The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-28
NOTES AND QUERIES.

NOTES AND QUERIES.
Where and when was Alice Cary born? AG.
April 20. 1920. eight miles from Cincin-
NATL Ohio.
How did the word Cracker come to be ap.
| piled to Southern country folk9 G.
A diet consisting chiefly OF cracked corn
Is said to be responsible for the nickname.
Are children Of foregn-born parents born in
| the United States. entitled to citizenship with
| out process Of law, when the parents have never
| renowned allegiance to their former Govern.
| ment2 b. Z
Yes: birth in this country confers citi-
zenship without regard 70 the citizenship
Of the parents.
Why does not the passage Of the electric cur.
rent through telegraph wire kill the birds on lit
| T. d. r.
The current does not leave the wire.
| only an infinitesimal portion Of 1t going
through the bird. Should any part Of tho
bird touch another wire the current might
be turned through its body and kill 1t.
What is meant in iron working by "puddlingr
2 Which melts easier, cast or wrought .iron3
g. Why Is magnetic iron ore especially valuable?
| T.N.w.
The process of Kidding melted pig iron
| of carbon and other impurities and turn
ing 1t into wrought iron. 2. Cast iron. by
| some 700 degrees Fahrenheit. g. Because
| of the very large proportion Of iron Ii con-
tains.
| Does a woman OF foreign birth who ia married
i to a citizen of the United States have to take
| out naturalization papers to vote at general
i election in Idaho? +. A. d.
No; wife's citizenship is that Of her
husband, and an alien woman who marries
| a citizen thereby becomes citizen; and
whGn both husband and wife are aliens
| she becomes a citizen when he is natural
lied.
| Do typewriter copyizts charge by the number Of
/ words, lines or sheets, and what Is the ratef
| @. D.
Different copyists have different rates
| and methods Of charging, but correspond ,
ence is usually reckoned by the page, 10
cents page being an ordinary charge.
| Manuscript is usually charged at about
| 40 cents per ! 900 words, and legal docu-
ments at Is cents a page.
Is there any demand for mancanese? 9 What
could it be sold for as dug from the minef
3. Where can it be sold for in large quaint.
| tics? b. En-.
Yes. 2. Much depends on the location
Of the mine and the cost of transporting
| 1t to purchasers. It's value is about So
the long ton. 3. A little of it is used by
chemical works, but the chief consumers
are manufacturers Of steel, who employ ie
in making ferro-manganese.
What is the British coast guard? EMS.
A body of men stationed along the coasts
of England, Scotland, and Ireland to pre-
vent smuggling and to serve as a defen-
sive force. Originally it was part of the
customs service, but in 1856 1t was trans
ferred to the navy. Coast guardsmen are
instructed in naval gunnery. signaling.
and gunboat exercises, are liable in time
Of war to be called on for naval duty, and
number about 4,O0O
What is the story of the sword of Damocles to
which references are so often made? EXACT.
Damocles was companion and fiatterer
OF the elder Dionysius, who, he claimed,
should be extremely happy becauEe of his
wealth and power. To show that his hap
piness really was. Dionysius invited his
parasite to a sumptuous feast in the
midst of which Damocies suddenly dis
covered that over his head was naked
sword suspended by single hair.
it not mined? A. X.
Tin is found in Llano and Mason coun-
ties, Texas, near Riverside Cal, at Kings
Mountain, N C., in the Black Hills, and
in Alabama and Virginia, but very little
of the tin mining in this country pays.
The Malay peninsula is the chief source
of the worlds tin supply, and labor there
is very cheap. Ores of other localities
are richer or more accessible than ours.
|
What is used in gliding to make gold leaf
stick? Z r.
Gold-size printing whose adherent
quality is glue; or, chiefly for work that
will have exposure to the weather, OIL
size, which is varnish Of linseed oil and
ochre. Gliding put on books is made to
adhere by pressure and heat. or by the
use OF geIatine. The former method is
for cloth covers, the latter for leather
bindings.
How can the fact that an ordinary sewing
needle will float in water be explained?
L. l. B.
1t is due to the presence on the surface
of the water Of layer that is in effect
film. Its molecules are in every way iden-
tical with those of the lower liquid, but
are SO affected by molecular forms as to
constitute a stretched film or skin. This
is characteristic Of the surface layers OF
all liquids. The needle lies il a hollow
of this film and is supported In part by
the elastic reaction of the film.
What ten States have the largest savings bank
deposits? Please give the amount of deposits in
each State, and the number OF depositors.
WS.S.
New York deposits $500. 1903. us. deposit
tors, 1851 SOL; Massachusetts,, si72.505.-
565 and O9S, 1893: California. Scales, 2s7.
and 176, 426; Pennsylvania, Sis. 713.6S4. and
81. ST. Connecticut, s117 .S60.031. and 1885,
902 Ohio, $50. Ass, 159. and 1887; Maine,
S44, 1866, 93S, and 120,924; Michigan, $50, s14.-
400, and 112 1873; New Jersey, s36,257 .91S.
and 125,247; New Hampshire, s35. ,916,
and $3.50.
Did our playing cards originate in China?
CRIB.
Many accounts have it so, their appear
ance in Europe being credited to the Sara
Gems, VINO are said to have brought them
from India, China. and other Asiatic
countries. But these claims are doubted,
and it seems quite as likely that the cards
originated in Europe in the fourteenth
century. Before them cards bearing en-
blematic pictures were used in fortune
telling, and early playing cards had, in
place of the present suit symbols, cups,
clubs, and swords in Spain and