Evening star., 1924-12-26
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN

should be light IN weight, tough, not
brittle, soft, strai ight-grained and free
from odor, though in some cases, for
example, where the excelsior is TO be
used for furniture packing, a slight
odor is not an Objectionable quality.
1t must also be well seasoned before
gospg into the machine, but should
never be allowed TO air season for more
than two years, as it becomes brittle or
is attacked by decay, which renders
it worthless for excelsior. Air-sea-
soned wood is more desirable than
kiln-dri because the latter is in
clined to be brittle.
Q. Which State had the first his
torical society?-G. r.
A. Massachusetts was the first 90
form one. 1t was organized in 1921,
but was incorporated in 1894.
Q. Does "the indestructibiIity OF
matter mean that coal in the proc
ess of nature viii be restored 10
coal after 1t is burned? If not, will
the earth gradually lose weight
L. o.
A. When coal or other material is
mined from the earth the actual
weight of the earth is not altered
No such change could be effeotad ans
less the gas and smoke into whInA
capped entirely from the atmosphere
and passed out into space This does
not occur. Although the weight OF
the earth as whole Is not altered
by mining operations, there is no
doubt that the distribution Of weigh
at the earth's surface is changed.
Q. What is the employment Of guch
expressions as black pitch and green
verdure calIed?-A. H. d.
A. Pleonasm consists in the repeti-
tion of an idea implied in some 9th
er word or element in the sentence.
Q. At what distance are storT
clouds visible to the naked eyer.
X D. K.
A. The Weather Bureau says THAI
the distance at which storm clouds
are visible to the naked eye varies
greatly with ones position and the
kind of clouds. II a person is in al
open fiat country and the clouds are
of the broad stratus or layer type,
he may not see them more than 80
or 40 miles away. and even not half
SO far If the air tends to be misty or
hazy. On the other hand, when tho
air is quite clear we'll developed
Icumulo-nimbus, or thunder storm,
cloud may, in favorable circum-
stances, be seen when more than 100
miles away.
@. When was Tosti born?-H s.
A. Sir Francesca Paolo Tosti vas
an Italian English song composer,
born in Italy in 1916. His work at
once attracted attention, and in 1880
he was appointed singing teacher to
the royal family OF England, and re-
mained in that position for many
years, receiving the Order of the
Kingdom in 1908. In 1913 he re-
turned to Italy, where he died in
1916.
@. What state is called the Cen
tennial State?-T. D. c.
A Colorado was given this nick
name because IL was admitted to the
Union in 1876 when this country was
having its centennial celebration Of
the Declaration of independence.
Q. Which State had the greatest
loss Of men in the war;. B. G.
A New York State suffered the
greatst loss. Pennsylvania was
| second.
@. What is the real name Of Doro-
thy Dix?-C. a. H.
A. Dorothy Dix is the pseudonym
used by Mrs. Elizabeth Meriweather
Gilmer She has been writing on
subjects Of interest to women since
1895. She is on the staff OF the
Ledger Syndicate.
Q. How is the score counted in
duplicate auction bridge?-W. y. 60
A. The score is counted as in auc-
tion bridge, except that games and
rubbers are not scored. When a
score of so or more is made on
the play of one hand, 125 is added F,
to the honor score. The score Of (
each board is kept and compared with
its score in duplicate, to ascertain
the gain or loss.
The Star maintains for the pteustcTel
and proft of ats readers an Information
service atuder the directorship of Fred
eric j. HdSkin. The scope of the buTed5
IS national and International, and no
subject is too elementary or too broad
to enlist the personal attention of spe-
cidlist Address The Star Information,
Bureau, Frederic j. HGSkib, director
T1uenty- first and C streets 1torthfCeSt.