NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3352, 12 June 1918, Page 35

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Questions for reply in coming issue to be received not later than SATURDAY night. Questions will NOT be'■Jfplied to through the post. \r "''..,

Reu. —The minim-urn. age of aii applicant for entry in the" Government training- ship is fixed at 13. J years and the maximum at 14& years, but those limits may be varied at" the discretion of the Minister. Application must be made by the parent or guardian. Applications should be sent to the Secretary Marine Department, "Wellington, to whom application should first be made for a form of enrolment and other particulars'. * Subscriber. —To make honey mead: Mix well the whites of six eggs in 12gal of water, and to this, when it has boiled for half an hour and has been thoroughly skimmed, add 88lb of finest honey with the rinds of two dozen lemons. Let- them boil together for some little time, and on the liquor becoming cool work it with a little ale yeast. Put it, with the lemon peel, into a seasoned cask, which must bo kept full from the surplus liquor as it flows over with the fermenting. "When the hissing noise made by the liquor ceases drive the bung close. After the wine has stood for five or six months bottle it for use. LiRFAir. —Loofah is a fibrous vegetable matter largely used for the bath. They aro stocked by most chemists and many ironmongers. Back-blocks. —Formerly "wynd" was the general pronunciation of "wind" (air naturally in motion); but it is now Only . used poetically—" Their instruments were varied in. their kind, Some for the bow and some for breathing wind." . Widow.—A widow will be able to gain admission to the Presbyterian Old People's Home at North-East Valley when completed. No charge will be made if the applicant for admission is not in a position to pay; in fact, the policy will be, the poorer the applicant the greater need for assistance. Inquirer.—The following rule will give as near an approximation to the weight of hay in a stack as you are likely to obtain: Measure the length and breadth of the stack; then take its height from the ground to the eaves, and add to this last one-third of tho height from the eaves to the top: multiply the length by the breadth, and the product by tho height, all expressed in feet; divide the amount by 27, to find the cubic yards, which multiply by tho number of stones supposed to be in a x;ubic yard (viz., in a stack of 1 new hay, Gst; if it h»3 stood a considerable time, Bst; and if old hay, Ost) and you have the weight in 6tones. By reducing the number of stones (lilb) into tons (22401 b) you will have the figures required. Li. M. would like to obtain a copy of the words of tho piece "My Wife "Won't Let Me." Can any of• our readers oblige? P. P. S., Kaweku.—Mr H. M. Dayey, consulting engineer, Princes street, replies: "With the flow and fall you get you should be able to obtain about one-thirty-third of a b.h.p. only. Could you not store the water? As you have only about one cubic foot of water per minute it would seem probable that you might be able to store a few hours' supply, and if so you could use three or four times the intake if you wanted to do so. Messrs A. and W. M'Carthy generally stock what you would require. I went to their warehouse in Stuart street, and find that they are expecting some very small pclton wheels such as would suit you very shortly. Write for a catalogue of electrical plant. Thsy keep a U y° u would need, I think. I am unable to tell you the prices, a<s you do not stats what you want. When you say one or two lights at a time you. omit to mention how many are really Wanted, also the quantity of wire, insulators, and other things. I am afraid you would only get poor results with your small fall unless

you cart store a few hours' supply to draw from; "then do not get too small a pelton wheel, as they are made for more power than your fall allows, and so you have to make good with all the more quantity of water. If you sent a rough pencil plan showing the various positions of the spring, the place where you might be able to r/ake a small reservoir, and the place where the pelton wheel and the lights go, marking the distances, more might be told you. State size you could make tho reservoir." . •