Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-12-29

any of the several slow-moving ar
boreal adentate MANN ais of tropical
forests of South and Central America,
consisting of three -toed sloths, hav-
ing three claws on each front foot,
and two-to sloths, having the front
feet two-clawed.. They vary In size
from that of small bear 70 that OF
a cat They feed on the leaves. buds
and young shoots of trees, among the
branches of which they live rarely
descending to the ground, They do
not walk upon the branches, but
cling beneath them with back down
ward, progressing with agility. They
are chiefly nocturnal, resting sleepIly
during the day. from which fact and
from a misunderstanding of their
habits, the misnomer of "sloth'
arose.
Q. How does the mass Of the earth
compare with that Of Jupiter and
Saturn ?-F. A. Z.
A. If a bronze cent were to repre-
sent the mass of the earth, Saturn
could be II silver dollars, Jupiter 81
silver dollars and the sun $50 times
the mass of all the planets and their
satellites together.
Q. What is monopoie oil used for?
j. A. H.
A. It is used to remove the So
called gum from silk fiber. 1t makes
the fiber soft and leaves d silky
crackle.
G. Z +. When were the dark ages
A The term is rather indefinite.
The beginning of the period is gen
orally understood TO have been in
the fifth century at the time Of the
fall of Rome. Some apply the term
to the four centuries following, while
others make the term synonymous
with the middle ages, which ended
at about the time that Columbus dis
covered America
@. Where did the waltz originate?
H .. A.
A The waltz is of French origin,
but was adopted and modified in
Germany so that it is usually identi-
fed with that country. 1t became
popular on the continent early in the
nineteenth century, and was intro
duced into England in 1872.
Q. What is a man called who
studies crop production?-B. c.
A. All farmers study crop produc-
ton, but ii man who specializes in
the branch of agriculture that deals
! with theory and practice of crop
production is called an agronomist.
Q. What makes a bird stay in the
| ARA. Y. K.
A. The manipulation OF birds
wings has been analyzed to certain
degree by an rapid camera in
vented by c. Francis Jenkins OF
Washington. Mr.. jenkins has shown
the exact motion of 4 pigeons wings.
His pictures demonstrated that the
/ back stroke. when the wings touch
over the head, propels the bird, while
the forward stroke, when the wings
meet under the body. sustains the
pigeon in the air.
@. Name three important archeo-
| logical discoYerles-J. L. q.
\. The Rosetta Stone, found ia
1899. which bears a proclamation ii
/ hierogIyphics, Denote and GreeE:
the excavations at Thebes, which
opened up the Ramesside and neigh
! boring periods. 1500-l000 B. c.; ard
the temple library at Nippur.
G. How long have artificial aids
! to hearing been used?-F. r. F.
A. The first mechanical contriy-
ance for the purpose of Improving
hearing was made by DR. Yeardsley
OF London in 164S. tff.
Gnform and entertain yourself bp
making cOnSt0Ht 1Lse of The StGr n
formation Bureau. FREDERIC j. HaSkn,
director. Tlrentu-! first and c streets
! northeast There is q 1craIth Of tnfor4I,p-
| ton at the command Of star readers
! There is no charge for serrice eTcept
| a 2-cent stamp, tchich should be H.
closed for direct replyD