NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2779, 19 June 1907, Page 51

NOTES AND QUERIES.

«ii«i«wn* for r*oly in coming ««««« « &• *'««»»»« l n«C <at«r tfca»i 11QSDAT night. Experiment —We do not think it possible to obtain a new variety of potatoes by plantirg the peeling". Xew varieties are obtained from the small, white, kidney-shaped seeds contained in the short, oval-shaped, green fruit popularly known as potato apples. W. S., Titiroa. — We think you will find the name of the agents od the last page of the cover of the Otago Witness If you write to the firm they will send you particulars as to price, etc. Camp Cook writes: In answer to " Forgetier's" last, I must admit having made a mistake in taking the sign plus for the eign of division, and my only excuse is failing eyesight. If "Forgetter" fails to find the working of the problem as sent in by me and published by you it would be useless for me to send in the working of the problem he now aubmite. I can only euggest that he go to school again. Iff. A., Southbrook.— There is no gendal system of old-age pensions in England. The aged poor are provided for by Boards of Guardians of Poor Law Unions in counties and the Metropolitan Asylums Board out of local Tates and taxes. The total cost •f relief to the poor in England for the year ended Lady Day, 1905, excluding metropolitan asylums, was £13,849,793. The total amount of. rates received for the same period for England and Wales was £11,839,847, equivalent to a rate of Is 3d in the pound on a£F3ssable value, or 7s 6d per head on estimated population. The gross cost of relief to the poor amounted to 8s 2Jd per head of estimated population. A. D.— Th*te are 20001b in a ton of bran, the same as in a ton of flour. AaiSfc.— "Wajnea, ac« edible foi ejection, a^

members of school committee* provided they are qualified as householders. Sport. — We do liot undertake to solve problems such as the two you submit. A little reflection would show you that they could j not be definitely answered. You might as well ask how many times a marl would nod his head in walking a mile. A. E. T —To make dried rabbitsums soft and j leathery soften them by soaking, then remove all fatty matter, and give them a tvarm bath for an hour. Mix equal parts of borax, saltpetre, and sulphate of soda — about half an ounce of each to each skin — with water sufficient to make a thin paste; spread this with a brush over the flesh oides and double the flesh sides in. After 24 iiours wash the skin clean and apply as before a mixture of two parts of sal soda, one part of borax, and four parts of hard white soap, melted slowly together without boiling ; fold and put in a warm place for j 24 ho utb. After this dissolve in hot rain | water cne part of saleiatus, two parts of i alum, and four parts of salt. The water should only be sufficient to saturate the skins. When cool enough to handle soak the skins for 12 hours, then wring out and i hang to dry. Repeat the soaking and drying until sufficiently soft. W. C, Waiwera South.— Modelling clay for figure modslling can be procured from the Milton Pottery Works, Milton. If you write to the manager he will no doubt supply particulars. 2d AC _(l) There are severa.l fish-canning establishments in New Zealand. There are two at Stewart Island one near Wellington, one near Auckland, and several otheTS in the North Island. (2) Deep-se* trawls are imported from the Home Country, ttnd have to pay 22$ per cent, dixty. It is necessary to give eize and l power of boats for which trawls are required, also depth of water it is proposed to use them in, so as to have the right size made. We recommend you to communicate with Mr F. J. Sullivan, Dunedin, who keeps five- net-makers at work, and can give you the best advice. . Cadet.— The National Service League publishes a monthly journal. It has pubHshed as leaflets articles which have appeared in the journal. These are given away gratis. It recommends a numbeT of publications, which will be forwarded post free at the prices named. The offices are 72 Victoria street, Westminster S.W., London. The territorial army originally proposed by the Right Hen. Mr Baldane was to absorb and replace militia, yeomanry, and Volunfteers, but he has since departed from this idea in some respects. Lillian Elizabeth.— You should apply to the Southland Education Board for the establishment of a household school at your house. If approved, the grant would be £& per annum for each pupil over five years j of age in average attendance. If you also communicate with the member of the board representing your dis;txict timo may be saved, as he will bs in a position to sup- j port your application. Puzzled. — Under the Post Office Act Ainend-^ nient Act of 1906 it has been notified in the Gazette that no postal packet addressed to the two companies you name shall be either rtg-istered, forwarded, or delivered by the , Post Office. As to why thia cowrse was adopted, jcu may take i*t for granted Lhat the Postmaster-general had reasonable , ground • to suppose the companies referred ] to were carrying on a business suoh as is j mentioned in section 9 of the act mentioned. The companies referred to could sue foi the recovery of debts lawfully due to them. Young Lady. — (1) Each applicant for an oldage pension must apply in person to the deputy-registrar of the district in which he resides, and fill in a form. The deputy- j registrar pioeeeda at once to verify the j apphcanfs statements. The result of these inquin<?9 is forwa.rded to the S M.. who fixes a date for the personal examination of the applicant. To qualify for a pension the applicant must have reached the age of 65 years ; must have resided in -the colony for 35 years (occasional absences not to bar) ; must net during the past 12 months have been imprisoned for four months, or on four occasions, for an offence punishable by 12 months' imprisonment; must, not during the past 25 years been imprisoned for five years for any offence; must not during the past 12 yearß have deserted his wife and children ; must have lived a sober and reputable life during the past five, years ; his year'y income must not reach £60- the net value of his pro-perty must not be £260 or over , must not have deprived himaelf of property or income to qualify for a pension. Back-block writes — "Could you tell me the author of a poem on o:ie of the incidents of Waterloo which runs in a plare like this 'But Wellington, lord of the cool command. Held the reins with a steady hand You'll soon ha\e enough giving the Frenchmen a taste of your gtuß When the Cameron men are wanted ' '' CouM you also tell me any " book ol recitations containing same?" A. C, Levin. — H M Davey, consulting engineer, replies. — I have considered your second letter, and have also referred the whole again to Mr Edwards, electrician in the firm of Messrs Turnbull and Jones, of this city, who kindly replies as follows : j " He cannot make out why some of the shots bung fire, esp&snally as the whole circuit was tested, as you say, but at the same time his opinion is that this sort of work should be done in parallel. I might add, and it is only a suggestion, could it not be that the battery either was weak, or that a better connection happened to exist to the shot that always seemed to be fired first? Sometimes a htt'e thing will make a failure in all experiments, and you may have observed that this sort of thing appears to happen most when the best preparations seem to have heen made to obviate anything of the kind." I fancy that only someone on the spot at the time could tell exactly what was wrong, but will add that if you find out or get the same trouble again and have a little niore to go cm, you might write, as Mr Edwards says the matter interests him. Inquirer, Macetown. — Mr H. M. Davey rephes — To send the model, as you thought, wou'd not be of much use, as all communications must be made m writing, and m the forma that are issued by the office The editor will post ycu what is deemed necf-s-sary for you, together with directions for your guidance. Poeticus. — (1) The fees pavaVe to the Registrar of Copyrights at Wellington are : For form of application to register any work. Is; for every entry in register, 6d ; fox registration of proprietor, 2s 6d; — total, 4s. (2) The average pay cannot be stated, for the reason that the remuneration vanes so considerably. (3) The authors usually protect their works, but do not do so if they cell the productions outright to the magazine proprietors. (4) The composition is issued as a joint production, and both receive the benefit. (5) The royalty in each case is fixed by contract.

— The Irish Sea has nowhere a greater dpDth t&an 710 ft.