NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2856, 9 December 1908, Page 51

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Questions for reply in coming Issue to Us n- J tciv«d act laUr then MONDAY night. IXQtrrREK, Shotover, wishes v definition and description of two plants which grow luxuriantly in I'hiß district, and which have only made their appearance within Tecent years. One has seme resemblance to the tobacco plant, and grows to a. height of 4ft. The other specimen is a useful grass plant, with wonderful powers of spreading from the root, and thrives well on poor soil. The specimens forwarded were submitted to Mt G. M. Thomson, F.L.S.. the newly-elected member for Dunedm North, who replies: — The grass forwarded by "Inquirer" is so immature that it cannot be ldentiried with certainty I have repeatedly pointed cut to correspondents that the identification of a grass is based almost entirely on its flowers. If "Inquirer" will send down a flowering stalk there will be no difficulty in telling him the name. Judging by it 3 foliage and creeping stems, the specimen might belong to half a dozen . species. The other plant is the common mullein (Verbascum thapsue), a weed of such a woolly character that even rebbits seem unable to eat it. j Subscriber. Owaka. — The steerage fare from Dunedin to Sydney, via Wellington and Cook Strait, is £i 15s single and £8 7s Cd return. Via Cook Strait is a shorter route chan via Auckland. Cbaxdpa. — Apply to the clerk of the court •at Gore, whe is the officer of the Old Age Pensions Department for your district. He will assist you in filling up the necessary form of application and obtain from jou all the information necessary, which will then b© submitted to the magistrate. The amount of pension would not be affected by j a life insurance policy payable to heirs alter death, but if you obtained its surlender va'u^, then tha magistrate might take that into consideration. Katixi. — If men employed by a farmer are members of a. union and working under an award of the Arbitration Court providing j that Labour Day shall be given as a holi- \ day. then the farmer must give the holiday '. or pay the extra amount stipu'ated in the award. In the case of ordinary employees j not subject to an award, a farmer is not . compelled to give a holiday on Labour Day. | The reply to your second query is held i over. ' D. 51., Cave, wants to know, in connection «ritii the conviction of a man named H'Kenzie for sheep-stealing from the Levels station, the date on which the cheep were «>to!en. as shown at the trial, and driven into the Mackenzie Country, and also the sentence passed on M'Kenzie. Can any of •our readers supply the information? Straxger asks if there is any place in Dunedin where model drawing is taught. At the School of Arts in Moray place, next the Normal Sc'icol, drawing In all its branches is taught. Constant Subscriber. — You were misinformed as to the reply to the query published in ihe issue of Novembsr 4 There was no ' recipe for making yeast and bresd without hops. What was stated was that it had not been proved that l:ops were essential in the making of yea°t. The following method of making yeast without hops ha« ■oeen generally successful. Take tablespoon- ! ml of ginger and boil in four quarts of j water for half an hour, adding sufficient ' water to keep up the original quantity ; j strain it, aud let the liquor cool down to ! new milk warmth ; then put in a handful of salt and £lb of brown sugar, Jjeat up lib of the best flour with some of the ' .liquor, and thert mx all well together. On the second day add 31b of aood potatoes, foiled and then mashed, to staricr till Uie following day ; then strain it and put into seltzer water-battles, and it is ready for use. Tt must be stirred frequently while , it v making, and. kept near the fix*. £*-

fore using, shake up the bottle. The ginger used in the above is merely a substitute for hops, and probably if 2oz of tlie best ■hops were used instead the yeast would be all the better Constant Reader, Bluespur, asks for a recipe for (1) hop beer, and (2) how to make butter. To 10 gallons of rain water add ilb hops and ilb bruised (not ground) ginger- let it come to the boil, stirring occasionally. Mark the time it commences to boil, and when 20 minutes have elapsed add 91b of sugar (light brown); stir till dissolved, and immediately take up without it boiling agair (it is in the long boiling of hops *hat all their delicate aroma eEcapes. while all the bitterness is brought out ; boiling the sugar causes muddiness). Strain into an open wooden vessel, and leave until milk-warm ; then add a quart of yeast, and cover it witb a thick woollen cloth, and let it work for 24 hours. In the meantime, an ounce of tartaric acid and the ounce of brewer's isinglass should be soaking in a quart of cold water, and at the end of 24 hours should be pdded to the beer to clear it. It will be ready to bottle the next day, and will be fit to drink in two days, but is much nicer if left for a ■weak. The bottles should be washed at least a day before, end left upside down to drain, and any corks left inside them should be extracted ; they must b& perfectly dry before using them. The corks should be soaked in some of the hop beer and left with a weight on them until required. The brewing tub should be used for n.' other purpose, but should be keut filled with, water from one brewing to another. N.B. — If the isinglass used by brewers is not obtainable, save up the eggshells used the week before foi custards, puddings, cakes, etc., and take the whites and shells of two fresb eggs, beat all together and add with the our.cc of acid. Tie the corks down tightly, and wher the beer is put away throw a. damp blanket over and around the bottles, so as to ensure a cool and pleasant drink: (2) In order to make good butter cleanliness in withdrawing the milk from the cow and keeping the milk in a pure and perfect.y dry atmosphere in a dairy at an even tern- | perature are some essential points to be obfeeived. If the temperature cau be steadily maintained at about 60deg, shallow pans will throw up the cream in about 24 hours In Rummer the milk should be poured into the shallow pans at a temperature of abcut 95deg, and rapidly oooled to 45deg; otherwise it is liable to sour preinaturelj and coagulate before much of the cream has risen. When the cream is skimmed and set apart for ripening as subsequent skimmings are added, the whole should be well stirred and incorporated to ensure even ripening. In churning, commence slowly, ond only gradually increase the speed, but ceasing when the butter is in granular lorm. because if you have a suitable churn the buiter can be wa=hed quite free from all buttermilk. Buttermilk contains two constituents, which, if left in the butter, are ceitain to destroy its flavovir. The more thoioughly. therefore, the buttermilk is removed tie beiter tie chance of butter continuing sound and sweet. In salting, only the finest and purest salt, ground as finely as possible, should be used. The quantity largely depends upon taste, but if you intend keeping the butter for any little time, at the rats of Joz of salt to the pound has been proved the best quantity.