NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3145, 24 June 1914, Page 51

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Questions for reply in coming issue to be received not later than SATUEDA Y night. Holmes. —The specimen you forwarded is a larva of CEccticus omnivorous, usually called the "case-moth.” It is very common in many localities on manuka, macrocarpa, etc. The species is remarkable in that it exhibits extreme sexual dimorphism. While the male insect is a thick-bodied, full-feathered, and vigorous flying moth, the female' is .a mere bag of eggs, and never leaves the case. The larvae are easily reared in a box with a glass front if feci with fresh sprays of either or both of the above-mentioned plants. Get some of the pupils to try this, and record the results. America. —(1) The United States Government parcel post system has been established so recently that full particulars are not available. So far as is’ known, the charge is about the same as our own, 6d in the pound. (2) The Hansa liners and various other steamers come to New Zealand from New York. It is doubtful if any local agent could give you quotations for small quantities of goods from New York to New Zealand, but you might try Messrs Bates, Sise, and Co., Dalgety and Co., ,or Swift and Co. Quotations are usually made only for merchandise in bulk. Amateur. —(1) A lawn tennis court is 73ft long. It is 27ft wide for the single game, and 38ft for the double game. The side lines of the single court are made by marking off 4ft Gin from each end of the base lines, and running lines parallel to the side lines of the double court, from one base lino to the other. (2) Singularly enough, the Dominion of New Zealand Bowling Association makes no provision as to the dimensions of a green, but it concerns itself with the size of a rink. As the jack must be thrown 66ft from the front of the mat, and the mat must be Gft from the ditch, and the place where the jack rests 6ft from the other ditch, it would appear that the minimum length must be at least 81ft. Some time ago it was agreed with the Australians that the length of greens on which inter-Stats and intercolonial matches .are played should be 110 ft. The usual length of a green is 105 ft, hut some are only 100 ft long. The width may he anything from 13ft upwards." If the number of players warrant going to the expense, it is desirable to have a green 100 ft or 105 ft square, as this permits of play taking place in four directions, and allows of the ends being saved to a great extent. Purekiriki.— When a cart is being drawn along the ground on two wheels the lop portion of the wheel is travellingfaster than the bottom. You can practically prove this by placing a cart-wheel against a wall, and marking on the wall the position of the spokes. Then move the wheel forward, and measure the distance the respective spokes have travelled. Settler's Interest wants to know:—“Why are persons allowed to catch opossums when they are restricted? It would be as well to take the. restriction off as to let two or three non-settlers in the Gatlins district have the run of the bush to catch opossums, while the settlers, who have the biggest right to them, are afraid to catch them, as they would be breaking the law ?” with the Acclimatisation Society or the police the poachers would be prosecuted. jfotti Secukdus. —We are indebted to Mr Robert Wales, patent agent, for the information that the name and address of the manufacturer of Hind’s post-hole digger is H. H. Hinds, 24 Young street, Sydney. Theophilus, Hastings.—The following recipes have been recommended for treating rabbitskins: —(1) Take Joz 'of common salt, and the same quantity of -alum. Bound the two well together; then rub into the akin. Sprinkle a little water over it; then roll up tightly. Let lie for three days, and then peg out to dry. When quite dry rub it well with the hands, when it will be come as white and boH as chamois leather.- (2) Treat repeatedly with a chrome liquor, which is

applied to the fleshy side of the skin only, and not allowed to come into contact vrith tho fur. The following formula is found to give good results: —Potassium bichromate, 3lb; hydrochloric acid, half a gallon; glucose, 111 bto 2lb; and water enough to make two gallons. When the skin has been completely impregnated with the liquor it may be dried, degreased, and washed. Skins so treated are said to be more pliable than those cured by other processes.

Gravel Carter, Merino Downs.—Mr H. M. Davey, consulting engineer, Princes etreet, replies:—“Probably the best way to answer you is to give you the way to calculate these sort of things for yourself, though that does not mean that you are not to ask again, by any manner of means: ft. in. 4 6 length. 3 10 width 0 5 3 4 1 6 12 o . 17 3 . . , 1 3 depth 0 13 7 1 17 3 24 51 or, say, nearly 24J cnbic feet. To show yon how these figures are arrived at you multiply the inches together first—thus 10 by 6 equals 60, but you have to divide this by 12, and so get 5. Then multiply across 10 by 4 equals 40, and this, divded by 12, is equal to 3ft‘4in. Now across again the other way, when 3 by 6 is equal to 18, and divided by 12 equals Ift 6in. Finally 3 by 4 is equal to 12, and as these are both feet you do not divide, so 12 is right. You would then add these figures up and multiply by the third dimension, which is done as above. So you will see taht it is not a question as to how many yards you get, for you do not get even one cubic yard, as a yard is 27 cubic feet, and you only get barely 24J cubic feet in all. To have a cubic yard you would have to pile up the load considerably in the centre, for the above measurements merely suppose that the load is level, but up to the very top of the cart. Your statement was about the clearest I have had for some time, so there could be no mistake about the matter. You stated all the information needed and no more.” ' •

