NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1819, 1 October 1886, Page 21

NOTES AND QUERIES.

TE3TINO Minerals.— Mr Philip Broad, Boxburgh, writes :— I have just been reading in the Witness some very useful articles on the testing of minerals, and as there will likely be a great amount of prospecting this summer, these contributions will no doubt be of great value ; but they have this drawback— viz. : they'require a certain quantity of chemicals and appliances which, although simple and portable, are not always to be had when wanted. This reason has induced me (an old copper miner) to supply to those interested a very simple method of testing copper ore. It is as follows j Where the prospector comes across any stuff which ho supposes contains copper, let him bruise a small quantity finely ; then wet it in order to turn it into a paste (spittle will do if •water is not handy) ; apply the smallest portion to his eye, and if the eye smarts it is an indication of the presence of copper. Another test is to put' a little of the paste on the wick of a candle. If the flame burns green it is a certain and infallible indication of copper ; the greener the flame the better the prospect.— The difficulty of procuring the chemicals and appliances, although it can be overcome by anyone who makes up his mind to carry his experiments to a successful issue, is one that has attracted the attention of others besides Mr Broad. In noticing Mr Wicks' papers on " The Uses of the Blowpipe, ' which recently appeared in our columns, the "Chemist and Druggist" deals with it, and remarks in connection with the supplying of a blowpipe and its accessories and there-agents mentioned by Mr Wicks :— lt is not every pharmacist whose location lends itself to thissmall enterprise, but wherever mineral wealth attracts the population it can hardly fall to answer. To ensure success the pharmacist himself should be able to use the blowpipe, and he might well announce himself prepared to give elementary lessons in its use. Printed accounts of the most useful tests and reactions should be on sale as well as the apparatus and re-agents, and an attractive shop window display might be made of them with bold explanatory labels. ]5 A.— Vanderbilt's personalty was stated to amoun^ to £40,000,000 at the time of his death. Your colony's post cards do not carry to New Zealand. Kindly put an additional penny stamp on it if you send one at any future time. c FAHMEB, Isla Bank.— (l) The jaguar is found in the Argentine Republic ; also wild dogs. The sheep are no doubt shut up in corrals at night, as described by Mr Bateman, as a protection against these. Poisonous snakes are also plentiful. (2) Of Spanish descent principally. (3) The shipping companies do not quote fares to Buenos Ayres. The fares to Rio de Janeiro are : Saloon, 35 guineas ; second do, 25 guineas ; steerage, 15 guineas. (4) The amount charged for sheep would depend upon the number to be taken. The New Zealand Shipping Company's steamers do not take live sheep at all, and you would probably have to arrange with a sailing vessel. If you are really thinking of taking some, write to any of the shipping companies for particulars. Inquirer.— lt would cost £3 3s 8d to bring a horse by train from Christchurch to Dunedin. M, M. D.— (l) St. Kilda is three and a-half miles •outb. of Melbourne, on the east shore of Hobson's Bay. It is connected with the city by cars and a line of 'buses, the fare being 6d. (2) 'Jhe fares to Melbourne from the Bluff are £9 for saloon and £5 for steerage. Thesaloonis£lhigherfrom Dunedin ; the steerage the same amount as from the Bluff. If you go steerage you would save 4s or 5s by going by the Bluff ;if 6aloon about 255. Waipahi is 83 miles from Dunedin and 56 from Invercargiil ; hence the difference. B. f Oamaru.— (l) The change is certainly tor the better, and we should say the advertiser will lose nothing by it. (2) There is some ground for your complaint, and /we think it will be necessary to have it made a little heavier. (3) No ; they are all printed on the same paper, or we should be only too happy to oblige you. POBBIDQE.— Get a pound of freshly slaked lime and ' pour on it about a gallon of cold rain water in a jar. Add to tbia half a pound of sugar, and, after stirring well, let stand for 24 hours, Pour off the. clear liquor and mix two tableopooofula of it with the

