NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3619, 24 July 1923, Page 39

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Questions tor reply In coming Issue to be 1^ aeirel not later than SATURDAY night. Questions will NOT bo replied bo Vhrougft the post J. A. Reid, jun.—The samples of material you sent tor identification were submitted to Professor Park, who has reported that the red-coloured rock is a ferruginous clay of no economic value. The small glassy crystals are quartz, one of the most widely distributed minerals in existence. Quartz sands containing over 97 per cent, of silica are of considerable value for glass making. “A. H." —The ship Jessie Headman (Straohan) arrived in Dunedin March 24, 1871. “Enquirer” asks: In arriving at the indebtedness of the New Zealand Government, do our financiers include the internal loans, such as the amounts raised in the Dominion as war loans, soldier settlement loans, and the £42,000,000 deposited in the Post Office Savings Bank on which the Government is paying interest? Yes. Against the deposits in the Post Office Savings Bank the Postmaster-General holds securities, and a list of these securities is annually laid before Parliament, and is published with other Parliamentary papers. “Subscriber” asks: (1) The best method it curing a large size boar hide. (2) How to tan it. 1,3) Wlie-t would be the value of a 'ooar hide in the raw state, and when cured and tanned. (4) The best method of affixing a spout on a copper kettle, whether by brazing or soldering.——(l, 2,3) Assuming you refer to a wild boar, Messrs Parker and Dawson, tanners, Dunedin, inform us that the skin is not worth attempting to cure or tan. It is valueless, and is only fit to be thrown away. A boar skin must be flawle&3, without a sign of a scratch, to be of use for tanning, as when scratched they deteriorate. In the case of wild pigs, they are alwaye so very scratched and torn about, and in a boar the hide is about two inches thick on the shoulder, so that even if in first-class condition it would cost more than the skin was worth to pare these parts down. (2) The best plan would be to solder the spout on, though if you were near a tinsmith we would suggest getting them to do the joD, ae it is an intricate piece of work. Well clean the parts and cover with a little resin. Plumber’s Bolder is used, composed of one part lead to two of tin for hard solder, one of lead to one of tin for a medium solder. “Violin.”—lt is impossible to say whether the violin is of any value or not unless it was examined by an expert. There are hundreds of machine-made instruments bearing such inscriptions as yours, which are practically worthless. C. Begg and Co. would be able to give you an idea of its value. Genuine St-rads are rare, and there are not a great number in the world at the present time, while copies are innumerable and are worth about £2, more or less. “Spruce,” Invercargill, wishes to know the cause of sp *(-e dying this year. It is the same in all gardens. tj r R. B. Tennent replies: —I am not prepared to say what caused the death c.f the spruce trees mentioned. There are certain fungoid diseases whiajl* attack spruce, an<J\ the trees in ques tion may have been so affected. I would be pleased to receive a piece of the foliage of a typical tree, when said disease could be determined. “Southland,” Knapdale.—H. SI. Davey, consulting engineer, replies:—You do not give the very slightest idea as to wether your present floor is to he made, that is if the building is to be built, or if it is a welltrodden down old floor, if the ground is good or bad. If had, the floor should be about six inches thick, anS the quantities would be about eight cuhTr: yards of metal or small stones not bigger than about ljin, three cubic yards of coarse sand or fine gravel, and about two cubic yards of cement. The better the ground the less thickness is wanted, till on well-beaten ground probably nearly half the above quantities would do. Always remember that a man well used to concrete and cementing will not need quite as much material as one unaccustomed to such work, as he will use the -materials to the best advantage, if he cares to do so.

“White Heather,” Lower Shotover writes as follows: —(1) What amount of chou mollier ehould be sown to the acre? (2) How should it bo sown ? (3) What kind of manure and how much should be used? (4) Should it be fed in its green stage, and can it he made into hay? (5) What is the price of seed ? Would it be advisable to sow Chewings Fescue on light soil which gets very dry- in the summer months. Would it stand much grazing, and what amount of seed should be sown to the acre. I have a stand of lucerne three years old doing fairly well. I took three cuts off it last year. It is sown in 21 in drills. I want to sow between the drills now. What is the best way to do it? Would the stand he old enough to take soil from to inocculate another paddock?——The questions were submitted to Mr R. B. Ten nent, New Zealand Department of Agriculture, who says : —Chou mosllier seed should bp sown at the rate of 1 lib per acre in drills 24in apart in the same manure as turnips. It responds well to superphosphate or basic super sown at the rate of 12,-cwt per acre along with the seed. It is a member of the cabbage family, and resembles thousand headed kale. It may he grazed or the leaves may be pulled and given to stock. Chou Moeller seed is rather scarce, and would cost probably around 15s per lb. Chewings fescue seed, costs at present 10-Jd per lb, and is only suitable for a poor type of land. If irrigation is possible it would be very foolish to sow- chewings fescue, which is a poor grass of low palatability. Rate of seeding, 16lb per acre. I would advise you to thoroughly cultivate your lucerne paddock with tine cultivators, and resow it in the direction of the drills with 101 b of seed per acre during September-October. The stand is old enough to obtain inoculated soil. “Mary.”—A is privileged t-o make the joker the highest of any suit he wishes. In the case you mention he was justified in playing it in order to make good his own suit and recover the lead. The only restriction regarding the use c.f the joker is where a player has discarded on a led suit; he may not then take a trick in that suit vjith his joker. Had Ano hearts and had thrown away on B's hearts he could not then take any of B’s hearts with the joker. (2) Spread on baking board and roll out with Tolling pin. “Enquirer,” Kamo, North Auckland. —Mr H. M. Davey, consulting engineer, replies: Have y-ou examined the interior of your tanks, for some deposit may possibly be in them? We sometimes hear of all sorts of things being left in wrong places by all classes of persons, most of whom should know better. Then, if not, you had fust of all better get them thoroughly examined and cleaned ouf. If or when these are clean, and the trouble still continues, it remains that the trouble is with the roof paint, for there are all sorts of roof preparations—good, bad, and indifferent. 1 have consulted in your case Messrs'Smith and Smith, Ltd., who have a great experience in all classes of paint, and their opinion is that the original paint was good, but that it has perished, and the best thing to do ia to paint the roofs afresh, and to use the paint called “Steelite Red,” which you can get from the firm’s branch shop in Auckland, and perhaps from other places. See that the painter cleans off all loose paint or dust on the roof, and also in the spoutings, and paint the inner sides of all spoutings as well.