NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3004, 11 October 1911, Page 51

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Questions far reply in coming issue to be received not later than SATURDAY night.

B. P.—So far as we have been able to ascertain, no one in. Dunedin stock vacuum cleaners for 110* in private houses. Seveijal of the laager kinda were imported, but they .did 110 k come nip to-expectations.-' Fabmkb writes to ask if .potatoes are good for • milch 'cows•" and what quantity to. give < each cow. "Agrieala'' replies:—"lf you begin with' small quantities, and-feed your potato©* with dry food like chaff or hay or oaten straw, aaid! gradually increase the amount, youx.-cow» will do well on them, provided' they also .have the run of grass paddocks, which ought to be available at this time of. year*- One of the best farmers of tfae<-States say there is nothing to surpass potatoes for preventing a fevered condition during the later stages of pregnanoy. He points out that he never had a case of milk fever after he began to use potatoes. Immediately the droppings of any cow showed signs of becoming hard he fed potatoes, beginning with a moderate quantity, continuing to feed them,' even increasing the allowance till the droppings became soft, as when a cow was receiving green food. .. There is great danger of choking, particularly with small potatoes, but that can be overcome by cutting • them up fine v Sprinkle with bran, and work up to not more than half a bucket at a time, twice daily." Southlahdeb writes:—"l have a 10-acre paddock in. which the grass two years old is very patchy.. I P«t sowt ground lime per acre, thinking that would revive it. The clover is coming fairly, but the grass i 3 still patchy. If I sowed one bushel of ryegrass • now after harrowing, would it answer? The land is river bed."—Your question arrived too late to be replied to in. the Farm, and Station pages.— "Agricola" replies:—"lf your land is in such a condition that several turns of the harrows (and. you need not be afraid of giving too many) will give you a seedbed that would cover the seed, you might suTfaoe-sow at this time of year, but with r-early a full seeding of mixed 1 gra'sses and clovers. If not, you would be wiser to ' plough it- tip and resow." Wobby.—(l) .Where fleas prevail in - spite of scrupulous, cleanliness, recourse may be had to insecticide preparations, the modern substitutes for the old-fashioned flea-bane * and wormwood, when, according to Tusser. ''where chamber is swept and wormwood is strown, no flea for his life dare abide to bo known." (2) Write to A. Sligo, bookseller, G-eorge street, Dunedin, and you will be supplied with a list of such books in stock. I Xi B. L.—There is no agent in - Dunedin for the New Home sewing machine, but Mr W. Melville could supply minor requisites. Messrs Ahlfeld and Co. . are the agents for the Anchor machine. &.- X 2. —You can purchase a ram gauge from" any of the.leading ironmongers at a comparatively low cost. It will be more satisfactory than a home-made as, being on the same principle as the gauges issued by the Meteorological Department, it is possible to compare the fall with that at other stations. J wants a recipe for rhubarb wine. Take 51b of rhubarb, cut into small pieces; add a gallon of cold water, and put it into a tub for eight or nine days, stirring it well two or three times each day. Strain, and to every gallon add 41b of loaf sugar and the juice and half the rind of a lemon; put it into a cask with |oz of isinglass, dissolved in a , little of , the liquor; a gill of brandy may be added.. Bung the cask closely for a month, and bottle in 10 or 12 months more. Tomato pickle: Put green tomatoes into strong salt and water for three days; boil vinegar with whole ginger, pepper, and. cloves, and let it cool; put the tomatoes into a stone jar with a few small onions and some chillies; pour the vinegar over them; cork sud in » fortnight they are ready to use. The tomatoes are equally good without chillies, and pickle well with onions, Waiho, South Wjestland, writes:—Could you tell me the name of a creature I found ' in a hollow tree. Its body was very much like e, bat, being about three inches in

length, and covered with hair like that of a mouse. It had email needle-pointed teeth and very small, black eyes. . The back legs were about an inch in length, and ended in five toes or claws. "When it stretched out its legs they were joined together with a skin like the wings of » bat. For front legs, or in place of wings (on a bat), it had a straight spike like the. fore part of a bird's wing, and ended in a claw, with which it could* hold on to a tree. In short it was much like a common bat, and had no wing 3, and was very slow and uncertain in its movements. —— We submitted. the description to Professor Benham, who has no doubt the " creature" was a bat, two species of which occur in New Zealand. Why our correspondent did not see the wings is not clear. Perhaps they were folded round the body. Albuby.—See article in Farm and Station

