NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2813, 12 February 1908, Page 51

NOTES AND QUERIES.

QuettioriM for reply in coining issut to 6* reetivtd not lattr than MONDAY nif/U.

D. Ml —Queries such as yours, asking for the date of the arrival of a vessel when the probable year ; « not gi^elT, involve the searching of records for a period of 30 years or so. To do this means the expenditure of a good deal of time and trouble, much of which might be avoided if correspondents ■would take the trouble of being more explicit when sending on their questions. Ins ship Norval, of 1427 tons, Captain Young, arrived at Port Chalmers on August 1, 1876 She paid another visit to the poit under Captain Halliday on January 2,

1.879 Cousin.— Mr A. Carnegie's address is Skibc Castle, Sutherlandahire, Scotland. Interested Member.— The officials of the society should direct the gatekeeper how td act The idea of a gatekeeper insisting o~ obtaining possession of a member a ticket is quite unheard of, as that would limit the privilege of a member to admission at the gates. If such a rule were.m operation with the Otago Caledonian Society, for example, a member would haxe to pay for admission to the grand stand as the gatekeeper having secured his ticket he could not exhibit it to the gatekeeper at the grand stand. SfovicE.-(l) One of the persons mteadmg marriage must give notice to the "g^strar of the district within which one of the nersons shall have dwelt for not leas than E day*, at The time supplying all the particulars required as to age, name, etc., the dwelling place of each and the time that each of them has dwelt in their district, etc. Where the persons dwell in the districts of different registrars, the like notice must be given to the registrar of each- district. In the case of minors the consent of the parents or guardians nrast be obtained. When the persons about to marry are of full age, the registrar may immediately on receipt of notice issue a certificate authorising the solemnisation of the marriage. The marriajge must be registered within one month following the registration. (2) The bridegroom h*9 nothing to do with the expenses of the bride's trousseau beyond the wedding gift of some article of jewellery which she wears' for the first time on her wedding day. He arranges, of course, all the expenses of fees, license, wedding ring, and carriage for going away; and presents each bridesmaid -with her bouquet <as well <as the' special gift of bangle, necklet, oi pendant which is to constitute her souvenir of the wedding day. fi) It all dopemds upon the denomination of the minister. Some are guided by ecclesiastical law, which, prorides for the publics/tic^?! of the bannfl. Others will officiate so lonu: as the tarms of the oivil law shave been duly obserredX Old Dog. — You render yourself liable to be prosecuted for cruelty to animals if you out off the tail of «, dog. There is no justification for doing so in the case of a

spaniel. V A. D.. Waiouru.— The Opera House, Ohrist-

church, is in Tuara street. Icf. — Practical men consider that the acldi-tio-n of artificially-made Ice to ordinary pick'e ot brine is not at all likely to hare «n injurious effect on meat, provided there •was no deleterious substance in the ice. Or the contrary, they consider the addition of some ice would tend to improve the

keeping qualities of brine in worm weather. R Poolburn. — The Australian Widows' Fund Life Assurance Society carries on life insurance business in New Zealand, having 1 a local board of 'directors in Wellington. There is also a Scot-tiah Widows' Fund, but .this soaietj is not carrying on

operations in Ne<w Zealand Inquirer.— (l) To make peai jelly: Peel and cut ripe pear« into quarters, and boil them into » marmalade with water; then pass ■the marmalade through a sieve so as to leave ordy the juice, and boil it -with sugar in equal portions. When, it has become sufficiently thick by boiling, put it into glswssee and cover it. We can give you recipes for pear marmalade and preserved peaie. but we have norie available for pear jam. (2) The proeese of making cider varies in different localities, but in every case it essentially consists of the collection of the fruit and th.6 egression and fermentation If the juic* £ke cpllectioa of the txvii

should not be conrmenceel before it has bscorne sufficiently mature; they should be picked by the 'hand, and any unsound fiuit, or such as may have lam on the soil, should be rejected. The app'es, aftci being gnther«d, are usually left for 14 01 15 d.i\9 in a bain or loft to mellow, dunng which time the mucilage is decomposed, 'and akohol and caibomc acid developed. \\ hen this process is completed the fiuii should be looked through, the bruised and decayed apples placed in a heap by themselves for an infenor cider, from which to make vinegar; the le.iminder wiped peifectly dry and laid leady for use The expression of the juice is the next step in cider-makipg. Ilia apples are ground to a pulp m a null consisting of two fluted' cylinders of hard wood or cast-iron woiking against each other. The pup is afterwards put into coarse, strong bags, find pressed with a heavy weight, so as to squeeze out or it all its juice. The juice is placed in large open tubs and kept at a heat of about 60 decrees They are now constantly attended to°and kept quite full in older that the yeast, as it forms, may froth over and be carried off from the surface of the liquor. After two or three days for weak cider, ei<»ht or 10 da\-s for strong cider, or as soon as the sediment has subsided, the liquor is "racked off" into clean casks, lhe casks are then stored in a cellar, shaded barn, or other cool pla<;e, where a lew and regular temperature can be ensured, and are left to matuie and ripen until the following spring, when it ma; be re-racked foi iwre. The piessed pulp is again sprinkled with one-third or half its weight of water and repressed. The resultmc lsquoi. when fermented, forms a weak "kind of cider, which is reserved for domestic use m the same way as table b-eer. The refuse pulp is an acceptable food for pigs and stoic cattle Preparatory to bottling cider it should be examined to see whether it is clear and sparkling. If not so. it should be clarified and left for a fortnight. The night pievious the bun? should be taken out of the cask and left so until the next day. and the. filled bottles should not ba corked down until the day after, as if this is done a.t once many of the bottles will burst by keeping. The best corks should' be used. Champagne bottles are the best for cider. It is usual to wire down the coiks and cover them with tinfoil after the manner of champagne. A few bottles at a time may be kept in a warm pLace to ripen. "When the cider is wanted for immediate use or for consumption during the cooler sea-son of the year, a small piece of lump sugar may be put into each bottle before corking it. When intended for keeping, it should be Btored in a cool cellar, when the quality will lie gr-eatly improved by age. Cider for bottling should be of good quality, eo-uncl and piquant, and at least a twelvemonth old. When out of condition it is unfit for bottling. Hugh Smile —The particulais given in works of reference of any authority are too meagre to enable us to say which was the last poem written by Adam Idndsay Gordon. Awamangct writes • —Under the heading Notes and Queries in last week's Witness, "Gumsucker" states that New Zealand flax flowers once a year. That is not correct. It does not flower once a year. There Was nU> flower of blossom on the flax last year. I remember some one asking Agrioola for information about planting New Zealand flax. The reply made some reference to theseed. That caused ma to examine some of the peds on the flax bushes. I found them all empty, and they appeared old and withered-looking. I have only been here two years, and tins is the first time since I came to the district that the flax and cabbage-tree have appeared in flower. Some of your numerous readers resident for a number of year's in the vicinitj where these plants grow may lell us when they flowered last in Otago Central. I noticed the spear grass only flowered at intervals 3f four or five years.