NOTES AND QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2815, 26 February 1908, Page 51

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Qfustioiur for reply in coming i*»u* to bt netited nrt W«r than UON&AY nifhl.

ffeito writes:,. "A lends B £1<» %t J per cent., to be repaid by instalments of £3 per month. How much interest will have been paid: by the time B pays his final instalment, the instalments having been paid regularly? " — The solution lies in the apportionment rf each monthly instalment as it is made in reduction of principal and payment of 'interest respectively. B would require to pay A 36 monthly instalments of £3 eaoh (JEIOBX, one final instalment of £3 10s,— total £111 10s. This would repay the principal (£100). and pay interest (£ll 10s) computed monthly ait the

rate of 7 per cent, per annum. ■ Southland. — If - you communicate with the Stock Department or any of the atock inspectors the department will send a competent man to show how bisulphide of carbon sheuld be used to destroy rabbits. This will be done in the case of every "landowner. Pieces of sacking about 4in square should be saturated in the bisulphide, «nd one placed in each rabbit hole, which should then be closed quickly. ..There "aire at least two machines on 'the market which have proved effectives when 'using'- bisulphide of carbon in destroyang'i;rabbits. - Messrs Murray, Roberts, oud iCSo^'ttOft^the agents of one machine, <end 'MrSiintea; Wesrcon. is the inventor of- ant i\, Balchitha.— Horrej beer, or mead, is ■aiaoW in » variety of ways. The following ■ a.-fanr old and tried recipe: — Boil 14lb v of loney in six gallons of water for half an itour, breaking into it four eggs, then addsome' small bunches of marjoram, balm, and 'sweetbriar, |oz each Of cinnamon,- cloves, Sanace, aad bruised ginger, snd boil -for b, quarter of- an hour longer; ponx it out •"fto.cool, then toast a large slice of brown •"bread,' spread it over with fresh yeast, ondi put iirto the liquor, s lei it ferment •/ox a day, than turn it into the cask, keep it open iall the fermentation has ceased, then bung close, It may be bottled io a month, and the corks should be securely *ied or wired, as mead thus made is spark--jling and effevesceot. *£>. MD.—T he initrument invented by Dr Levjnge does not appear to be on sale anywhere in Dunedin. Dr Levinge's ad- ' dress is Okato, Taranaki. You could jomavunacate direct with him. -4A ML writes to ask about the wages paid to boys, about 15 years of -age, working on » •farm, and the wages paid to a boy at harvest work. Mr Brown, of Skene's. Agency; replies:— (l) Boys are paid from 12s 6d ta- 17b 6d, according to abiliiy. (2) Wages at harvest time range from 9d to "Is per hour. The rate varies in South'landj Otago, and Canterbury. IWooDLAinos.— The duty payable on & parcel ,of goods from 1 the firm referred to is, 25 'per cent. _ v - Reader. — Mr G. M. Thomson, .F.L.S., writes : The sample of grass sent in by ['" Reader " is Danthonia piloea, a native _ species , wuicK occurs abundantly throughout ' the length *nd breadtß" of New Zealand, from _ee*level up to 4000 ft elevation. It is .also found in meat parts of Australia. Cheese* man says of it: " 3<jpa is largely sown „ <as * pasture grass, especially in the northern part of the colony. On *tiff clay soils it is far more- permanent than -most introduced -species, and might "* with" advantage be substituted for them." - Ctoey, the informer in the Phoenix Park m-urcters, was shot dead by Patrick O'Ddnnell on July' 29, 1888; on board the Melrose Castle, near Port Elizabeth, South -Africa. \ IRubbkx. — Take two ]»rt3 common pitch and 1 one part pure guttapercha and meH together, stirring well till dissolved. Apply do the leather with » hot knife, pressing it irmly and evenly down. Warm the leather. • before applying the cement. GuttapercK* can be made to stick to wood or metal by the following: — Dissolve* cue part powdered gum shellac jn 10 parts <of ammonia. It is at first slimy, in three or four weeks it becomes liquid, -then bard -and impermeable. (Grape Wim. — Grape winY is, made as' follows: — The grapes should be gathered when iully ripe, freed" from the stalks, and* fthoxoughly bruised, cSre being taken not to crush "the stones, which would impart «. rough and disagreeable taste to the win*; they must have the juice completely pressed out of them, either by wringing •then» in a coarse cloth or by means of a_ press. To every gallon of the juice from lib to 21b of su»ar must be added, or even more' if the juice does not possess con- • eiderable sweetness. Set the liquor in a place where the tem.pera.ture 'is 'about 60deg, which is the usual warmth of rooms. The fermentation will begin in a day.oi two, • when "" the ' wine nvay ba put into .the cask designed" to- receive rt. As the fermentation proceeds, the ecum will be thrown ■up. atfd the cask must ba kept filled with some reserved juice. If the temperature be below 60deg, or the.- fermentation be scarcely perceptible, a small portion »f yeast must be used so as to" make it work , . before it is put into tie cask. When it , 'his been' sufficiently long in the cask "for the fermentation to subside, or nearly so, the bung °mv«t ha cfcriven inj" first clearing - «•■*««- ail,, impurities from the bung-hole and . filling "up Iwer czsk. The vent-peg must be. left out for a few da,ya; \t should, afterawards bs inserted slightly and occasionally loosened to admit of the escape- of the

