NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3336, 20 February 1918, Page 35

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Qaeitlani fcir reply Jn coming Uaue to be reMi T «a not later th«n SATU&DAY »iclit. Q«*ation» will 2*OT be replied to throng*, the poet. Inquirer, Pembroke.—A eeptio tank rot less than 4ft square shWM meet your requirerhents. The dividing wall would be from 2ft to 2ft 6in high. The inlet-drain, 4m in diameter, should enter the tank as near the top as possible, and continue down to within a fo6t of the bottom The outlet opening for the efficient discharge should be placed 3ft from the bottom of the tank, and the pipe (4in in diameter) attached thereto carried vertically upwards for Bin The outlet drain should then be laid in the Usual manner. By this means two objects 1 are obtained—first, trapping out the air; second, avoiding the disturbance of the upper part of the contents of the tank where the work of the microorganisms is proceeding. The water from the kitchen sink and the wash-house should not he admitted, as it would certain y interfere with the efficiency of the tank. Presumably you know the work that goes on. The micro-organisms in the tank convert the material into an innocifous fluid, which on discharge, except for its darkish colour, is practically fit for drmkmg so far as taste or smell is concerned. Mother.—No steps that you can take can bring about any change in the allotment money. The change must be made at the request of your son, the allotee. The best thing you can do probably is to bank the money, so that he will have a little nest egg when he returns. Experience has shown that the amount retained is enough for actual requirements. Ignorant.—(l) To make barley sugar: Two pounds loaf sugar, on-i pint water, halfteaspoon lemonjuice, a pinch of cream of tartar, a, few drops of essence of lemon, saffron colouring. Dissolve the sugar in the water, and "boil to the "small ball" degree (237 deg F.). To test this, if you have no sugar thermometer, dip the forefinger into a basin of cold water; then dip it into the sugar, and again quickly into the water. When the sugar can be rolled between the thumb and forefinger into a small ball it has reached the stage known by that name). Add the lemonjuice and lemon essence, and boil to the '•large crack" (312 deg F. Dip the forefinger into cold water, the boiling sugar, unci cold water again, as before. If the . sugar breaks short and brittle an-.l does not stick to the teeth when bitte.i it is boiled to the large crack). Add a few drops of the colouring, turn on to an oiled . slab, and when cool cut into narrow strips, twist into a spiral form, and when perfectly cold store in air-tight ting. (2) Little is known locally about trench fever. (R) Brockcnhurst is in the New Forest division of Hampshire, nine and a-half miles from Southampton, on the London and South-western railway. Thtrtt Years' Subscriber. —There arc various ways of preserving tomatoes, in bottles, two good ways being as follow:—Method: (11 Dip the tomatoes into boiling water ioi a minute or two eo that they will peel easily. Then pu< them screwtop bottles. Screw the tops on loosely without the rubber rings, which would perish with the heat, and put them in n warm oven until all the tomatoes have sunk to the bottom of the bottles, instead of floating in the juice. Then take out the bottles, and when cool enough to handle put on the rings, and screw down tightly. Method 2: For this method the tomatoes arc not cooked at all. Choose firm, sound ones, wipe them clean, putthem into very dry, clean bottles, and cover with equal proportion of vinegar find water which have been boiled together for five minutes, strained, and allowed to

cool. Add one or two olives, with the flowers broken off, and a sprinkle of sugar to each bottle, and screw down well. Controversy.—The imports of Belgium in 1913 were £183,345,000, and the exports £143,073,000. The imports for home consumption in 1912 were 4,958,000,000 francs; the exports of Belgian origin, 3,951,000,000 francs; in transit, 2,437,000,000 francs. Belgium imported wheat, barley, and maize, but also exported these food products, but in smaller quantities than the exports. The total imports into the United Kingdom from Belgium in 1913 were valued at £23,885,000, and the total exports from the United Kingdom to Belgium at £13,263,000. J. A. Y.