NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3315, 26 September 1917, Page 35

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Que»tleni for reply in cominf; Issue to be reMired not l«t*r than SATURDAY night. Question* -trill NOT b* replied to througl. the poet.

Paretai.—The fragment of metal you sent for identification was submitted to Professor Park, who has reported that it is platinum, the present value of which is about £1 10s per ounce. • ;■-.. Argument —All Bills must be passed by both Houses of Parliament. Bills introduced in the Legislative Council must also come before the House of Representatives. All money Bills—that.' is, measures for the raising or expending of money—must be introduced- and pass the House of Representatives before going to the Council, As most measures nowadays provide for the expenditure of money,, thai explains why the Council has little work ■ before it until well on in the session, when it deals with measures passed by the other chamber. Inquirer No. 1. —In any communication to Captain Free concerning the the writer must sign his full name. This is treated as confidential. Xex writes: —" (1) What are the pay and allowances to a First Division man with wife and one child? (2i Ir extra pay is granted to Second Division men with wife and one child, would the advanced rate be applied to similarly-placed First Division men? (3) Have you any idea when the final ballot- (First Division) will be taken, and when the said men'will be required to go to camp ? (4) Is a First Division man. given the privilege of entering any special branch of service—say, as artillery or Signal Corps—best suited to his experience?"-——(D The pay of a First Division man with wife and one child is 5s per day for the soldier. Is per day allowance for the wife, and 9d per day for each child. (2) The Hon. James Allen answered this question, in the House the other day. He said that there was no proposal to make concessions to the Second Division men only, but to all New Zealand soldiers. No difference would be made between the dependents of Second Division men and those of married men already in the army. He further stated t'hat the concession could not be made retrospective. A date would be fixed after which the new rates would be payable. (3) A warrant calling up the balance of the First Division will be issued on Monday, October 1. The men will go into camp a month or five weeks later. (4) If a reservist expresses preference for a. certain branch of the service, his wishes are met by the military authorities as far us it is possible; but the whole system is subject to the military requirements. Otlene. —Oilene is a byrproduct of tallow, the residue really of soap and candle manufacturing, and is used largely for woollen manufacturers. It is not advisable to use it as a lubricant • nor is it used for mixing pain!/. Inquirer No. 2. —Yes; a carpenter when working in the country is paid the award rate, and in addition is entitled to board and lodging. The new award provides for the paymenf of Is 6d per hour in the city, and for work in the country an additional 8s 4d per day for six days a week; or, in lieu thereof, the employer may provide board and lodging. Inquirer No. 3.—The following are the names of firms in Duriedin who undertake that class of work: —Messrs Hogg and Co., H. V. Haddock, and M'Callum and . Co. Back-blocks. —The reason for pianoforte keys sticking can usually be traced to dampness causing the woodwork to- swell and tighten round the balance pin on which the key works. This can be remedied by removing the key and easing the hole in the centre of same. To k«ep the key in position there is also another pin in the front of the kej'board, and very often the leather or cloth with which this hoi? is clothed becomes swollen, and bites the guiding pin. This can be eased with a pair of flat-nosed pliers or any blunt instrument, care being taken that the opening is not made too large. Sometirr.es the trouble complained of is brought about by the hammers hanging on the centre pin which holds them in position. This can be rectified in many cases by placing the finger on the top of the hammer and moving same backwards and forwards. To keep the piano in good order it is necessary that it should be placed in a room pi even temperature, and should not be

subjected io extreme heat, cold, or draught. It should never stand between an open window and a door, as this will most assuredly set up the trouble complained of. On a wet or damp day the windows in the room should be: kept closed.

Waiponumatj.—To make a good fruit salt take the following ingredients:—Quarter pound of tartaric salt, Jib carbonate of soda, Jib Epsom salts, Jib citrate of magnesia, Jib of cream of tartar, Jib fine castor sugar. Mix thoroughly and keep m an airtight receptacle. I». D,. S—Your question is not very clear. What sort of a club do you propose? In any event you begin by convening a meeting of those interested, at which, of course, it is decided to form the club. Later various office-bearers and committees are elected to carry out the club's functions. How to keep up a club? That entirely depends upon the members and upon the Committee of Managament. If the members are interested and the Committee of Management is a good one, the olub should be kept going and made selfsupporting. Dayman.—As a rule the best man at a wedding dees not get a chance of responding " for himself," as nobody proposes his health. The bridegroom, in replying for himself and the bride, generally ■ proposes " The Bridesmaids," and it is for these that the best man responds. He could begin his remarks by saying that he does not see why he should be asked to perform such a duty, as ladies are generally understood to ba pretty good at talking themselves; but he will carry out his task to the best of his ability. The main part of his remarks must depend on circumstances. There may bo points in the bridegroom's speech to which he could refer, or local allusions to be made; but he should at any rate say something in praise of the bridesmaids—their appearance, their dresses, and the manner in which they have rallied round the bride on such a trying though auspicious occasion, and he might close by prophesying that it will not be long before some, or all of them, will h-» found following in the footsteps of the bride.

