NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3442, 2 March 1920, Page 39

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Q««.tions lor reply tn eomlns Us». to b* » ~ir.4 B<rt UUr than SATURDAY. w C ht. QWioas will NOT b* wpli*d <*> Oik»«* Ike pool. - ; Another New Zealand War Veteran.—The reply which appeared in our issue of the 10th February was to a, specific question about old-age pensions, and the Act referred to dealt with old-age pensions only. The exemption and the bonus referred to are not applicable to military pensions. Probably the Government might be induced to place military pensions on tlie same footing as old-age-pensions if representations were made. Tattoo.—So far as we are aware there is no known method of removing Indian ink tattoo marks from the skin. Honey asks for a recipe for honey beer.Boil 14lb of honey in 6gal of water lor halt an hour; break '■ into it four'eggs; then add some bunches of marjearm, balm, and sweet briar, and Joz each of cinnamon, cloves, mace, and bruised ginger, and boil for a quarter of an hour longer. Four it out to cool; then toast a large slice of brown bread, spread it over with fresh yeast, and put it into the liquor. Let it ferment for a day, then turn it into the cask. Keep it open till the fermentation hap ceased, then bung close. It may be bottled in a month, " and the corks should be securely tied or wired, as mead thus made is sparkling end effervescent. This recipe was recently published, but the following on© is slightly different: —Mix well the whites of. six eggs in 12gal of water, and "to this mixture, when, it has boiled for half an. hour and been thoroughly ekimmed, add 361 b of finest honey, with the rinds of two dozen lemons. Let them boil together for some little timiat, and when the liquor sufficiently cools .work it with a little ale yeast. Put it, with the lemon peel, into . a seasoned barrel, which must be filled up as it flows over with some of the reserved liquor. "When the hissing noise made by the liquor ceases, drive the bung close. "When it haß stood for six months, bottle it. I/earher asks for a recipe for l-lackhgrry jam.~ Prepare the fruit, weigh it, and allow to every lib of fruit lib of sugar. Place the fruit in the preserving pan, - without any water, and bring to the boil (stirring occasionally to keep from .burning), and add the sugar. Boil until a little of the jam tried on a saucer, sets; slum well. Generally speaking, most jams require from half an hour to an hour after the fruit begins to boil. First Trips of Cobb's Coaches to Early Goldfields. —"With reference to the query in our issue of the 17th ult., Mr J. R. Nut tall, Hekeia, writes that Mr John Horr, Otautau, Southland, could give the information asked for. He wae keeping trte Buckeye Hotel at "West Taieri, and had coaohes running between, Dunedin' and West Taieri in 1862. Interested, HTllend, asks. (1) whether it is legal ■■• for a grocer to charge 21s for a . 70lb bag of sugar under Government reservations ; (2) recipe for home-made soap. - The Board of Trade has not fixed prices of sugar, and a grocer could charge what he likes; but' few at the moment would sell a bag of sugar. (2) Use lib cawtio soda in three pints water. The liquid will get hot. Let it cool till just warm. Then take 6J]b of clean grease, lard, or tallow, free from salt, and heat over the fire till liquid. Allow to coo-l, and whilst still liquid pour in the caustic lye, slowly stirring with, spoon till well mixed and the solution is like honey. It should not be stirred for more than two minutes. Pour into mould lined with damp calico to prevent soap sticking. Cover up and leave in warm place till next day, when it will be ready to cut up. After keeping a 'month the £oap is ready for use. Maggie Wayback asks (1) how much rennet to use for 7gal or Bgal milk io make a small cheese; (2) how long to leave curd before putting m vat; (3) how long in the press?——Use, say, a teaspoonful of rennet to each 6gal of milk. (2) It depends on auantsy, etc.; perhaps two to four hours. (3) Two days. Cheesemaking by rule of thumb is very difficult. Temperature is of such importance: on. it depends the activity of tie rennet. After commences, generally speaking the curd is left for about twice the length of time it took to show signs of coagulation, when the

curd will be sufficiently formed- to be broken.