NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3196, 16 June 1915, Page 51

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Questions for reply in coming issue to be received not later than SATURDAY night. Questions will NOT be replied to through the post.

Fence. —In tlie third schedule of the Fencing Act various kinds of fences are described .as a “ sufficient fence.” The following is given as a “ sufficient ” wire fence: —“A substantial wire fence, having not less than seven wires tightly stretched, or six wires with top rail or barbed wire, with or without battens or lacing affixed to the wires between the posts or standards; the posts or standards to be of durable wood or iron, well and substantially erected, and not more than 9ft apart; the top wire not to be less than 3ft Din from the surface of the ground, and the'wires to be not lighter than No. 8 in steel or black or galvanised iron; the space between each of the three bottom wires or the bottom wire and the ground not to exceed Sin.” Farmer. —You do not say whether the property was leasehold or freehold, or whether stock, etc., were included. The Chamber of Commerce scale for the sale of freehold pu-operty is: Not exceeding or on the first £250, 5 per cent.; on excess over £250 and up to £ISOO, 2£ per cent.; on excess over £ISOO, 1J per cent. Interested. —So far as we are aware, the „ statistician has hot yet got to work analysing the composition of the Expeditionary Force. No. doubt the figures allowing the denominations to which our brave boys belong will be made known in due time.

G. T. P. —The population of Greater London was 7,251,358, according to the census of 1911, while that of Greater New York was estimated on January 1, 1914, at 5,476,966. Subscriber. —The best method of curing mutton hams is that known as “ dry salting.” The meat should be as cold as possible before cutting up. When. cut rub well with the following mixture;—Pulverise lib of saltpetre and mix it evenly in Blb of bag salt and -2lb of best fine salt. After rubbing lay on a sloping table to drain the blood. The legs should be laid in rows on the flat, and the flesh round the knuckle probed with a skewer. Cover the surface of the knuckle with the salt, and moisten it with a liquor made by boiling Jib saltpetre, Blb bag salt, 41b sugar, lib spice, and 11b cloves in a gallon of water for an hour, regularly skimming. Then add a quart of strong malt vinegar, .and boil for a quarter of an hour longer. When the first layer is treated in the manner explained, lay the next layer on top, and repeat the method. The legs should be turned each day, and the top of the stack put at the bottom alternately. At the end of a week they should be hung up to dry in a dry, airy room; the next day they should be washed in warm water and be hung up again to dry. When dry hang them in a properlyconstructed smoke-house, and smoke them for 12 hours with sawdust. Care must be taken not to have the smoke hot, or it will injure the meat. The hams may also be pickled in brine made as follows;—11b saltpetre, Blb bag salt, 2lb fine salt, lib £ugar, Jib spice, Jib cloves with every three gallons of water. Boil and skim for an hour. Place the legs in layers, the same as in the stack, in a square watertight tank or cistern, above ground, made either of wood or brick or cement. Have the liquor warm—not more than lOOdeg Fahr. —and pour it on the legs in sufficient quantity to cover the top layer to a depth of Sin. At the end of three days they may be taken cat and hung to dry, and smoked as explained. The pickle should be reboiled and skimmed before using on fresh meat of any kind. Back Blocks. —Deafness in one car would be ' sufficient to prevent a man otherwise fit to pass tho medical examination for recruits for tho Expeditionary Force. Ikc>uibee. — Earl Kitchener is still a bachelor. "

Amateur. —The skins of any small domestic animal may be cured by the following process: —Make a lather with soap and water, and when cool wash the skin thoroughly in this, and afterwards wash the soap out completely in cold water. Make a solution of alum and salt by diseolvlng lib "of each in a gallon of water and mixing, thus making two gallons. The skin is sometimes placed for a few

