The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-23
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

instfNment Of 'snd surveyor 2gn i4ng sxo ien
Is disuse 70 not altogether Q matter Of very long
ago, for In the hedge schools OF . quite recent date
In ireland Il appears among tho advertised quail
ncstions Of q schoolmaster IS surveying and the
use Of the Jacobs stan." which likewise recalls
the master OF the Deserted village In lands no
could measure. terms aud tides presage." In
ono OF Miss Murfree's stories. His Vanished star"
II 10 spoken OF as still In use In the Kentucky
Mountains In provisioning land. The earliest
mention Of the Jacobs stan II found In the
"Margsrita PhnosoptlcNs Of 400 and thence onward
II "a frequently le-s iped. Pilots adopted II readily
In preference to the more complex astroiaoe'
because n was less affected by the motion OF inc
ship. In the DelvauK manuscript OF 1883 II v
sketched as a long ruler with three shorter ones
placed at right angles 20 tho stan and movable
up and down according 10 the angle OF elevation.
II was with this instrument that Tycho Brahe made
his nrst observation. May !. 1894. and TO II kepier
attributed the progress OF astronomy. The Jacobs
stan bore such other names ss cross stan. fore
stan. baculus Jacob. radius a~stronomicus. Bella
stella. ballasteii. croix feometrfque. verge dor
and arbalcstrelc. IL was capable OF latitude
determination only.
This 10 about razors; What causes a razor to
become msgnetisedl How can yoyD ure ~ II,
cuse this foolish question ou, W. sgninssn'
It. NJ. OK.
No question OF physics can be classed as foolish
"~ - S"N" ~ v
hts razor. But there IS some uncertainty rs TO the
use of "magnetiEed" in this connection. Just be-
cause 10 seemed doubtful that magnetism could
anect the fulnlinent BY a razor OF Its manifest des-
tiny tho experiment was made. Tho steel was
magnetized SO highly that II picked up iron nlings
with tho spheres OF concentration at the poles
shown by any bar magnet While thushighiy mag
netized II shaved as well as ever. showing that there
was no impairment OF the cutting edge. tbehaved
on tho hone and on the strop Just as when unmag-
! neftzed There aeen1a rpa90n- therefore. 10 doubt
that tho word magnetized Is In the question used In
Its accepted physical sense. To clear the steel OF
It's magnetism Is a somewhat tedious process. IL Is
best accomplished by spinning In the neld OF an
electro magnet In which the magnetic force IL
slowly diminished to extinction. This is the process
used on watches. where msgnetized trains are
practically unworkable.
In tho early history OF New England the wolf
feature Of the Landscape. partic1isrly annoying to
those whose new homes were largely landscape, Can
the eastern part OF the country2 I'D PARKER.
In the third book of the Boone and Crockett
Club DR.. George Bird Grtnnell notes that the great
gray wolf vas seen In the Adirondacks In 1898 and
again In 1895. Reports OF wolves In Maine In re-
cent times lack authorization. The wolves are
still TO be found In the wilder parts OF Canada back
from the lower st. Lawrence. They may still
exist In the mountain Businesses Of the southern
Appalachians. In the same volume a mighty
huhitCi ~ ~ hAhAJ nv ~
plication Of Thackeray's latiiced designation OF a
MIST Exlt-d Prs n -ge, ommen with less par
ticularity upon the vanishing OF the gray WOLF
in the East and remarks that II is strange that the
wolf, with better resisting powers, has disappeared
so much more completely than the black bear.
You credit the discovery of chloroform TO, Sou
beirsn and Liebig. Probably these men DID dis;
cover the stun Independently. but DR.. Samuel
Guthrie of Sacketts HarboI, n. y made a prior
discovery. Guthrie published an account OF his
discovery IN July, 1881, In Slltmdn'S Journal: Sou
beirsn's announcement appeared in October. 1881.
Iieve' said nothing about his discovery unttl 1882.
DR.. Guthrie produced chiorofom in 1880 and ex-
story for publication. The Jefferson County His
torical society has abundant data rela.lns to Dr.
Another friend adduces further proof OF these
facts and adds that before Simpson had used
chloroform anesthesia In Edinburgh IL had been
employed in the summer of 1882 by DR.. Lawrence
at st. B~artholomew's Hospital; this. OF course. has
no bearing upon Guthrie's priority. The CORE
spondence is Interesting as correcting a lapse In
ono of the general standard Encyclopaedia.
IL II proper and Is Il Injurious to eat the beeswax
such was the practice when men FIRST discovered
the succulent delights of honey in the comb. and
there stll remains an addition 10 the fragrant
sweet when the teeth crunch down the thin walls
4 of the hexagons. To eat the comb with the honey
Is emlnently proper and to unimpaired digestion
quito devoid OF injurious effects Strained honey
may be pure: under the new law reforming the
viands OF the land It must be pure or else set forth
tho details OF its impurities. Honey In bottles
and without the comb might be pure; then, again, It
might be a glucose addition TO the labor OF the bee
or even a complete substitute therefor. Diligent
investigators OF the things that are not what they
seem profess to have discovered factory made
honey sealed up In artificial combs made OF paraffn.
But the pure food law Is TO reform such base lmlta-
tons.
..n.rd = pcoips ,aa of the vrord "Skeyhnrn =
would you expect 20 md skewhorn, skewfoot,
skewnnger or skegnose in the DICTIONARY, You
not Lincoln's meaning perfectly plain Skewhorn
means crooked horn tm 'ns5sf9 po,u a r, sman iU Mss
conducting itself In a twisted, crooked. awry man
ner. now you see EN- and now you donxi
A mighty Interesting group OF skew words. every
ono OF which should md Its place OF preservation
In the dictionaries; better still. Il should have the
citation OF Its nrst known occurrence. Like all tho
Lincoln ~locutions 1t is 90 expressive that the sense
ia perfectly plain. But the dictionaries should at
least glimpse tho history Of the word between It's
I undoubted origin In the Danish invaders OF Eng
land before the Norman conquest, and Its recurrence
centuries later in the speech learned in a Kentucky
cabin home.
Where can I find the address Of any priyates who
tered into tho service In 1852 and the roster OF my
The roster Will be among tho records OF tho Ad-
ANa -
On1cer for 1909 may be found at the public libraries.
Tho addresses OF survivors may be known at that
once Of military record. II the Information be
wanted 70 help out a pension claim a full statement
OF the case addressed TO the Commissioner OF PEN
sions In Washington will elicit directions as TO how
to proceed In prosecution OF the claim. for that
once has all the needed military records.
Where can Monaghan phvsants be bought I
desire 70 experiment In Matching their eggs under
bantam hens In order 70 stock some plantations
with the birds. JESSE CLEVELAND.
Apply TO the Game Commissioner OF your State.
II no has no birds for distribution he can direct
you 70 fsnciers from whom pure stock may he had.
The papers devoted 10 hunting contain many an
nouncemcnts OF fanciers, but as the transport Of
rame birds 10 now 80 strictly under regulation II
"a better 70 apply nrst % the State authority. The
bird has tAksn quite kindly TO life In many Amen-
can covers.
The reason Sir william Wallace had no tartan
was that no was O lowlander.
JKseIE CRAWFORD.
On tho other hand, one OF tho Wallaces writes
that -the only combustion that I can arrive at Is that
the wallaces were connected with Rob Roy" This
correspondent furnishes q picture Of the clan tar,
tan OF the clan Wallace published In colOIs by the
JOhnstons OF Edinburgh. who should be supposed