The San Francisco call., 1909-11-08
Answers to Queries


IRON oRE-Subscriber. CITY. WHY is lime
stone used in smelling iron ore?
According to the Scientific Ameri-
can limestone is added to iron ore
in the furnace because it is the most
readily obtainable and cheapest fiux
Iron ore consists generally of iron
oxide mixed with a gangue of earthly
matter, which is most commonly
silicious. The silica Is infusible by
itself, but in contact with iron oxide at
a high temperature combines readily
into silicate of iron. forming Stag To
prevent the great waste of iron which
would result from the combination of
the gangue with the metal of the ore
it is necessary to provide a material
with which the silica will readily
unite, forming .fusible Stag, sub
stances thus added to take up the
gangue of the ore and other impuri-
ties being. known as fuxes Silica
being acid requires a base such as
lime. The Stag formed is silicafe of
lime
woRDs-w. H., City. What is the estimated
number of words tEnglish) used by ordinary
speakers and writer's?
On this subject there is the followin..
In "Gleanings for the Curious Snich
answers your question:
Dictionary English is something very different
not only from common colloquial English. but
even from that of ordinary written comnosition
Instead of about 10000 words there is probably
no single author in the language from whose
works. no matter how voluminous so many as
10000 words could be collected. OF the 40. 600
words there are certainly many more than half
that are employed If they are ever employed at
all, on the rarest occasions. We should be sur
prlsed TO find If we counted them with how
small number of words we manage to ex-
press all we have TO say either with lips
or or, our pen The common literary English prob
IN rrdc
spoken English hardly to 5000
BICYCLE REcoRDs--s., City. What is the
mile record for bicycle?
1t is said that the fastest mile in COM
petition is 1;06 Is E, Mohrig of this
city, an expert on bicycles, gives this
department the following figures for a
mile: One mile. locomotive paced.
straightaway 5S 2-5 seconds; motor
paced straightaway, 1885; competition
track, Los; ordinary track, high bicy-
Gle, 2:25.
THE PALACE. 0. T.. Berkeley, Cal What
was the wages. paid carpenters in San Francisco
az the time the original Pslaee hotel was built?
when was the hotel built?
The work on the hotel was COM
menced in 1872 and was completed in
the latter part of 1875. The pay of
carpenters who worked on the motel
was 81 and $3.50 a day, according 10
qualification.
BATTLEsHIP--sub Sonoma Cal. What
are the dimensions Of the United States battle
ship South Dakota?
Length on water line, 5O2 feet: ex
treme breadth. 69:61a feet, and mean
draft, 24:1. feet.
JAPANrc. G; s., City. What was the popu-
iation of Japan in 1900 and what is il TODAY
m 1Q0n civ . -ca
this time it is given. with the popula-
tion OF Formosa added, as 1875, $50.
GoyERNOR-N. s.. Palo Alto. Cal. In what
year year was Gaspar de Portola elected governor of
He was not elected. He was ap-
pointed by Spain as the first governor
in 1867.
MAYOR TAYLoR-P. Fl. NJ. City When
was b. r. Taylor appointed mayor of San Fran
cisco, prior to his election to that Office?
He was not appointed. He was
elected by the board of supervisors
July 16, 1907.
HENEY-P. II. NJ. City. When was Francis
J. Heney appointed a deputy under District At
torney Langdon?
He was appointed a deputy in the of
fee to succeed Duke on October 20, |
1906.
OLD COINs-subscriber Burlingame. Cal
Where may old coins be redeemed?
If by that question you mean the
redemption Of worn coins apply to the |
United States mint in San Francisco.
SWISS EDUCATIoN-L. H.. Hayward Cal. |
French. German and Italian according
to the section of the country.
ARTISTS PAPER-w H. D.. stockton. Cal
What kind OF paper do newspaper artists use |
o make their drawings on?
A cardboard specially prepared for
that purpose.
BLOCKS-F. Q. T., Berkeley Cal Are tbe
llocks on the south side Of Market street he
ween First and Eighth in San Francisco of uni
orm length?
They are about 500 feet
HISTORY sToRIEs-s.. city. when was the
irst of the history stories in the competition
or watches published In The Junior Calf
October 81, 1905