J. F. B.—You will find a reply in the Horti- . cultural Notes, on another page. T. G., Oturehua.—Mr H. M. Davey replies: Thanks for your letter and the sketch that is with it. You will see that, without the information in the present letter, I might have led you wrong. If you still wish, to make the wall 6in thick, you will have to get upright boards, either tongued and grooved (which are .easier to arrange, as they keep better in their places), or else ordinary narrow boards from 4in to 6in wide. These may either be made up in segments with either hoop iron,, or, what is better, wood like the segments of a wheel. The outei- circle should have these segments on the outside and the inner circle should have the segments on the inside, so as to leave the inside clear, or else you can erect iho walls, board by board, all round, with or without them as you like. In any case, and however you do the boarding, get several pieces of wood cut to Gin wide. _ thus to the sweeps of the cuter and fj inner circles to form distance pieces, M and these should have a strong cord at.each end to pull them up or out as needed when the boards are proper ly set, for, otherwise, yon will be liable to get a wall of all sorts of thicknesses, as the boards may be in, or too much out, but these templets, as they are .called, will—or can —show you at a glance how the frames are; and as well as keeping them to the proper distance apart, they keep them to the right circle as well. It is better to have some boards here and there pointed, and drive them into the ground to steady the. others. There will be a reply to another, who also wants a circular tank, in this issue; and, as his is done with only one row of boarding instead of two, and the walls are considerably thinner, you may like to try it that way, using very strong fencing wire! black, if you can get it, is to be preferred,' as it is stronger than galvanised of the same gnage; but either would do, only get it, if you do use it, as strong as you reasonably can. Supposing it might help you, I am giving you the approximate number of gallons, circular pipes or tanks hold per foot of height; so you can tell how much yon would need when you know the height of liquid 4ft Gin—loo' gallons per foot of height. sft —122 gallons per foot of height. 6ft —I7G gallons per foot of height. 7ft —2lO gallons per foot of height. Bft —3ll gallons per foot of height. If you need other diameters they can be supplied. You might say which form of tank you adopt, or if yon adopt partly one and partly the other. Also how you get on when finished. Of course, you will have to properly cement-plaster the inside of the tank and bottom, if made the above way, while the other way, this is done as you go on. I might add that you would do well to have wires (if yon adopt the double wall) from boarding to boarding, passed through gimlet holes and secured both ends, to keep the outer and inner rows of boards from spreading. You would need several dozens of these; and at the top nail strips across for the same purpose, every few feet apart. Of course, you cut out places for your other erections as per the sketch sent, in the outer boarding and make the boxes for the other concrete which had better all be made up together, so .as to be as one block when dry.

R. C. 8., near Oamaru.—Mr H. M. Davey, consulting engineer, replies:—Probably one of the beat, and .at the same time the cheapest, forms of water-tanks, when built above ground, but on the said ground, is constructed as follows:—To hold the quantity you require a tank of about 2Sft circumference and 6ft 3in high, outside measurement, would do. Now, the best boards to use are flooring boards, grooved and tongued boards 4in by lin, .and second quality would do, or plain 4in by lin rough boards would do, only, as the grooves and tongues make the work of construction easier, it is probable that they would be the best in the end to use, saving time and labour. Now, decide on the number of boards in a segment; there can be any convenient number, but we may fix it .at six boards, or say 2ft segments. Get from the mill at least 26 pieces about IJin thick by liin thick, sawn to a segment of a circle or .slightly over 4ft i6in radius. These would resemble the segments of an ordinary cart wheel, and are nailed to the six boards about, say, Ift from the top and the same distance from the bottom. These segments would be about, say, 2ft 6in long for overlapping at one side of the boards to connect to the next lot. Now for the boards. They should be cut as follow:—Of each six cut four of them 6ft 6in long, and the othertwo in each six a few indies longer, and

ponted (if or where it is possible to-drive them into the ground a little for steadying-). Now, take all the boards and make a line, say, Ift from the top, and also about Ift from the bottom, across one face of each board, but taking care that the lines are in the same place on all boards. Now nail up segments, commencing with one short board and then one long and then two short and one long, and finally one short one, and as the segments are 6in longer than the widtli of the eight boards, they can stand over, either both at one side or, perhaps preferably, the lower one over one side and the upper one over the other side; only, When one is done, all must be to match, taking oare that every alternate lot of eight boards have their segments above the marked lines and every other set have them below, so that the projecting ends do not interfere with each other. Now, if each segment is 2ft wide, there would be 14 in all to make the 28ft circumference, or say 84 boards in all if each board is 4in wide.

