NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3348, 15 May 1918, Page 35

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Question* tar rvpty la ooi»lnjj S«aise te N P»m4t*4 sit UUr than SATURDAY ni c !it. Qtsasiisßs trill KOT b* ropliod to ihrongk *ha post

Anxiotjs Inquires.—(l) The totalisator is an adaptation of the Pari-mutuel, a system of backing horsee'ln use in France long before \ the' totalisator \vas introduced. The totalisa'tor was firsts; used in' the Dominion on Deoernber ' I,' 1879, and about the same date it was' Heed in Auckland' and Christchurch. (2) The history of the invention ' of the' milk' separator is lengthy and in- " teresting. Centrifugal force was known and. made -use of for some "purposes in China in the very early \ age 3. From a "work published by the company now owning the Alpha-Laval patents, it appeai3 that Professor C. J. Fachs, of Karlsruhe, made a small cream-testing centrifugal machine in 1859. But it was primitive, and neither suited nor intended for practical purposes'. Engineer Lefeld, who was present at the experiment, improved on it, and constructed a machine that skimmed about 12 litres (1.750 pt.) in half an uour in 1812. In 1874 a French company pat-anted a machine for clarifying wine that could have been adapted for separating milk, but no one in France thought of iising it for that purpose. Lefeld continued his experiments, and constructed aVnachine in 1875 and another in 1876, but from a number of causes neither was capable of ; being an economic success. In 1877 De • Laval, a Swedish engineer, interested in dairying, took part in a discussion, during which a Mr Legergen described Lefeld's machine. De Laval said centrifugal force worked the same in Sweden as in Germany, and next morning he was able to prove that milk and cream could bo separated. Legergen offered to buy Do Laval's ■ machine, but the latter considered it his duty to make the first offer to Lefeld, since he. had got the idea from ci description of Lefeld's machine. He actually offered his idea to Lefeld at a small price, ' allowing Lefeld to tako oixt a patent in his own name. Negotiations followed, but. ' things hung- fire, and De Laval, tired at length, intimated that if Lefeld would not now decide, he would take out a patent .himself. Receiving no reply, he- .patented his. invention. He continued experimenting until his funds were exhausted, and also some rnoney which he borrowed from . a relative. He . completed a machine in 1878, which the manager of a gasworks offered • to purchase for separating ammonia from other products. But Oscar Lamm, jun., bsoaane interested, and through his father funds were forthcoming. But the struggle was long and arduous. De Laval continued to improve his machine, but could get no sale for the small output, and funds were exhausted. Further financial assistance was obtained, and by perseverance 1,164 separators were sold in the first four years. In 1883, Euro- - .pean patents having been obtained, the Separator Company was formed, and has . proved a success. Housewife. —A good tallow for cand.les consists of about one-third beef and twothirds mutton : suet. The tallow may be hardened by gently boiling it in a suitable pan with a little beeswax one or two hours a day for two days, adding weak lye and skimming often. Cut the tallow out of the pot when cold, and scrape off the underneath soft portion, adding fresh weak lye before the second boiling. The third day simmer the tallow in water containing lib of alum and lib of saltpetre for every 30lb of tallow, skimming the tallow es . before. When cold the tallow can bo cut out of the water for use. The candles are cast in pewter moulds, highly polished ■ on the inside. To harden the candlea use lib of alum to every 6lb of tallow. Dis- ■ solve the alum, in water, then put it into the tallow, and- stir well until both are mixed together, and then pour into the - moulds.

M. B. writes:—"We have c hot-water tap in the front of tho range which connects with the hot-water system. Is it advisable to .use this water for cooking- purposes — for making tea, cooking, vegetables/ etc.? It. has the advantage of always being hot, and thus comes to the boil quickly. On the other hand, it may not be as pure and fresh as oold water drawn from tho tap." We consulted Messrs Shaeklock and Co., who advise that it is very un-

usual to havo a. tap in front of a range with a high-pressure boiler. There appears to bo no reason why the water should not bo used, as it is presumedly the same Water as is used throughout. If not connected with the circulator, only a small quantity

of hot water can be drawn at a time, as

the capacity is small. Mcna The New Zealand University Calen dar can bo obtained from A. Sligo, book

seller, George street, for Is 3d posted. Inquirer.—You would bo well advised to consult an export in'gymnatsics and • physical culture. You could, of course, consult books, no doubt procurable at the chief booksellers, by authorities such as Mueller, Sandow, and others. Scotchman.—Mr • Massey became Prime

Minister of New Zealand in June, 1912. Mik'aro.—Mrs W. H. S. Roberts, North road, Oama.ru, is the address of the late Mr Roberts's widow.

