NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2997, 23 August 1911, Page 51

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Questions far reply in coining issue to be received not later than SATURDAY night. Farmer writes: —A farmer sells chaff by the ton weighed on a weighbridge, ordinary size. The night before the chaff is -weighed rain falls and wets the bridge. Is'there ✓•anything customary allowed for the wet bridge, or is the weighbridge attendant supposed- to adjust the .bridge accordingly ?—ln the case you mention all the difference in weight that could possibly be made would not be worth 'discussing. It would have been a different matter if the chaff itself had got wet. When straw gets a soaking on its road to market, allowance is invariably insisted upon and made; but no allowance is made in the circumstances you mention. Subscriber, Waikaka obtain coloured butter is to skim the milk soon after the cream has risen. Much butter is spoiled from the cream being left too long on the milk. If this does not prove effective, you can procure colouring material from a druggist, but the juice of carrots is generally considered to be better. Take the highest coloured carrots, boil them well, and mash them in the water., then strain carefully through very fine muslin; add as much of the juice as you deem sufficient (o the cream and churn together. (2) You can . obtain Madras curry powder from Messrs A. and J. M'Farlane, or any of the leading grocers. Inquirer.—lf you wish to obtain a patent for any article, the'"best plan is te get the advice of a reputable patent agent. _ The cost of protecting a patent varies in different countries, as does the number of specifications required in making out your application for leMers of protection. Bilj..tard-marker inquires: —(1) Can the County Council make by-laws to close billiard saloons at 10 o'clock when the premises are not attached to hotel? (2) As all Ibe billiard saloons are licensed to 11 o'clock, must I close at 10 p.m., or can I keep open till 11 p.m.?—(l) Yes. (2) The room must be closed at 10 o'clock. See section 56 of the Police Offences Act. Eat. —(1) It is undoubtedly a dangerous custom to' refill a lamp while it is -aliglht. It need not necessarily be quite 'cool before fresh kerosene is put in it. (2) It is generally considered necessary to have a meat pie ventilated. The pie would not be poisonous if this was not done, but it it is held that neglect to do so renders it indigestible. Constant Reader.—A letter bearing the signature of the person you name was published in the Otago Witness about April last. A. T., Ashburton.—The P]adda arrived at Port Chalmers on her first trip on August 20. 1860, and on. her second trip on September 10, 1861. All the business connected with immigration is now centralised in Wellington,' and the records, if still in • existence—which is doubtful, —will be stowed away somewhere in some building in that city. If you write to Mr Wood, secretary of the Early Settlers' Association, Dunedin, W would try and put you into communication with one of your fellow passengers, whose testimony as to your age would be accepted if nothing better is available. As the passengers by the second trip of the Pladda, are about to celebrate their jubilee, you should write at once. Sportsman.—Small shot for guns is made by dropping from a considerable height molten lead through a colander in rapid motion into water. The lead falls in small globular drops through holes varying in size according to the denomination of the shot. A small portion of arsenic is melted with the lead to haiden it, and the fusion in the colanders is maintained by those vesst-ls being surrounded by burning charcoal. The fall through the air enabkd the lead to cool and harden before taking its plunge. After cooling the shot is sifted in successive sieves to separate the sizes. Misshapen shot are found by their inability to roll down an inclined plank. The shot is, finally polished by;

