NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3112, 5 November 1913, Page 47

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Qntetlon* for reply In coming l*Bne to b* nocired not liter than SATURDAY night. Eureka. —Professor Park, the director of the Otago University School of Mines, to whom your sample of materials was sent for examination, has reported that it is a fine sample of kaolin clay. This clay, when it occurs in large deposits, is valuable for the manufacture of the best kinds of pottery ware. Tt is a hydrous silicate of alumina, resulting from the decomposition of the feldspars that are a common constituent of ingneous rocks. It occurs both in the form of veins and sheets. The deposits of economic value are seldom found far- from the outcrop of granite masses.

Constant Reader,—(l) A tenant of a school residence and glebe can be a member of a school committee. (2) An ace _is the highest card when cutting for deal in a game of euchre, unless otherwise specified beforehand. Tarras. —The sample of reck you sent for examination was forwarded 10 Professor Park, who has reported that it is a frag* inent of siliceous cement-stone. Grey and yelloA ish-grey cement-stones occur widely distributed throughout t lie alluvial and glacial drifts of Central Otago, and by the early miners were usually called “Chinamen” or “white Maoris.” They were easily distinguished by their weight and colour from the equally common boulders of magnetite, which were appropriately called, “black Maoris.' The cement-stones occur in situ at the base of the groat series of lacustrine strata that occupies the floor and slopes of the Maniototo, Ida Valley, and Mannherikia ancient lake basins. At German Hills ami near Ranfurly Railway* Station they form a thin, irregular sheet that rests either on the mica-schist hed-rcck or on loose, sandy beds. The cement-stones consist of quartz sands that have become cemented into an excessively hard quartzose rock by the deposition of silica from waters containing a large amount of soluble silica. Large masses of a similar rock are found at Landslip Hill. AVaipahi, and in them occur beautifully-preserved impressions of fossil leaves of great antiquity. The great glaciers that at one time covered the greater portion of Otago during the Pleistocene —the geological period that immediately preceded the times iu which wo live—tore the cement-stones from the parent rock, and them over plateau and mountain-top as far east as the Lower Clutha and Tokomairiro Plain. T. K.—Trout ova could be transferred from one place to another in tin cans so long as the time did not exceed lb hours. For longer distances acclimatisation societies have a special case or cabinet, in which are about eight perforated zinc trays. The ova is carefully spread on the lower tray and then covered lightly with good moss. When the Trays are in position a vacant place at the top is filled with foe. and as this melts the water x )a sses through the moss on each tray. Ci’Riotrs. —All that the Act provides for is that the person shall he “a duly qualified person.” With the required qualification the choice is unlimited. Time. —New Zealand mean time is calculated for 172 deg 30min east of Greenwich. San Francisco is on long. 122 deg 25mm 40sec west of Greenwich. Time is earlier or later than Greenwich according as the locality is east or west of it, and thus New Zealand time is ahead of Greenwich time, while San Francisco time is behind it. Standard time has been adopted by the United - States and Canada. Halifax is 4!ir later than Greenwich, the meridian of the latter being with (he centre of zero. As one hour is allowed for every 15deg, New York is shr later than Greenwich. Chicago Ghr later, Denver 7hr later, and Sau Francisco Bhr later. .Place two men at the 160th degree, one on the east side and one on the west side, and there is, • ccording to Greenwich time, 2-thr difference between them—Sunday or. the one aide being simultaqeoiis with Monday on the other. A vessel sailing eastward across the Pacific thus has two consecutive days of .the same name as it crosses the critical meridian. To the eastward-bound traveller sunrises com© ,at shorter intervals than to the stationary observer, while the contrary is the case with the westward-bound

traveller. As New Zealand mean time is roughly llhr ahead of Greenwich time, and San Francisco is Bhr behind, the difference, roughly, is 19hr, Inquirer. — A letter containing a cheque or other valuables should certainly be registered when tho amount is payable to a stranger. A crossed cheque is not always a security. R. P., Waimate.—The advertisement is a “cute” method of pushing the sale of a patented article. You may ascertain the cost by inquiring from a chemist in Waimate. Barty.—Owing to your age you will find some difficulty hi being employed in the engineering trade, and probably your best plan would be to apply for a position as an improver. Gas engineering is not a particular branch, but is included in general engineering. Under the Arbitration Act employers are not allowed to employ young men as apprentices at the age of 21, and if they do the wage must be that which a young man would receive after serving part of his time. Therp are two large engineering firms in Port Chalmers —namely, the Union Steam Ship Company and Messrs .Stevenson and Ccok.

