NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2924, 30 March 1910, Page 52

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Questions for reply in com'ing "issue to be reBeiveil not later than MONDAY night. ( ~ A. 8., Alexandra, writes to- say that this year the fruit fell oft" his peach trees with- - out ripening, and would like to know the cause. In all probability the excessive drought is the cause of the fruit falling. The foliage will also show signs of drought. Do you cultivate amongst your trees ? If not, try it. Subscriber, Gore, asks for a recipe for preserving mushrooms. —Wash large buttons, .lay them on sieves with the stalks upwards ; sprinkle salt over them to extract the water. When ihey are drained, put them intp_ a pot, and set them in a cool oven for ah hour, then take them out carefully and lay them by to cool and drain; .l>oil the liquor which comes out of them, •with a blade or two pf mace, until half is boiled away. Put the' mushrooms into a clean, dry, jar, and when the liquor is cold cover the mushrooms in the jar with it, .and pour boiling suet over it; t» the'jar well down with bladder and store it in a dry closet. G. P., Taieri-Mouth.—lt is lawful for a bona fide farmer whose ordinary farming operations include the raising and fattening of stock to slaughter stock or his farm for barter or sale without a license, provided the stock slaughtered does not exceed in any week one head of cattle and five head of other stock, or such larger .number as is especially authorised in writing by an inspector. Except in the case of swine, the foregoing rights ' are not exercisable (a) if the farm is situated inside a borough or town district, or within three miles of the nearest boundary thereof, oorhputeu by the nearest accessible road; or (b) if the meat of any of the stock slaughtered is bartered or. sold anywhere to a butcher or anywhere inside a borough or town district or within three miles of - the- nearest boundary thereof, computed as aforesaid, to auy person; or (c) if the farmer fails or neglects to keep a faithful record of all stock so slaughtered, and of the persons to whom they are bartered or - sold, and to at all times have such record open to inspection by an inspector. X. Y. Z.—(l) British-made motor cycles are subject to a duty of 20 per cent., with a .preferential duty of 10 per cent, on foreign made. I There is also a surtax of 24 per cent, on the total duty of-each entry. (2) Push cycles" are not specially mentioned, hut they would be subject to the same duty ■under the class not otherwise enumerated. (3) - Nearly all fittings and accessories for •bicycles, motor cycles, etc., are admitted free when not plated, japanned, enamelled, eto. '(4) The duty is levied on the maker's invoice, with 10 per cent, added. (5) There is no restriction applying to a person taking up the agency of motor cycles, -bicycles, etc. Curious wants to know what is meant by .the Austrian race problertf? Rousbly speaking, without Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is a population of twenty-five rui'iom people in the Austrian Empire. These are divided thus: I—Nine 1 —Nine million Germans, six anillion Czechs, four million Poles, three ; (million Ruthenians, one million Slavonians, -. 700,000 Italians, 650,000 Croats and Serbs, 200,000 Roumanians, and 500,000 other ■ nationalities. The German element is looked upon with jealousy by those of other nationalities, and as until the last few years' they have had a monopoly of official positions, this was a continual ®Quroe of irritation. A person desiring to compel another person to fence must give notice in the form igiven in the schedule or to the like effect. The form is as follows: "Notice to fence: To , occupier of (describe land with sufficient particularity ■ io identify it). Take notice that I desire i that & fence between the above described land, and l the adjoining land—viz., (describe land ,with sufficient particularity to adrentify it), of which I am occupier, be ier«cfced immediately [or on or before the day of —, 19—], and propose that such (fence fihall be a (describe the fence, identifying, it by reference to second schedule}. Shis notice is given under " The Fencing 'Act, 1908:" Dated this day of —, 3,9—." The signature follows. In the 'Bftoond schedule referred to. the various rabbit proof fences are described. No. 1. i a a substantial fence haying split ox sawn

timber placed upright thereon to a freight of 3ft, and sunK m the ground not less than six inches from the surface, there not being more than one inch opening between each upright piece of timber. No. 2 is .a substantial wire fence with posts or iron standards, to which shall be attached galvanised wire netting firmly affixed to wires and securely fastened to the ground, or sunken therein not less than six inches. Such wire netting to be not less than a total of 42in wide, 16 gauge, and not larger than l*in mesh. No. 3 is any fence converted into a rabbit proof fence as described in No. 2.

Subscriber—Mr H. M. Davey, consulting engineer, 91a Princes street, replies:^-1 would like to know, in this case, whether you want a practical answer, or whether it is -to decide" a- bet or a dispute, and you only want a theoretioal one? ,Practically, the width would be about 9ft 4in for the greater depth you- mentioin; but if you want the reply to the greatest exactitude, as some do, you have not sent sufficient data for such a reply. You say 2ft slope on each bank for the ; -ditch 3ft 6in deep, and the " same slope" for the deeper one. But by the words ". same slope" do you mean the same angle or still a 2ft "slope? Either could well be called the same slope, but there would be a, difference in the measuremenis, seeing that if the slope were the same angle, the ditch would be narrower, at the bottom than if the slope were 2ft. the same as the other. I merely point out this, not to find any fault, but to show that one cannot be too precise in. asking a question, so that there can .be no'mistake in it, for a misreading of a : question generally means a .wrong answer. It would not be much in this case, but it would amount to somethlag. '