Evening star., 1924-02-16
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN

Q. For whom was Boiling Field
named?-R. E.
a. This aviation field was named
for Col. Raynal c. Boiling, who was
the first American officer of high rank
Killed during the world war. He died
on the field of battle, March &c, 1918,
as a result Of hand hand pistol
duel with overwhelming numbers of
the enemy.
Q. How many farmers have radio
sets?-G. L. K.
A. 1t is possible to get an estimate
only. A questionable was sent out.
to which replies were received from
780 counties. These figures were av-
craged, and that figure projected for
all of the 1850 agricultural counties
in the country. This gave an esti-
mate of 145.000 sets on farms at the
time Of the survey. September l, 1923.
q. What do the words "ahoy" and
"avaSt" mean?-D. ID. s.
A. "Ahoy" is merely an interjec-
tion used in hailing ships. "Avast' is
also a nautical term which means to
cease. stop or stay.
O. What is the glider record?-
A. NJ. II.
A. At Biskra. Algeria, last year the
pilot Barbot made record of eight
hours and thirty seven minutes in his
glider. Later over a measured course
at Deauville, France, he covered 1872
miles in six hours and four minutes.
@. When should the rs be rolled
in singing?-L. S.
strictly to musical and phonetic rule.
the rolling of the r. whether long or
short, is invariably on the first sylla-
BILE Of the word and accentuated if it
falls on q musical accent. but not
prolonged on the second or third syl-
liable, unless followed by q vowel:
then a short roll is used, unless, as
before stated, il falls on musical
accent.
@. When We're first modern general
censuses taken in Europe?-A. Il. HI.
A. Many Of the European countries
had crude methods of taking cen
sus in very early times. In England
as early as 1881 William the Con-
uueror took what may be termed as
an agricultural census. the results
being embodied in the DomeSday
in Sweden, England and the United
States. In 1146 the Swedish Academy
of Sciences directed the clergy to
compile statistics of population. etc
In Great Britain the census office was
established in 1900. and the first ofti-
cial census taken in 1901. The first
census of the United States was in
1890. Russia in 1902 established a
central bureau for the purpose
France did the same after the. rev
olution: Prussia in 1905: Austria IN
1928, and Belgium in 1898.
O. What is the earliest specimen
of the Greek alphabet eXtantH--N. NJ
\. In the Florence museum there
is a schoolboy'S slate 2.5u0 years old.
Prof. Halbherr says this is the most
perfect specimen of an actual tabiet
for school exercises in Europe. me
twenty-six letters run in Phoenician
style from right to left and give the
Chalcidian form of the Greek alpha
bet brought to southwest ltaiy by
Euboean colonists.
@ How ancient is the custom OF
pIaying with dolls?-E. Z. l..
\. Laura Z. Starr. an authority on
the subject. says: RECORDED hlStolS
does not go back to the time when
there were no dolls The oldest doils
in the world are in the British Mu-
scum. They were found in Egyptian n
tombs Some are more than 4'Oeo
years old.
O. How deep is the canal at Ne"
Orleans?--J. Il. l..
A The sfx-mile canal from the
NIississippi river to Lake Pontchar-
1rain. lust below New Orleans, which
was officially opened about year
ago. has a minimum depth over the
lock sill of thirty feet.