NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3430, 9 December 1919, Page 43

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Qnastions tor reply to coming Issue to »• i*> •sir.* ><* Utsr than SATTJBDAT night. Q,*.tk». will NOT b. W P I%3 *<> thxcwgl tk» po«i.

Anxious—The ©o-called "vinegar plant is madia as follows:—In a large clear bottle put a cupful or eo of brown sugar and a, teaspoonful of acetic acid, adding as much water as will cover it. Stand the bottle in a'warm place out of reach of the sun and. a "vinegar plant" will soon grow. WellknoW'writers state' that the notion that a plant is necessary to produce.vinegar is a fallacy. The so-called plant is only a deposit from' fermentation. An" old -ooloms* says he has for 40 years had a stock ot vinegar made simply and only from sugar, water, and a trifling quantity of flour. lhe length of time required depends upon the activity of the process of fermentation. Old Age—The amount of old-age pension paid is not affected unless the pensioner earns £34 per annum If the can earn more, it would be to his benefit to do so as long as he can. The full pension would be restored again on application when the pensioner found himself unable to earn more than the limit. TENNis.-Fbr the single-handed game of tennis the oourt is 27ft in width and 78ft in length. Halfway between the aide lines and parallel to them is draw the halfcourt line, dividing the space on each sidle of the-net into two equal parts. On each side of the net, at a distance of 21ft from - it and .parallel to it, are drawn the service lines For the four-handed game the court is 86ft wide. Within the side lines, at a distance of 4Jft from them,'and parallel to tihem, are drawn .the service lines. Debate.—The' president of a society has a deliberate vote and a. casting vote. The vice-president, unless acting as chairman in the absence of the president, has only one vote. Mixed writes: "By mistake I mixed four gallons of-kerosene with about two gallons •of petrol. "Will same, be safe and fit to use in kerosene lamps? If not, can they, be separated, and how?"—lt would be highly dangerous to use *he mixture in a kerosene lamp; an explosion would almost certainly follow. There is not, so far as can be ascertained, any simple method by which the petrol and the kerosene would be separated. The mixture might possitSy be used in a tractor which has a special carburettor for kerosene. Possibly the proprietor of a garage might allow you something for the mixture, which some of them use for cleaning purposes. M. P., Mataura, writes: "I took an advance to settlers of £IOO 24. years ago, and paid £6 a year, which makes £144. I wrote the office to the effect I, would, pay them off -if .they would let me know the amount due. I received word back that, the amount due whs £57 17s 'Bd, 5s of this being rer -leasa fee. These, two amounts total £2Ol 12r Bd.' Now the term being 33J years. Now you will see I have lost £1 12s Bd, together with the interest for 9J years. Or, if I had let it run to the end of term, I would have saved and had no more to pay, and been £1 12s 8d in pocket. Could you obliere me with- an explanation?"— There appears to be something wrong in your ncrures, • the usual term, being 36J years. If instalments were paid promptly, you presumably ha<J; a reba+e on each payment. The<"£s7 17«~8d is the principal due after last payment, with interest for broken. period. Suggest .you"send copy of tho official letter to department's representative at Invercargill for further explanation if necessary. Cowspanker.—Are you sure that the bleeding is not external. .Blows on. the udder may commence inflammation and cause- bloody milk. Many other things may give rise to . that trouble. If it continues it might be advisable to call in a qualified expert and ascertain the real cause. If- the bleeding Is not external you might try lib sulphate jnagnesia, ldr pulverised ginger, and lib koaclo, mixed) in a qvuwrt of tepid wave*.

After the medicine has operated the following powder may be mixed in the food night and morning for a fortnight:—Powdered sulphate of iron, ldr; gentian root,

2dr. Rhea..—"lsbarius" sends the following reply to your ouestion:— Mary is six years older than Ann, therefore, Mary's present age being 24, Ann's present age is 18 years. And six years ago Ann's age would be is and Mary's 18. This, I think, fulfils the requirements of the question, which, by tne by, is a hoary chestnut of no practical use to anybody. Perhaps " Rhea " would have her revenge* by giving the following nightmare to her tormentor: —When John is 26, Mary will be as old as John is now, John being now twice as oldl as Mary was when John was as old as Mary is, Mary being now half as old as John will be when she is three times as old as she was when she was half as old as John is. I am not quite sure, but I think the above was set at an examination .of candidates for Seaolift. Old Sttbscbiber.—Mr H. M. Davey will reply to your question next week. Apples, aienorchy.—Mr H. M. Davey replies: "I have posted your section drawn to scale with 15ft squares on it, so you can easily count tho number of trees to plant. JVLr L. O. Beal, a surveyor, kindly made out your section to be slightly under five acres, and marked the exact amount on the plan. If you get four sticks, say, one the length of each side of your plan, and move them about, you will see that you can get a much, smaller area or larger, as you «ke; and then you will see why it is impossible to compute the area without at least one angle being given. Try it { and it will be useful to you another time;'