money distributed being £25, and the result as follows : — Ploughman. Owner. Driver. Louis Dawson E. Duthie J. M'Kenz'e... 1 James M'Neil J. Smith Thos. Winton 2 With Bullocks in Yoke. Ploughman. Owner. E. Martin Self ... .„ ... 1 W. Gillies Self 2 I). Louden Self ... ... . 3 Horses withoat driver — R. Gillies. F. R. E.— Mr J. P. Maitland, Oninmissioner of Crown Lands, informs us that the act under which immigrants who paid their own passage were entitl' d to land grants up to the value of £20 for each adult was " The Immigrants Land Act, 1873," which came into operation on the 2nd October, 1873, and was repealed in 1876. Only those arriving after the passing of the said act were entitled to receive grants,