pages on burning lime on the farm. Veritas, Blenheim.—Mr H. M. Davey, consulting engineer, replies:—l am glad you have written again, for, if persons who get a reply that needs further questions do not do so, the answers will often not be of much use to them. You get a head of weter at 75ft fall, or fully 6 b.h. power, and 7in pipes would be the size you would 1 need for that quantity, with a larger taper inlet, and taking oare to keep rubbish out of the pipes. Yes, it is correot, as you say,. and with, the oil engiae, but in. getting thie see that, if the engine is American, the horse power is calculated to the British scale, for American horse power is las®, and sometimes people have been deceived by. taking the American standard without thinking, much about it. Their gallons and their tons and hundredweights are also less than ours. I would advise you to get a., wheel straight from the makers, Messrs Pries, of Thames, Auckland, as you say you cannot afford experiments. You see-' if you get an odd one anywhere, either new or second-hand, it might be the thing, or lft might be the very one that was not suitable. I don't know if you could borrow a diver's helmet or not. I do not know of the contrivance you mention being in use. but it' might be for all that. There was a contrivance that was supposed to do what you want, it was invented by a ramer. It was a drum and a long endless chain on same, with cups strung on every yard or so. The chain was long enough to let its looped body down -as deep as wanted, and the cups scraped up the stuff at the bottom. He called it a prospector's hand dredge, and there were several made. I have never seen these working, but he told me he had sunk several feet down, and deepened holes several feet deeper with thenar and said they worked better under water than where there was no water. I suppose you have tried and found that the water "makes" quicker than it could be lifted) out with ia Galifornian or other pump worked ; by hand? I will send you a rough sketch of the cup dredge mentioned above. J. C, Broofcside.—Mr H. M. Davey, consulting engineer, replies:—(l) See last week's Witness, where you will find Mr B. -B. Hooper's reply in Notes and Queries. (2) Through the "courtesy of Mr Passmore. jun., who is an expert in motor machinery, I) can , give you the following simpla formulas: •.'!.",■' Let D = the of the cylinder or cylinders in inches S = th. 9 stroke in inches N = the number of cyliaders. D* x S x N Ihentbeß.H.P. = .•„■ ■ 12.- • -' (Note. —The speed Is presumed to be 1000 re vol u tions per ro. in ut e i n all cass s ). If the measurements Sre.ia millimetres, ihtri D'» x S x N

2-W.OOO (3) About this question I consulted Mr Stark, jun., -electrician, who very kindly replies that one of the beet books is entitled "Wireless Telegraph and Telephony," by Massie and Underbill. He does not think that the book is obtainable in Dunedin, but you might get it in Christchurch or "Wellington, probably through Messrs Whit~ : combe and Tombs.; probable cost 6s to 7s. Mr Stark also most kindly adds that if you have any definite questions he wilf be-pleased to reply to yon, so if you need such assistance please write to the editor to that effect, enclosing stamp for reply. Subscriber writes:— (1) Has it come to pa as yet that free school books are given out to the school children? (2)" What books are given free? (3) How long since given out? (4) Are they the same in big scheols .and small ones all over New Zealand ? (6) If so,, can teachers force parents to buy books? (1, 2, and 3) During the years 1910 and 1911 school books have been supplied free to all pupils in classes P to S 3 (inclusive), and for the year 1911 to the pupils in S 4 also. Next year free school books (except reading books) will be supplied to the pupils of S& and S& also. (4) The books used are the same throughout all the schools in Otago, but as a choioa is allowed, probably differ somewhat in other educational districts. (5) Parents cannot be required to provide text books for their children- who are in classes- P to S 4 (inclusive).

Subscriber, Heriot.—Be slide valve, H. M. Davey replies: In this case I consulted with Mr ,R. A. M'Lintock, a pest marine enginear of great experience in such matters, and he suggests that you take off the slide valve and see if it is not the inner faces that are wrong. Perhaps one broader than the other. If you are not well up in setting valves it would be better if you got two laths, laying one on the valve face of the cylinder, and markingi the exact position |of the ports, showing them, and distinguishing the ports from the metal; and lay the other on the slide valve, doing the same. We are' both of opinion that either the cylinder ports are not in correct position, or else, the slide valve is not central, or both may be out. This is specially. likely when you mention that other engines of the same maker are affected in a similar way. This defect' seems to be. the only likely thing to cause the valve to act as you describe.