—(l) It is not necessary to obtain a permit from the Governor to fly the Union Jack at half-mast as a mark of respect when a soldier is killed in action. (2) Under the modified compulsory service scheme brought, into operation in England, Scotland, and Wales the age for service is between 18 and 41 years. So far the actual strength of the British armies in each theatre of war has never been officially disclosed. The number varies from time to time. All that is definitely known is the statement made by Sir A. Geddes in introducing the - Manpower Bill that Britain had raised an army of 7,500,000 men. Reader.—The general rule in the case of pedestrians is the reverse of the rule for motor cars and vehicles. Pedestrians in passing each other should ' keep to the right." In the town and cities of the Dominion the rule, unfortunately, is more honoured in the breach than in its observance, to the general discomfort of pedestrians. Then it is not uncommon to see parties of four or five take up the whole footpath, just as if they were ;'the only persons who had the right to use it. J. J., Waimate. —As you have not indicated the nature of the material, whether calico, canvas, bagging, etc., it is difficult to give a suitable recipe-. A cheap and simple process for water-proofing -canvas is as follows :—Softsoap is dissolved in hot water and a- solution of iron sulphate added. The sulphuric acid combines with the potash of the soap, and the iron oxide is precipitated with the fatty acid as insoluble iron soap. This is washed' and dried and mixed with linseed oil, and then appHed. The soap prevents the oil from getting hard and cracking, and at' the same time water has no effect on it. M. If.. Green Valley.—We are unable to supply any information concerning the general you refer to. Reference to the Army List at the local Office not giving the particulars, we can only eugg3st that you communicate with the War nice or with the general himself. Southland asks how long does it take to ripen onion seed? The bulbs were planted about six months ago, and are now in flower. " Agricola " replies : " The time depends entirely on the weather, but soon now you should be able to make ready for harvesting the plants." F'ABMEB, Palnierston.—The weeds, pennyroyal and ragwort, may well be carried by stock under certain conditions. Most annual plants are propagated from seed only, .and if cut before ripe a second crop is prevented from growing. Many seeds remain in the ground unchanged for a long time. After the crop is cut, if the land is scarified and the seeds encouraged to germinate, and then, ploughed under before flowering, good results may be attained. Blackberry can be grubbed out or hauled out with horse and chains, or burnt, or poisoned and burnt. Stock must be kept away from the bushes if poison is used. Bunny, Ratanui, aska if arsenic will do instead of strychnine in order to poison as it is impossible, he alleges, to obtain an ounce in the Dominion er from any chemist. Agricola" replies: '.'Yes; but there is bMII some strychnine left. Wilkinson and Son, Princes street, Dunedin, cm supply all you require at 12s 6d an ounce." Perplexed, Limehills, emeries as follows- " Suppose I take portion of cream and weighed it before churning, and weighed the resulting butter, (1) would that give an approximate- . idea of the test of the bulk cream? and (2) instances 101 b cream making 61b. butter Dees that equal about a i 50 per cent, test?" "Agricola" replies : " (1) No. It is too vague. It is butter-fat the test records, while butter might vary considerably in content, depending on how made. (2) It indicates, roughly, that 1001 b cream will make about GO per cent, of butter." E. H. M.—lf you write to the_ Otago Women's Patriotic Association, Early Settlers' Hall, Dunedin, they will supply you with names of friendless soldiers, or let you know' how to address your letters so as to reach them. Central, Alexandra, writes to say that his horse sits back in the breeching, holds her head down when being harnessed. Eats fairly well, suffers from lampas a bit, has had them pricked several times. What shall he do in order to finish the horse's education? L>et the animal run out for a fortnight in a good grass paddock and have a spell. Then the lampas will have probably gone for good. Harness as usual, and drive off. Should tbe animal again adopt the artistic pose, "straighten" her up. It seems a, matter of educating the mare, once she is in health, in the way she should stand, etc. Farm Hand.—Kindly forward your address, as a correspondent desires to communicate with you concerning the Cape of Good Hope stamps.