Nedlet. — (l) The duties of “best man” at a wedding are to take charge of the ring, and accompany the bridegroom to the church. -He has also to present the clergyman with his fee, and the clerk and underlings with their douceurs. During the ceremony he stands on the bridegroom's right-hand side, but slightly back. The “best man,” in fact, makes all the bridegroom's arrangements, and his duties are not over until, at the breakfast table, he has duly acknowledged the toast of “The Bridesmaids.” (2) There are two Winston Churchills. One is an American. Eques. —Write to the Civil Service Commissioner, Wellington, and all information regarding the qualifications necessary for Rabbit and Noxious Weed Inspector will be given. The salary is about £IGO to start. Songster would like to know where he could obtain a copy of some verses, one of which reads; Shipmates, raise jue gently, For life is ebbing fast. I fear that I am dying. Life’s cable cut at last. A. H.—Without knowing the cause, it is impossible to say whether it is safe to retain the services of the individual. Y r our best course is to communicate with tho Health Department.

Farmer.— Blood in a- cow’s milk is not an indication of tuberculosis. Garget, or as it is sometimes called, “bloody milk,” may be due to improper treatment after calving, exposure to cold and wet, leaving a portion of milk undrawn in the teats, external injury, such as blows, and irregular hours of milking. In the case of young heifers, it is sometimes caused by the habit of lying in such a position as to 'crush the udder. In such a case, providing an ample bedding of straw will bring the trouble to an end. The usual course of treatment in other cases is by mild purgatives, hot water fomentations, and a thorough rubbing, three times a day, with olive oil, etc.; also milking three times a day. Your question suggests that the trouble is not new. If so, and you value yqur cow, it would be wise to consult a. veterinary expert; but if not prized, she might be dried off. and fattened for the butcher. See articles on garget in the issue before last. Your second question is replied to in the Legal Queries. Dunurb. —The area of,, the South Island is 37.456,000 acres, and that of Stewart Island 425,390 acres, or a total of 37,881,390 acres. Scotland an area of 10,455,788 acres. Shetland 362,615 acres, and Orkney 249,565 acres, or a total of 20,067.968 acres. Disgusted. —The judge, no doubt, acted to the best of his ability. Complaints concerning his decision should lie made to the committee of the society. A judge is not necessarily incompetent because his decisions do not meet with general approval.

C. E., Tuatapere, Southland. —Mr H. M. Davey. consulting engineer. Princes street, replies:—“Your way is quite practical and practicable, but I think I can perhaps devise a better way; we shall see. First, taking the way as you have it, you appear to think that there would foe.five tons strain on the screw; but, if so, you are wrong; there will be less even to start lifting with, and less and less as the load is lifted through the circle, till, if upright, there would be very little strain on the screw at all, merelv enough to steady the load. The amount of strain at any point of the lift, can roughly be calculated by finding how much you screw in and how much is lifted by that amount of screwing. Thus, in your sketch, as you have drawn it, I find that in pulling in Ift you got a bare 4in lift, so tliers would be about one-third of five tons at that point on the screw, with more strain if you lowered, and less if you raised the arm. The screw, being 10ft high, seems rather out of the way, though you might have an endless rope running on a grooved wheel on the epd of the screw. But why not have a chain instead of the screw, the said chain running over a sheave, and a pair of two-ton or threeton differential blocks to lift, from the said chain? Another way would lie to get a eet of self-sustaining blocks, capable of taking the five tons direct, which, 1 consider, might be the best way of all. for, taking the sketch as you have it, you cannot lift much, and then you bring the load on to the derrick arm, while in a direct lift from a Ibeam you could lift as much as you like, and take the cart away and back the other under it, when the load could bo placed exactly as required on the cart—better than the derrick, which pushes the load_ out further as it descends, and requires judgment as to the exact spot where the goods will land on. If you decide on either of these ways, and want more information, give particulars of the height required to lift, and the position of any beams or fixings, so that a sketch of the best way could be given to you. Re your questions;— (1) Such a screw can be obtained. It would need to be in a nut, having bearings, so that the screw could ‘give’ to the circle of the arm, or derrick. (2) Although a 2ft screw would do. it would be advisable to get it a little longer, say, one that has a range of at least 3ft, pr rather more, say, 1A diameter. '’Always remember that the finer the pitch the screw has the stronger it is, but the slower, while _ et coarse pitch that the lift is quicker, but harder. I mention this ’ as many " ask for a screw with ‘ a Jsrge thread when they really want one much finer and stronger/'