The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-05-07

@. To settle bet. is there
| ;ointed snake that will unjoint if
you touch him and then after a
while join back again. L. II.
A. The glass, or so-called joint
ed snake, is really lizard. When
handled roughly the tail portion
will break into two or three pieces.
Contrary to superstition. these
pieces will not unite with the body
again, though 4 rudimentary tail is
sometimes developed after the first
one is lost.
30. At what mint were the Lesh-
CT silver dollars coined?
B. c. W.
A. The Lesher octagOn silver
dollars were not made at any Unit
ed States mint, but were made by
man named Lesher who lived in
Victor, Colo. His idea was that
silver dollars should contain more
silver than is in a standard silver
dollar. He made about 5000 of
these dollars and stood ready to
redeem them at any time. Certain
merchants in central Colorado
agreed to accept these coins in pay
ment of merchandise. Since they
we're not issued by the United
States government. however. they
were never generally used as cur
rency.
@. Will shock be conveyed to
the man at the nozzle of a fire hose
il the stream Of water hits a charg-
ed electric wire? j. D.
A. II stream of water is play
ed from a fireman's hose against
live electric wire, the fireman at
the nozzle will receive a shock,
the current coming down the
stream of water.
@. How does "v" happen to be
used instead Of 9TH" in the word
the? A. H. D.
A. "Y" is an old form of 18th"
and was used by printers when the
space was too limited for the let
ters 'th." The word when spelled
I'VE" should be pronounced the"
@. How many senators and rep
resentatiyes are there in the new
congress? E. G. 0.
A There are 435 members Of the
house Of representatives and Sc sen
ators in the 9th congress.
@. With oats 100 pounds to the
bale, what per cent is cats and what
per cent straw? M. A. f.
A. The proportion OF straw to
grain is comparatively high in oats,
generally estimated at two to one.
There is no constant relation. but,
in general, medium or late varieties
usually have about two pounds OF
straw to one pound of grain, while
early varieties produce a somewhat
less proportion Of straw.
SO. How many postoffices are
there in the United States? l. NJ. c.
A. The post office department
says that according to the latest
available figures (January l, 1921
there were $500 post offices in
the United States.
@. What is the difference be-
tween a hydroplane and hydro
aeroplane? N. M. I.
A 1yuIOpldue Is projecting
plane, or any one Of number of
such planes, or the hull OF a sub
marine. the purpose Of which is to
direct the course of the moving boat
upward or downward. A hydro
aoroplane is an airplane, equipped
with pontoons or with a boat-like
body, which can travel on or rise
from the surface OF the water by
its own motive power.
@. To settle a friendly areu.
ment. is there an insect known as
the fireworm? MEX.
A. There is a caterpillar known
as the fireworm. 1t is also called
the spring cankerworm. These cat
erpillars feed on the leaves of fruit
and shade trees. and will often
strip a whole orchard or grove in q
few days, leaving it as though
swept by flames. It was in the hope
Of Kidding orchards Of this pest that
the English house sparrow was in
troduced into the United States.
@. Where is the Great Stone
Face located? C. S. C.
A. Hawthorne's Great Stone
Face" is said to refer to a phenom-
anon in the White MOnntafna ~ No-