Country "Worker. —The price for knitting coats runs from about 8s SI for n child's coat to 25s or 30s for a eroWn-un person's. Something depends on the quality of the knitting; but the usual rule for any knitted goods is to charge for the work a • little more than double the price of the wool; so you can tell from the quantity of wool you use how much to charge.

Electric, Gecnmoie.—Mr fl". M. DaVey. consulting engineer, Princes street, replies: " You have a splendid fall of from 75ft to 80ft vertical; but it is not quite clear as to what water you have. You say enough to fill a 3in pipe; but that is very vague. Does it continue to keep a Sin pir>e full when that pipe is nearly vertical ? If so, it is known what you mean, for otherwise, as you must knew, a 3in (or any other siz9 of pine) delivers water exactly as to how it is placed—the most vertical, up to none when pointed sufucientlv upwards. If. therefore, your pipe is ns I have supposed, it will deliver abon.it 200 gallons per minute, and give you over 6 brake h.p.. which should be sufficient '.. for vour" needs,; so if vou want more information give th-P following:—The distance from where the pipe would come to and where the motor -presumably would be placed—to the place or house "to be lighted. (2} The number of lyrhts. (3) Then the distance from both these rilaces to .the machine shed. You say +h? ftream is about 15 chains from the house, but thr> dynamo rnie-ht be nearer or further. Which is i+? There is one- obvious wav of controlling, as thev control +he distant signals on a railway, with a wire rope to pull one way and. a, weight to operate ih" other way when the tension is taken off the wire, which is worked by a lever." Water, TiWurau.—Mr IT. M. Da'vey, nonsuit ing engineer, replies-—" No. possible box placed as you suggest. 12,ft long, can .nossiblv o-ive you more than 5.16, or a lit+lo. over slb, pressure per square inHi.. To fret the pressure von want, you have to have the STlpp.lv about 228 ft to 230 ft above yonr niotor. p. mav b*. down a mountainside or vortical—that does not matter: hxiK the above- measurement must bo a vertical. like thai of your sketch .< Write again."

The Rabbit Pest.—A correspondent write* concerning the rabbit nuisance:—"T had several thousands of acres of aqrricul 4 ural land badly overrun with rabbits. From my knowlndge of rabbits as a bov an idea occurred to mn. and to see if there was anything in it I asked one of the trapnerp to keen a tally of the- number of does and bucks he got for the next two weeks. Just as I expected—the bucks were over 80 per cent. Now. anyone who has kept rabbits will know that the bucks had to be separated from the does when thev came near the time of having youn<*. If this was not done the bucks would ' oat all, or nearly all. the young rabbits. You will thus see that the fevtei- the bucks the , greater the increase of the pest. The reason why so large a percentage caught in traps n>re bucks is that the bucks are always on the lookout for burrows containing young, and when they see ground that has been lately moved ihey scrape it to find out, and get caught. I have seen trappers carrying does dropping a little of their water on the covering of the traps. As one buck is sufficient for scores of does, there is no fear of any scarcity of bucks by trapping; and so the increase of ..the oest goes merrily on. On the other hand, doss in spring, being mostly in young, are after feed, and do not run ihe risk of being caught. In Ota go and Southland the under-runners (burrows) are so numerous that rabbit-oroof wire netting is practically useless. If poison is properlv made and properlv laid in winter and early -spring, and this is followed by digding out tho burrows and using the new wire traps, I do not think the rabbits will do the farmers mi.ch damage." While our views are not in accord with those of our correspondent on som« points, it would be interesting to obtain the opinions of some practical men in rabbit-infested districts as to their views, and we invite correspondence on the subject.

Eileen.—Promising, but some-.vhat balo-n publication standard.