J.
Dates of published Works.—Is it possible to ascertain the exact time of publication of any book, for instance in the year 1724, either at Stationers' Hall or elsewhere?
D.
Saw-dust Recipe.—There is a recipe existing somewhere for converting saw-dust into palatable
human food. Can you tell me what it is, or where it is to be found?
G. D.
Minor Queries with Answers.
Branks, or Gossips' Bridles.—Walton Church contains one of those strange instruments with which our ancestors used to punish those dames who were too free with the use of their tongues. They were called hanks [branks], or gossips' bridles, and were intended to inclose the head, being fastened behind by a padlock, and having attached to it a small piece of iron which literally "held the tongue." Thus accoutred, the unhappy culprit was marched through the village till she gave unequivocal signs of repentance and humiliation. Can any one give some account of this curious instrument?
George Hodges.