milk you use for the porridge, when you will not be troubled further. J. S —(1) With a little practice the following method is an excellenb'one, and renders the skins fit for trimming articleß of dress if desired:— Lvv the skin on a smooth board, the fur side underneath, and faiten it down with tacks, Was'-i it over first with a solution ot salt ; tben dissolve 2\oz alum in a [pint of warm water, and witli a sponge dipped in this solution moisten the surface all over ; repeat th is now and then for three days. When the skin is quite dry, take out the tacks, and rolling it loosely the long way, the fur inside, draw it quickly backwards and forwards through a large smooth ring until it is quite soft. (2) Tack the skin on a board as above, and scrape with a blunt knife. Rub hard ■with pulverised chalk until it -will absorb no more. Take from board and cover with pulverised alum, double fleah side in, roll tightly, and keep dry for three days, after which stretch again on board, dry in air, and it will be ready ior use. J. C, Oteramika. — Many thanks for your thoughtfulness in drawing our attention to the change in miil arrangements. We have had an arrangement that woula meet the case under consideration for some time, but there have been many difficulties in the way which hive caused us to hesitate in adopting it. However, under the circumstances you menlion all difficulties must give way. J. C. — The page in which the fixtures appear was printed when your correction— for which we thank you — arrived. It shall be attended to next week. "Prize Ploughman."— J. T. 6. writes:—"William Paul, of Palmerston, is certainly entitled to the appellation of champion. He has taken the following prizes:— 2l iirsts, 8 seconds, f> thirds, 2 fourths, and 2 fifths, and £140 of special prizes, and never yet competed ■without taking a prize. The. only champion match ever ploughed in Otago was the one held on the 14th October 1864, and was held on the Corstorphine estate, Caversham. The match wns tor lirst-prize ploughmen only, and 32 competed, William Paul being declared the winner of the gold medal and JE3O. Paul is not particular to the kind of plough used, but has used both double and single ploughs in the taking of the above prizes." L. K. S.-(l) Yes. (2) No. (3) He can be called a miner, although he doesn't hold a miner's right. (4) Yes. Subscriber asks whether or not parties holding properties along the banks, of say, the Kuriwao, Waiwera, Kaihiku, and Waipahi rirers can prevent fishers wading up those risers. Also, if the rivers are the property of the landowners whose properties are bounded thereby. — In the absence of any express reservation they can, as without such reservation the soil belongs to the owners of the lands bounded by the stream to the middle of the stream. Subscriber, Waimatuku.— (l) Next week. (2) It depends upon the mesh and quantity you require. A large quantity would only cost you about (3d per yard. Ten Years' Subscriber.— lf a London office told •' a iarmer at Christmas last" that he would receive grants of land as equivalent for passage money paid, the office must have forgotten that theact of 1873, under which such grants were made, has been repealed. With respect to the " favourable considerations to small farmers," the Land Board of Otago have recommended the Government to setapait an area of land in the Cntlin's river district and open same under the homestead system similar to that now in force in tho Auckland district, the terms of which are extremely favourable. P. W —The matter is such apurely%cnl one that we scarcely feel justified iv excluding matter of more general interest for the sake of inserting your somewhat lengthy letter, especially as your purpose must have been served by having it read at the county council meeting. R., Oamaru. — The followingis a list of the Ministries which have held office in — New Zealand prior to 1871: — 1. Bell and Sewell, May 7, 1850. to May 20, 1856. 2. Pox, May 20, 1856, to June 2, 1856. 3. Stafford, June 2, 1856, to July 12, 1861. 4. Fox, July 12, 1861. to August 2, 1862. 5. Domett, August 6, 1862, to October 30, 1863. 6. Whitaker and Fox, October 30, 1863, to November 24, 1864. 7. Weld, November 24, 1864, to October 16, 1865. 8. Stafford, October 16, 1865, to June 28, 1869. A Clerk.— A simple recipe for a manugraph appeared in this column a few weeks ago. The following is another one:— Swell two parts best glue in cold water, then melt and add tour parts common glycerine, with a few drops of carbolic acid and sufficient whiting or dry white lead to make the whole opaque. Ponr the mixture into a shallow zinc dish, and it will be ready for use in about 12 hours. Sponge the surface before using. In ■washing the pad to remove ink, use a 6ponge dipped iv water acidulated with 10 percent, of hydrochloric acid, afterwards rinsing well with cold water. D.W. as'ts why Good Friday and Easter came on the 11th and'l3th day of April in 1834, on the 3rd and sth of April in 1885, and on the 23rd and 25th in 1886.— The dates on which these holy days come are regulated by the moon. Easter Sunday is always the first Sunday after the full moon which happens upon or next after the 21st March ; and if the full moon happens upon a, Sunday, Easter day is the Sunday atter.