rotery motion in small octagonal boxes, in which a little plumbago has been thrown. Heat.—lf you communicate with Messrs Nimmo and Blair they will supply you with particulars. The Maori patent heater shown at the Dunedin Winter Show is highly spoken of. G. P., Inveroargill.—The best thing to .use to bring out the grain of red pine is raw linseed oil. Jimmy would be obliged if any reader could give him the. remainder of some verses: the first line? of which read somewhat as follows.:—" Please, Mr Policeman, were tired, we've walked about all day; we want; to find the golden street, but we don't know the way.' Science.—As the New Zealand agents m- - vite those interested to communicate with. them, that couroa should--be .adapted-. vvo are not inclined to welcome any attempt to have this column- made use of to discuss the. merits of any patent- medicine. Anxious.—The Modern Veterinary Adviser, by Professor G. J>igbtx>n, states that in, order to prevent the formation -of ring-' bones it is necessary to .adopt such measures as will subdue the early inflammation of the parts in the first stages. The horse must therefore be rested, the bowels kept relaxed, hot fomentations applied to the inflamed area, after which blisters and firing may have to be resorted to, should the veterinary surgeon, who should be called in, so advise. The animal may have to avoid work for several months, and in some cases the effect of the growth of bony material will be to produoe a stiff joint. A perfect cure is often unattainable^ Subscriber, Riversdale, asks how many yards- he would have to go with a- machine 18ft wide to sow one .acre? 806 to 807 yards straight ahead. Tennis -asks for a remedy to destroy weeds or grass on a chipped tennis court. — There are two or three weed-killing reagents on the market suitable for the purpose you require, and they may be supplied' after mixing to the proper strength with .a watering can. An application which will soak in to the roots is necessary, and oa.ro taken to avoid borders. The " Pharos " is one of the best, but they fill require careful handling!, and every vessel used should bo .afterwards scalded. A. J. T.—The art union was duly drawn on the closing night of the exhibition. The winners in their order were: —Mrs Hamilton Moore, Mrs B. Blight, Miss A. Seager, Mrs M'Shane, Mr J. Bailley, Mr Trukauff. Old Gold.—(1) Presumably eariscopes would come in free of duty under the classification of surgical goods such as ear trumpets, ear tubas., audiphoneis, and electrophones for the partially, deaf. (2) Theie is a duty of 20 per cent. ad. vol. on watches. Maorilander asks: —" If a foreigner arrives in New .Zealand with two sons aged 1 thrf-o and five years, and becomes a naturalised British, subject, are the sons entitled to a vote when they attain their majority, or will they be required to take out naturalisation papers too?"—The fact of the father becoming a naturalised British subject causes the whole family to also become British subjects, and the sons on coming of age would be entitled to be registered as electors. More than that, had the sons remained in their native laud until they -were of age, and then joined their father, they would be entitled, after 12 months' residence in the Dominion, to have their names registered us electors. Centrifugal.—Mr H. M. Davey, consulting engineeir, Princes street, replies: —Yes; there is no doubt but that you could do as you ask, and if you follow the connections of the pumps near you that you mention you will not go wrong, as they .aro working all right, you say. The size would need to be 14 inches, or 13 at s the very least,* for lifting the eight heads. Z. Y. Z.—" Agricola " re-plies as follows: (1) The three-year-old stallions and the ag|>d stallions were cut out of last year's summer show catalogue and sent to the Walking show. You possibly require particulars in reference to the yearlings and two-year-olds, and I give these. Yearling colts: (1) J. Patrick's, by Pride of Newton; (2) J. Seyle's Baron's Latest, by Baron Fyvie; (3) William-jCowan's colt, by Prince Alexander. Two-year old stallions: (1) Mitchell Bros.' Candidate, by Royal Derby; (2) J. Seyle's (Georgetown), Baron Stewart, by Baron Fyvie; (3) Thomson and Co.'s colt, by Baron Mitchell. (2) Commercial lime, which is obtained by burning ccoiinvu limestone in a kilii, is known as quicklime or burnt lime (to distinguish it from hydrate of lime or slaked lime), or shell lime. The latter name has been derived from the fact that shells are sometimes used (as in Auckland) instead of limestone to burn in the kilns. (3) Sulphate of lime or gypsum is worth from £2 5s to £2 10s per ton. (4) Land that will grow a 40-bushel crop of peas (Yorkshire Hero) should be eminently suitable for growing lucerne, provided it was limed and manured. Inoculation should not be necessary after a leguminous crop. (4) Mr H. M. Davey replies that you have first to obtain the forma, obtainable usually at a post office, and fill these up. You must make two drawings of the invention-—one on paper and the other on tracing cloth, or else both on tracing cloth. One of these you should keep. Then a specification nuut be made in proper form setting out the invention, and then exact claims drawn out for the novelty of the invention. Then you must make a copy of this. These, with a fee of 10s, have to be sent to the Registrar of Patents, who will examine them, and who may accept them if the invention is novel and the work is done in proper order. When the whole are finally accepted you may apply for the patent, forwarding the proper fee with the application. The protection applies to the Dominion only. If you wish to have your invention patented in other countries you proceed to make application. If you have a thorough knowledge of the requirements you have to comply with, you miay succeed, but as the rules are very strict it is much more likely you will fail. This is why inventors are always recommended to plaoe then pelves in the hands of a reliable agent. N J. B.—The grubs which are eating the cores of the branches of your current bushes are developed from the eggs ' of the currant clear wing moth. This moth may be seen from September onward. The eggs are laid in the interstices of the bark or other crevices. Very soon small white grubs appear, which eat their way into the shoot and devour the pith. When about to turn int; pupa each grub eats a hole in the stem sufficiently large to allow the exit of the perfect insect, and :n about a week the perfect moth emerges to continue the work. The bushes should bo frequently examined during spring, and any affected branches carefully and burned. This done systematically will soon rid the garden of the peat or so reduce the number as to render it comparatively harmless. Spraying the plants with kerosene emulsion, tar

water, or whale oil soap lias been found beneficial in preventing the moths laying their eggs on the bushes. Wooden House.—Wood lice are difficult to extirpate. The only way appears, to be- to get them tog-ether by means of some enticing food end scald them with boiling water. Place, boiled parsnips or other roots, roasted apples, or anything they are fond of in their haunts, covering them with a little dampish straw and a thin board to keep the food dark, and they will congregate. On being uncovered in the morning boiling water 'may be poured over them. If certain that children or animals will not touch it, they can be poisoned by boiling a little arsenic in the water with the parsnips and strewing the pieces about tho haunts of the wood lice. A boiled potato wrapped tightly in straw and placed •in a flower pot lying on its side will' attract the wood. lice. They can be shaken out of their hiding place into boiling water in the morning. •