Now, mark the radius of the segments on the ground and erect them one by one, driving the pointed ends into the ground where possible, and securing the segments together by the projecting ends, which, it will be observed, reach to the second board in each case. Where they cannot be driven into the ground they would have to be strutted and stayed in position. When all are in place you should have a circle of timber 6ft Gin high and 28ft in circumference. Now, you can further strengthen this with some bands of wire or hoop iron, and I may say that where wood segments are not to be procured hoop-iron would do instead, only the wooden segments keep each set to the

circle, and hoop-iron would take a lot more work in making the circle at all true, as , the hoop-iron would bend all ways. Now, you get some coils of strong fencing

wire and a large number of small bits of timber about, say, 1m long (or shorter) and gin - wide, and of a thickness to fit in the staples used. These are placed after the wire between the said wire and the boarding on the inside of the- circle, beginning at the ground and winding regularly up to the top, say 2in or Sin higher at each round, so that the wire gives you the appearance of an- internal screw-thread of, say, 2in pitch stapled at a distance of about gin from tbe wooden wall, and so it would bo that much buried in the concrete, when that was added. As each circle rises, say, 2in there would be six circles, each nearly 28ft long, to the foot; and as the tank would be 6ft or nearly, perhaps, Gft Gin, high, you would need about, say, 1100 ft of wire for this part of the job. Joint and bend over at every joint, so that in reality it is equal to a continuous band from bottom to top, and finish with a complete circle extra at the top for extra strength. Now, mix extra good concrete of coarse sand and cement in about the proportion of one of cement to two or two -and a-h-alf of the sand, and use as little water as possible, so as to make a cement that will stand, say. 2-in to Sin high without falling down. Make a wall of about that height all round, being, of course, in the centre of the tankframe all the time, and when you have got round, the cement should be strong enough to stand another layer, and so on to the top. A smooth board or wooden trowel, cut to the segment, and anything

from Ift or more long and about Bin wide—or, better, two or three of different sizes are great helps in this work; , but it must be steel-trowelled well, as the cement is able to stand it, as that makes it more tight—that is, finish with a steel trowel. Any cement dropped goes to make the floor, and can be levelled or spread from time to time, as convenient. The floor is of same material, perhaps not as/strong in cement; Sin to SJin or 4in thick is enough at the bottom for thickness, and if the work is done by an experienced plasterer it might even bo thinner. As you get up the work may be thinner—to, say, 2in at the top,—and if a rim can be formed outside by using the ends of the boards as a support so much the better. Any outlet pipe or sludge pipe, etc., should be fixed in position before starting to put in the concrete, and the bottom may be dished to one of these as desired, for entirely emptying the tank for cleaning, etc. At the finish the boards may bo removed, or they may be left as desired. The outside can be cemented for a bettor finish if preferred, or left, as thought best under the circumstances. The point is, that there is a little, and that little concrete is of good quality, the wire binding the whole and only the outer frame necessary, thus dispensing with the usual two frames between which a far thicker mass of concrete is necessary, which has to be cemented afterwards. Also, the inside can be finished as you go along’ and all weak places seen and attended to while the work is still “green.” If you make a tank this way it would be nice of you to say if you succeeded in making it all right. In case you preferred to coat the inside with anything when quite dry, tar would be the best, as it is not injurious, as paint would be, if the water were used for drinking purposes. Have the staples of light make, and only drive them as little as possible, as long as they hold; for if the wire is in coils and not bent about, it will easily assume the larger diameter of the tank, and a very little will hold it in position; but ,a few longer ones would be of advantage to be used as occasion demands, as if you are away from -stores it is not an easy matter to have to get what you have forgotten. A strong wireclipping pliers will cut the ends and turn the wire for the joints required. I hope you will under stand this. If any point is not quite understood, writs and ask about it. Mr EL M. Davey writes:—“'Would Mr Georgeison, lately living near the Railway Workshops, call. The letter he asked for has been

returned marked as not to be found tlrere.” J. W. S. —We do not think you could get glass models made in New Zealand. Livingstone asks for information as to tire price of bread delivered during the past six years—from 1903 to the present time? Mr Sydney T. Mir-ams, secretary of the Dunedin Master Bakers’ Union, has kindly supplied the information as follows : —March 16, 1908,

to March 29., 1903, 7d; March 30.1908, to Juno

7, 1903. Gd ; June 8, 1908, to April 4,1909, 6Jd ; April 5,1909, to April 18, 1909,7 d, April 19, 1909, to May 24, 1909,7 Ad; May 25, 1909, to June 5, 1910, 7d; June 6, 1910, to December 15, 1912, 61d; December 16, 1912, to April 19’ ISI4, 7d; April 20, 1914, and as at present, 74d. The above prices are not cash delivered.

E. H. D.—lf you had given the names of the editor and publishers, it might have been possible to give further information. As it ’ is, Mr H. H. Driver, when consulted, said' he had no. record of an edition of the works of Burns published in 1807. As a matter of fact, no edition of Burns’s works, except the first, has any special value.

PuEi.Li. —We .suggest you consult the clerk of the court, who nets as pension officer. It is rarely that all the facts are disclosed on a query, and a reply that can be depended upon is, therefore, hardly possible. Then a magistrate has considerable discretionary power. The clerk of the court will have all

the facts before him, and will be able to advise as to the best course to adopt.