carbonic a-cid gas. When all fermentation •■ has entirely ceased, which will be known by tearing co. hissing noise at the bung-hole, the peg must be driven in tightly, and the

wine may then be left throughout the winter, or longer, ac may be desired. Elderly Widow.— Send a letter with a fee of 3s 8d addressed to the Registrar-general, Edinburgh, Scotland. Inquirer. — Under the -* Court •award motormen in Dunedin and Christ.•'hurch asfe paid Is per hour. Time worked beyond nine hours is paid for at time and a-haif rates. Sunday time in Dunedin is paid ior at time and a-half, and in Christchurch double time. Oar examiners (presumably what you" refer to as electricians) ' are paid at the rate of Is o|d in Dunedin,

and Is l^d in Chrittchurch. Celia. — (1) Beetroots may be preserved by bottling if suitable bottles can be procured. See the article on bottling fruit in the Garden, Column -this week. (2) To make rhubarb and fig jam take 61b rhubarb, wipe and skin, then let stand overnight in the same amount of sugar. Cut up small lib of figs (or more if desired), add to the rbubarb, and let the whole boil until like jelly. Beooklands. — Mr <x. M. Thomson, analytical chemist, Moray' place, undertakes analysis of samples of soil, and' will point out the qualities in which it may be deficient and the best kind of manure to apply to make up the. deficiency. You will ascertain the fees dxarg&d by eonmnmioating with. him.

Novice. — To clean paint brushes before putting them away, wash them well in either turpentine or kerosene, and afterwards in soap and water; dry, and put away for

future use. Retobmhd Trooper •writes: — Can a returned trooper wear his South African uniform at any military function, such as a' ball, and not at the same time be a member of *ny Volunteer- corps? — Not unless he obtains ' special permission from the officer comznMtding "the district. J. A., Preservation Inlet. — H. M. Davey, consulting engineer, 91a> Princes street, replies: — It is quite 'impossible to answer your question just as I would like to — that is, Yes 3r No. You see, I don't know if your pelton has any spare power; I could tell you if it had or not if I had particulars of the amount of water at your disposal, its height, and the size of your pipes. You will know, but have not told inc. However, I might perhaps help you - in this way: I will suggest a way of increasing your pulley in a :he»p and easy manner, and so that you can da it on the spot. Whatever diameter you want to increase the pulley to, get some pieces of sawn wood half that. Say you want the pulley 6in larger; have tno timber Sin thick by, say, 2in wide, or, say, 3in x 2in stuff. Now cut the lengths about 3in or so longer than the width of the_ pulley, and enough to go all round it. Nail hoopiroi?., to each, haying them close together, and the hoop-iroh so placed that it comes outside the pulley rim 1 and the wood only touches- the pulley, the hoop-iron each end! of the strips keeping the strips from falling or coming off the 1 pulley endways. Clout nails are the best, but at a pinch any would do. " The* strips' are then wrapped' round ihe pulley, and the hoopiron is left long enough to overlap a little, the nails going through both thicknesses of the iron at ft few strips. Another and .perhaps neater way is to lash the strips round the pulley, and they could be tapered so. as to be jlose outside, and then, turn a groove each end as the wheel revolves and lay the hoop-Iron.- in -the groove turned fox it, and then remove the lashing. This groove may then "be. ou outside, and the ends .of the- strips could be trimmed with .the turning tool, which could be done in any case. This method, Arhich can be very - neatly or- else roughly., made, lasts well, and if -fl/ot made too tight on the> pulley, can" be made to have the, additional advantage of baing « friction pulley, which often, saves the belt when a suddten> strain oomea on . it. The grooves could be made for rope, instead of for Hoop-iron' if made 'on the outside. Thus you could soon see if you have power enough to make the pulley any size you think of, and when the exact best size is found, either keep "the addition you have made, ox order a new fSuliey, knowing 'thai it- will be . the proper size, and not an experiment that may be useless."'* -I may add that you can,, '■ of course, Aake more than one layer of these strips till, you get to the right size, and so, if you have overdone it, jpou can tako -'part away, and 'so on.'- Write and say ' how you get on.