NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2668, 3 May 1905, Page 47

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Que'ilifTis for reply in coming itsiu.to b» received Mt later thmn MONDAY -night. v. • -

Ikqtjiber, Rakaia, — Your question with refer--ence to 4he_Maori method of catching mutton birds was held' over, pending inquiries. From these we learn that - southern Maoris leave Riverton, Colac, , and Bluff about the begrin- , ning of-April/- and are taken in cutters" and - small steamers or trawlers to' the islets, lying off .the coast iof Rakiura, or Stewart Island.Certain Native families have their own islets, "orT which r 'they take the' young mutton- lairds year after year. They take' with them stores ,and provisions \%6 last about six weeks; the - young birds taking- to wing about the muddle and 4 - latter part of May. The fiTst week or . -l&'days'is occupied] "by the Natives infixing ■up- their- wihares,- etc! The young birds are hatched and reared dn a- burrow — the peaty soil 'being' honeycombed like a rabbit warren, and as soon'-as he is considered big enough, the spoiler -puts in his arm and pulls the _ joung bird out If the hole is too long, a cir.cular pliig is cut out somewhere near the nest. After' removing the squab, the plug is replaced over the hole made, and parent birds «re thereby" induced to- neat in the same hole

ye»r-after,year. . The old birds only feed their \young- at nighV and thTs probably accounts ■for the -Jtact> of 'their return, to' the harried »-ne3t~"tne -' fallowing year. - The young- birds .are" killed by crushing their skulls between ~tlie^eethrof their captors. In this way the "'biopd-is -prevented from soiling the down 'and feathers, ''which 1 have a marketable value. ,ThY dead" birds are placed -in heaps at conjenient places; whence they are" taken to camp ,in the~ evening. • At night "the whare is busy ■with all hands — men, women, and children— "plucking and cleaning the young birds. Experienced hands split the squab open, clean, wash/and salt it. Sometimes the birds ere smoked, and, when fully cured, they are "put into huge bfadder-l'ike . bags, which are already prepared before going away from the mainland. This^bag is an ingenious affair, and is worthy of notice. It is prepared by -•taking the broad leaves of a thick species of kolp found growing oh the mainland coast. It is split at one end sufficiently to allow a man's hand to be pusited into the opening xnade. -Deft fingers break up the inner cells, care being taken to prevent puncturing the walls. In this way a large kelp bag is made with' only one opening, and the bag is then inflated with ailr from lusty lungs, the end securely tied, and hung in the air to clry- When thoroughly dry they are deflated and packed in bundles for convenient transport.- The cured birds are placed ia these kelp bags, the opening securely t.ed, and then a neat conical covering of tolara bark in strips is firmly lashed around it and the big end is put in+o a flax kit, and then ready for market. Each bag contains 25 or 60 birds, according to size, and being airtight, the contents keep in good condition ". for a long ' time. Necessity is said to .be - the- Blather of . invention, and this explains • how the Maori came 'to use the kelp bag. .Eefdre the advent of the pakeha. salt, as ■preservative, was- unknown. So the Maori put his succulent dainty into the kelp bag • jpbesh:, -and thea filled up the bag with melted . fail 'History is silent .'concerning the length -of time' they kept fresh in this condition, tut there is no' "reason to believe that many of them, had an epicurean flavour before being finally disposed of. EV\geb- — The trial of the Chinaman, Ah Lee, for the xaurdsr of Mrs Mary Young at Little Xyeburn diggings took place at the Supreme Court, Dunedin, on October 8 aud 9, 1880, before his Honor Mr Justice Williams and a jury of 12. The late Mr B. C. Haggitt

prosecuted for the Crown, and the prisoner was defended by Mr G. F. Kowlatt, of Naseby. The jury, after five and three-quarter hours' letirement, found accused guilty, and he was sentenced to death. Ah Lee, who declined spiritual ministration, was executed at Dunedin Goal on the morning of November 5, 1880, and on the scafford protested his innocence. Volta. — Your question is not very clear, but we fancy you wish to learn how to drive a motor car." If so, probably Messrs Hayward and Garratt, Stuart street, would be the best people to write to. Inquirer. — We do not think it possible to obtain a Christmas Annual for 1899. The issue was ''completely sold out, and we ourselves only have a couple of copies in bound files. 'Your othei queries are replied to in the theatrical page. D. H., Maerewhenua. — The only likely place is Kempthorne-Prosser's, and they inform us that such, things are not procurable here. If you think of sending Home we would suggest thait you ask the advice of the Rev. Dr Waddell, St. Andrew's manse, High street. Leaseholder. — (1) Yes, you can commence an equity suit with the view of having the contract rescinded on the ground of niisrepre- - • sentation. (2) You can also make a claim in the same 'action fox recovery of the rent paid. (3) Yes, it will be- unwise on your part to ' abandon the property until you have obtained - , a decree of the Supreme Court rescinding the contract. * Bess! — Pukaki is 64 miles from Kuro-w. The v , coach "leaves Kurow at 8 a.m. on Tuesdays, returning at 7 a.m. on Wednesdays. Pares: Single; return, 355. 'Kurow is 42 miles of Oamaru by train. pSubschxbeh, North- : Otago. — Will be replied to ." by, "-Agrioola'^in "due-course-. Potato Gsowebs. — It has been decided to close

the record of experiments on the 15th of this present month (May). 1 Any giowers who have been testing the capabilities of different vaiieties, and are inclined to report on their experiments, will please do so on ox before that date.— l. M. I. Doubtful. — No, it is not an offence if the horses do not suffer in ary way. Any person who cruelly ill-treats or tortures any aaiirnal is liable, under section 7 of " The Police Offences Act, 1884," to a maximum penalty of J2O, or to two months' imprisonment. Sttbscbiber. — (1) No. Each ratepayer ha.s voting power* in a county election according to the fallowing scale: — (a) If his ratable property, whether in one or more tenements, is valued on any valuation roll r.t not more than' £loo0 — one vote ; (b) if such property is so valued at more than iIOOO, but not more -than — two votes; (c) if such property is so^jalued >at more than £2000 — three votes. (2) No.~~~(3} No person, is entitled to«-ote in virtue cf being,tlie holder of a miner's right at an election of councillors for any riding of a county unless his name is on the roll of the county electors for such riding in virtue of such right, and he is resident, and lia-s bsen resident in such riding during the two months immediately preceding the day of such election. Constant Reader, Knrow. — The Cedric ia the largest vessel. She was lnult L& Harland,

and Wolffe, Belfast, in 1902, and is 21,035 tons gross. Her length is 680 ft 9in, breadth 75ft 3in, and depth 44ft lm. Subsckibf.k. — Mr H. M. Davey, consulting engineer, Moray place, kindly replies : — Answering a question in your first letter : To begin with, the width of your wheel should be fiom about 4ft 6in to, say, about 4ft Bin effective width — that is, the width for the water between the sides. If you cannot manage to obtain more than the fail you mention you will need at least 13 heads, and, indeed, you might need to have 14 heads from what you mention in your letter. It would have been rather better if you had mentioned the nature of the ground in which your race was to be cut and its faJl, unless the fall is the same as for the fkiming — lin to the chain. If this is so, and if the ground is coarse, the race will hsve to be at leasi 3ft 6m wide by J 2ft 6in deep, while, if in smooth clay, about 3ft 3in wide by 2ft deep would probably be sufficient. The editor is posting you a section and an elevation of a fhiming arranged to carry about 12 heads at the fall you. have, but from the note /or. the drawing you will see that you can make the sides a little higher so as to run all you- need, or even more, in it. That seems to lie all you ask for; if not as you desire, you might write to the editor again.