days in a mixture of bran and water, which slightly ferments. It is _ then stretched on a board and nailed along the edges, with the hair next the board. While thus arranged the fleshy side is daily, in the open air, washed or sponged with the solution of alum and salt until the curing process is complete. After some days, before the skin is dry, sprinkle on the flesh side loz each of finely-powdered alum and saltpetre, and rub in well, repeating the process in a day or two if the hair is not firm on the skin. When it is all right, add to some of the solution of alum and salt some wheaten flour and yolk of egg, until the whole is in a paste about as thick as honey. This paste is spread over the fleshy side, and allowed to remain about 24 hours, while being worked in occasionally. It softens the leather. Stretch the skin, and allow it to dry, and polish with pumice stone. Teacher. —There is no reduction in fares for a school teacher transferring from one district to another. Inquirer.—To get rid of the borer, paint the woodwork of the furniture affected by the pest with a solution of colocynth, or a preparation of quassia, to be obtained from a chemist. Apply the solution for a week or so, and the trouble will probably bo found at an end. If the borer should be in the upholstered part of tb© furniture, it would have to be repicked and restuffed. Another remedy is said to be to saturate the wood with benzoline and then expose the furniture to the open air until the smell has evaporated. IE benzoline is used, care must be taken that it is not applied near a fire or a light of any kind. Cousins. —The Century Dictionary defines cousins as the sons or daughters of an uncle or an aunt, or those related by descent in 'a diverging line from a known common ancestor. Thus the children of two brothers, no matter whether they marry sisters or two unrelated girls, aro cousins. £ X. Y., Invercargill.— Mr H. M. Davey, consulting engineer, replies; “It is not understood what you really ask for. Yoi! appear to suggest that you have seen particulars of a process of dressing wood by a sufficient pressure ,of water. I have not the slightest idea how this is effected, so would like to know what it was that you read or saw. Was it that wood was dressed by machinery driven by waterpower? If so, it is unlikely that you could drive the said machinery economically by water if you have no supply of water under pressure; but, as you may have some, you might say how much, and at what fall you could work it.” Capacity, Lochiel. — Mr 11. M. Davey, consulting engineer, Princes street, replies; “It is not quite understood what your exact meaning is in asking, ‘ What is the usage of the trade?’ But it will be best to take the usual 400 gallon tank, which is, or at least should be, 4ft cube; or, what - is the same thing, 64 cubic feet capacity. Now there are about Gi gallons of water to each cubic -foot, and so we have

64 x 6J, equal to 398 gallons—that is, of course, if- the tank measures 4ft in length, width, and depth at its inside measurement. A round tank measuring 4ft 6in in internal diameter holds 99J gallons per foot; so that if it were 6ft high it would hold very nearly 590 gallons. If, however, you have tanks and desire to know exactly what they hold, or if you have receptacles .such as cans, tins, jugs, etc., that you desire to know how much they contain, I can let you know a very easy way by which you can tell any vessel’s capacity. For the capacity of any tank you would have to state its shape, whether round or square, and give its inside measurements, and for smaller vessels that are portable you need not state anything, but merely ask the method of ascertaining the capacity, and it can be given.” J. M., Berwick.—Mr H. M. Davey, consulting engineer, replies : “ I understand that a volt taken by itself cannot be converted into horse-power, but that what is called a watt (which consists of 1 volt x 1 ampere) is the unit, and that multiplied by 746 is one British horse-power. Of course, I do not know, for you do not say, how you are going to drive the boat at, say, 12 knots per hour; but even if you point out the way you had thought of, I may say that no pipe that could possibly be placed in it would so drive any motor that the boat would go quicker, as the driving of anything would only decrease the speed, and the more so the bigger and more powerful the driven machinery. Boats have been driven by pumping water in at the bow, which water was passed out at the stern; but no great .speed was obtained ; and no great power could be obtained even if you could drive the, boat at 12 knots, which, of course, is possible in itself if sufficient power is applied. I am confirmed in this opinion by Mr M'Lintock, who has kindly .studied your letters, and who is in a isosition to speak with authority on this point.”

A. B. C. —You do not mention the conditions under which the bowling tournament was held. Was it stipulated that the winner should be the player with tho highest number of wins? Without a knowledge of the conditions it is impossible to give a reply.