M. W— "What will stop milk running from a- cow's teat? Part of the teat has'been blown away by a pea rifle." You can do nothing that will be of any use in stopping milk dripping. The muscle (sphincter) at the end of the teat has been evidently destroyed, and no practical remedial measures are possible.

M. O. —If you call on the editor you may look through a number of recipes, one of which might suit you.

J. iA. W., Dargaville.—Mr H. M. Davey, coneiuMng engineer, Princes street, replies: " It seems eomewhat curious that if, as you say, you had a turbine of the power you name, that anyone should advise you to buy a steam engine of the power you state, which, unless some figures ere wrong, should not give you' more power than the turbine you had in use already, if as much. There must have been special circumstances of which I am unaware for him to do so. When I wrote the above I had not come to the part of your letter which said that the turbine was the stronger, but ■I judged that it must be; and, if eo, then it must have bean far stronger than the 5 h.p. engine you mentioned in your letter. It is news to me that a 5 h.p. engine could be as strong as your turbine. Providing that the turbine is of sufficient capacity to take the extra water, then twice the water

gives twice the power, and, of course, half as much again of water gives- half as much again of power, and so on. more or less. A race sft x 3ft, if the fall ia only 4ft to a mile, should give you .30 to 31 Government heads of water, or, if at a grade of 7ft to a- mile, should give you 40 heads of water. You. or some of your men must know if the turbine appears to be taking as much water as it is able to do; but from the size you give of your inlet pipe I fancy it will take more water than it is taking, " and, if so, you will certainly get the additional power as above stated. If I am' right in supposing that you have only 17ft of head of water on the turbine, then it should be as good, or better than, any other motor, as "a pelton wheel needs more head to develop its bestpower, and so probably would be- no. better, if quite as good, as your turbine, if, as before, the turbine will take the additional water. Do I understand you that the outlet pipes from the turbine—■

that .is,., the waste or tail-w ater—is so high that the pipes are immersed 18in ? If , so, that is a loss of. power. Could you not deepen or broaden the tail-race so as to get rid of that fault?- If so,' do it. I do not know whether the repairs to the turbine were well done, or . unskilfully done, so cannot say if there is or is not any fault there. If _all else is right, would it be possible to got a duplicate part if the patches were crude ? Did you not suggest that you could get a greater fall? Well, if the tiubine does not seem able to take much more water, the extra power could be obtained by a greater fall, for a greater fall is equivalent to more water, inasmuch as twice the fall twice the power, end so on, just as with more water. As you know to your cost, the advantage of power, is greater with water than with steam, as it is continuous, and the fuel bill is generally less, or nil, depending on whether you pay for the water by measure or not. In any case, write again, either asking more questions or saying how you get on.. You say nothing about the fluming or dam you spoke about. Do you still need designs, or are you not needing th-sm now? I see by your sketch that two pipes seam to go into the creek. Could they not bo cut- off above the level of the water if you could not lower the .water in the creek? But lowering the water would be the better if it could ho done, as the suction downwards by the water in the pipes help a little." T. S., Limehills —Mr H. M. Davey replies: " The engineering manager, who appears to be the only one who is able to give you the reply you need, in view of the fact that it is impossible to do so without more information than you have given, unless with a full knowledge of the engines themselves, which has been delayed, and is now expected here on Wednesday; but the information will be sent as soon as possible." A.8.A., Southland, wishes for a cure for a horse affected with itch, and whether to treat the animal internally or outwardly.—No doubt the itching is due to mango mites. Dress the parts with kerosene emulsion, rubbing the mixture well into the hair with a stiff brush. You might also syringe his favourite rubbing posts with some strong sheep-dip. To make the emulsion, tako lib of softsoup and add to it a gallon of soft water, and heat over a slow fire till the soap is dissolved. Then remove from fire and add half to three-quarters of a pint of kerosene ; stir _ until the oil, mixe3 with the soap solution, and is of a creamy consistency. Nap.—(l)' Boiled linseed oil s is invariably used ■in making material waterporof. (2) It is not compulsory to' play the highest card first, but as- a general rule it is considered the best course to adopt.