SOILS AM) QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2811, 26 August 1908, Page 51

SOILS AM) QUERIES.

QuMliem f*r r*ply in coming ittut (• b* T€t4\v*d ' not tmttr than MONDAY night. Inquires asks : — (1) Wfca.t is the process that cast iron or cast steel undergoes to transform either of these products iivto wrought steel. (2) "What liq\xid or chemical is employed in the construction of those' patent cigar-ligh-ters which consist of a small Vshaped nistal case, which, when' the cap i& removed from one end. a sma>ll flam© issues from the composition inside. Aro they procurable in Duucmn or in this colony. (1) Tho jsreoess of cou verting cast iron .to wrcugiht iron or wrought s-teel is by elimination, whereby the greater portion of its carbon, as well 'as any sulphur, sd'icon, phosphorus, or other impurities, is' got rid of by subjecting iron, when in « liquid state, to the oxidising influence of a powerful flame. After this puddling process the newly-converted mass may be compared to a dirty iron sponge. The doughy mass has to be put under a steam Jiaanmer or some form of squeezer to drive out mechanical im purities, and is afterwards rolled into bars. For the better classes of wrought iron the process of piling, reheating, a-nd rolling are repeated until the proper quality is attained. There ■are several methods of producing mild steel, the most important being the Bessemer and Siemens processes. In the Bessemer process a dense volume of air is passed through crude cast iron in a ■molten state. During its passage the oxygen . combines with tfoe oarbon. and passes away ao carbonic acid, leaving the product oomparatively pure, to be afterwards rolled, say, into railway rails. The Siemens process is mixing an iron ore iich in oxide with the mass of crude iron. In this- process the oxygen of the ore perforuls' the same chemical office as the air does in the Bessemer process, the product being steel of any degree or softness, as boiler and ship plates, etc. The production of cast steel ia a much more delicate and difficult process 1 . Cast steel is not ueed to- produce wrought iron. (2) We are not familiar with the patent cigstrlightex to which you refer, and., so far as can be ascertained, they are not' procurable in Dun«din. The fact of a patent having been granted would seem to inipl-v that the liquid or chemical or the nuefchod of utilising it is a trade secret. Asr Old Header ik Loco. — To obtain employment as a oleaner on the Government railways you have to fill in a form of application fox employment and forward it to the general manager. You can obtain these forms at any -railway station. The wages paid are at the rate of 5s per day, ■with two increases of 6d per day end one of Is per day -until appointed fireman, ■when 8s &£t per day is paid. . The rate of prornition depends a-lmost entirely on tho ability of the cleaner. Farmer writes: — You evidently misunderstood my question. I fully understand how to scald a. pig, as I have dene several, but wanted to know how to tabe the bristles off a pigskin aiter the animal ha<ti been skinned and not scalded My idea* is to cure the skin with Aum and salt, but unless the bristles are removed the skirj would be useless. We cannot supply the information asked for by our correspondent. Perhar/9 some of our readers •will oblig©. The bristles could' be removed by the use of lame, but as to t>he effect on the skin for subsequent curing we are not prepared to say. Ektbe Notts.— The Acoliruifcisation Society pays 3s each fox black shags' heads if ehot 20 miles from the coast. Kabaiiea. asks for the season's quotations of bufeter on the English market, first grade, from September, 1907 to. June, 1908. Mr J. R. Scott, secretary of th* National Dairy Association, South Island, has kindly supplied the following from Messrs Weddel and Co.'s monthly reports fts the average price for 'shoieest as from. Octobej:, 1907 (the report for September not bains' myailßfclel ;— October uaa^ liss pei ewt;

