The San Francisco call., 1906-07-12
IN ANSWER TO
VARIOUS QUERIES

HARRISBURG City Subscriber.
Harrisburg, Pa, was named for John
Harris, the first settler in that place.
HEALTH FOoD-K., Healdsburg.
Cal This department has no informa-
tion as to the address of the writer
of the article on Health Food published
in The Call other than what appeared
in that article.
CUCUMBERS = Subscriber, City.
There is but little nutriment in raw
cucumbers. Tables of the percentage
of nutrition in various articles of food
declare that cucumbers contain but .
per cent of nutrition.
THE PARRoTT BUILDING-L. s..
San Jose. Cal. Before the fire of April
Is the Parrott building on Market
street had two entrances to the office
floors on the upper stories One on the
eastern end and the other on the west
ern end
NAPOLEoN'S EYES = Subscriber.
City. The only information that this
department has been able to obtain rs
to the color of Napoleon's (the Little
CorporaD eyes is from the writings of
Nine. de Remusat, who describes them
as "bluish gray
INSURANCE-A. H, City. This de-
partment has no knowledge of what
the insurance companies intend to do
with the claims presented against
them, so it cannot advise you in the
premises. You should communicate
with the company named in letter of
inquiry.
PRIME MINISTER-F. A. c., City.
The term prime minister" seems 10
have originated in banter. 1t was first
applied in this spirit to Sir Robert
Walpole. On February II, 1912, that
statesman said in the House Of Com
mons: Having invested me with kind
of mock dignity and styled me primo
minister the opposition impute to Inc
an objectionable abuse of chlmerical
authority which they only created and
conferred"
RAILS-Subscriber, City This cor
respondent asks, why is the outside
rail on the curve of railroad higher
than the inside one?" The answer to
this is that such construction is fol-
lowed so that the train shall not leave
the rails as 1t might do otherwise. The
tendency is centrifugal, and if rhe out
side wheels were not held by the rails.
raised because the wheels themselves
are raised, there would be nothing TO
prevent the train from going off at a
tangent to the curve instead of follow
ing it.
SUEZ CANAI-W. T. X. City The
Suez canal connects the Mediterranean
with the Red Sea, shortening the route
from India to England and America
more than 5000 miles. 1t was COM
menced in 1859 and completed in ten
years. Its length is 100 miles, average
foa
was S65, 900, 900 In gold. The distances
are: English Channel to Calcutta via
Cape of Good Hope, 10000 miles: via
canal, 5000; New York to Calcutta via
Cape of Good Hope. 14,500 miles; via
canal, $500 miles.
FIRST MISUNDERSTANDING Oak
land. Cal. There is some appropriate
ness In application of 1of the first
water" to a diamond, because of the re-
semblance to the sparkling of water,
as in a dewdrop glistening In the sun
light. Fox Talbot thinks. however, that
the expression originated In a mistake.
He supposes that the Anglo Saxons
spoke of 1.-The finest or purest hue or
color (Anglo-Saxon hiw, COLOR. The
Normans supposed this word to- be their
own eve, water. and applied 1T in that
sense.
STARS IN THE FLAG-Subscriber
Jersey. Cal. Prior to July 4. 1906, the
official flag of the United States bore
forty-fve stars in the blue field, one
for each Deate in the Union. They were
arranged In six rows, the first. third
and fifth rows having eight stars each
and the others having seven stars each.
On the Fourth of July following the
admission of new late an additional
star is added. Any flag that prior to
July 4, 1906 had in the blue field either
weight or fifty stars was not an
official American flag.