I Novembei, 120s; December, 117s; January, 1908,. 119s ; February, 120s to 150 a (for the first three weeks 150s, and then dropped to 120s); March, 117s; April, 112s; May. 1 110s; June, 110s. The prices are iox choicest quality; finest averaged about 23 per cwt lower. i N H. L. asks how fair people are distinguished from 'dark — by the colour of the ha-ir and complexion, or by the eyes? | A fair person is one having light ox clear I colour or hue; not dark or sallow. A i brunette is dark-hued ; haviDg dark ox brown complexion, hadT, and eyes. In Ethnology the human family are classed generally into^ three divisions — Ethiopia Mongolic, and Caucasic. Huxley divides ! the CaU'casie- into two distinct branches — the Xan'thoehroi, or fair, and the Mela-nochroi, or*dark. J. M. F., Cli'fden, writes: — I noticed someone asking for something to keep" rabbits from barking trees.- As I ha-ve received a good deal of practical information at ddfi&renf times 'through your paper, both | through Ndtes and Queries and other parts of the Witness, it is only fair that I should i give mj little to others that are inquirers. ; Thei - e are many ways of keeping them off, but tho best that I know o-f is castor oil. There is nothing that will touch a tree with castor oil on. It is easily applied, either with a piece of rag or a paint brush, and on application will do Pakeha writes with respect to the meaning -V" of the words " Ma waro " to say that " Ma, " is a curtailment of " Manga," a. branch of a stream — otherwise a " creek." " Waro " means coal : bence " Ma-waro," equal to ■ "Coal Creek." There is a pest office of the name " Ma-waro " on the Timaru-Fair- . lie railway line, at Coal Creek. We thank our correspondent. Perhaps his reply is the one which " Ignorance " asked for in our last week's issue, but the question was so framed that the reply then given was the only reasonable one. I M. C Oamaru.— March ,12, 1871, fell on a Sunday. Farmer writes to say that two of his cows died lately from red water. He asks if there is any cuie for it. The disease should always be attacked promptly as it soon becomes intractable. When the water is only slightly red a cure may be effected, but when it assumes a verj dark colour the disease has generally got beyond the sta^e at which it can be successfully treated. In the beginning of the disease a purgative dose should be given, consisting, according to the age of the animal, of from lib to | l£lb of Epsom, salts, dissolved in a pint of hot water, to which has been added a pint of treacle. Also, give every hour a quart of linseed tea, besides injections, per i rectum, of linse«d tea. When the bowels : have been attended to, stimulant's and i tonics should be administered to counteract | the prevailing great lassitude and weakj ness, such -as ar ounce each of aromatic i spirits of ammonia and compound 1 tincture [ of gentian, or an ounce each of tincture of compound gentian and tincture of perohloride of iron, -either of which should be given in a pint of cckl gruel or linseed tea, and repeated every two or three hotxrs. Gave all the linseed tea the animal will drink, and feed on gruel or steamed cxr boiled food. Subscriber asks for full particulars or the i grand march. There are no hard 1 and fast i rules as to the niedhod of going tlrrougli j the grand march in a ballroom. Every ; M.C. has his own ideas, and hence there is ; considerable diversity. The following will : no doubt suit your purpose: — Couples march round the room as in a procession ; after getting properly in line the -top couple lead down the centre to the bottom of the hall ; tap couple lead "to the right, second to the left, and so on, every alternate couple marching in a serpentine direction to the top of the rocui. When the j two leading couples meet, march down the I loom in fours to the bottom, breaking off ! into couples to right and left to, top, this i time marching in the direction to form the • figure of & vase ; couples meet again at top, ladies and gents separate — ladies to right i in a zig-zag to bottom, gents to left in a. I zig-zag to bottom; when partners meet, i march round the room and polka. With a ! large room and plenty of couples an M.C. ; can form any figure he may choose. ! Subscriber. Maa-lborough. — " Veterinary Notes for Horse-owners," by Captain Hayes (illustrated ; pxioe, 18s), and " Veterinary Manuel for Horse-owners," by Frank Townend Burton (price, 12s 6d), are obtainable from Messrs R. J. Stark and Co. . They have also " The Horse in the Stable and Field," Stoneheng'e, in two volumes (price. 30sK It $s probably wise to examine a veterinary book before purchasing, as a work that cue individual finda most helpful may no prove so to others. Dolly, Ettrick.— The rules of the Trained Nurses' Association prov.dp tha,t if a nurse is waiting for a case she shall only charge half fee foi the first week; after that the full fee- is charged for the full period, for which hei cervices are required. In the oa&e of other nurses the fee is generally mutually arranged. It is believed most of the trained nurses now in Otago are members of bhe association. Correspondent. — There was an International v. Exhibition in Melbourne- in 1880-81. The "* Kelly gang, was besieged at Glenrowan on June 27-28. 1830. Ned Kelly was executed On November 11, 1880.